Two of the best loved characters from East Sussex and Kent can often be seen together on ceremonial occasions in any Cinque Port Town. Continue reading Two Of The Cinque Ports Finest
Tag: Mayoring Day
Arthurs Mayors
ALFRED HORNER
by Arthur Woodgate
Now I come to a Rye Mayor who was very much ‘one of us’. Alf Horner inherited a general shop in the middle of Kings Street, Landgate. It sold groceries, green groceries, newspapers and all sorts of odd and ends. Alf and his wife Flo ran the business for many years. Continue reading Arthurs Mayors
They Took Over the Town Hall
Fed Up with ‘Jobs for the Boys’, Corruption and Discrimination the men of Rye Elected their own Mayor and Councillors and Took Over The Town Hall
By 1825 the Lamb family had dominated politics in Rye for 100 years,
providing the Mayor 23 times out of the 25 since the turn of the century,
most of the jurats and freeman were either family or supporters. This
had been achieved by the ‘Freeman’ system introduced in the days when
Rye played an important and very active part in building, maintaining
and manning the Cinque Ports Fleet. There were about 40 Freemen of
Rye and only a Freeman had a vote.
To become enfranchised there were only two ways. By birth as the eldest
surviving son of a Freeman or by election, one citizen a year was
voted in as a Freemen by Jurats and Freemen on Mayoring Day. Continue reading They Took Over the Town Hall