The Hastings Arms

By John Hodges

At some time in the seventeenth century Hastings began to expand out of the valley of the Bourne , and odd buildings were erected in an area to the West that became known as the “Suburbs”. It was not until 1811 that this newly developed street became known locally as George Street, and early in the nineteenth century the George Inn was opened. Continue reading The Hastings Arms

Edwin Hollis Pulford

AN OLD AND FAITHFUL SERVANT OF THE CORPORATION’

The story of Edwin Hollis Pulford from Ship’s Cook and Shoemaker to Sergeant at Mace and Town Crier of Rye.

By J. C. Pulford.

One day, about 35 years ago, the then Town Crier of Rye, Percy Sherwood, an old acquaintance of my father’s, led my father and me to an upstairs room in the Town Hall to show us an old book that was kept there. In the book was the signature of one of Percy’s Victorian predecessors -Edwin Hollis Pulford. Continue reading Edwin Hollis Pulford

French Officers Escape Through Rye

By Frank Palmer.

During the Napoleonic Wars many prisoners were taken on both sides. Those taken by the British were shipped back to Britain and held in prison hulks and prisons through out the land. Dartmoor Prison was built for this purpose. Continue reading French Officers Escape Through Rye