England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Rye St Mary

The Parish

The parish of Rye lies in the extreme east of Sussex not too far from its border with neighbouring Kent and forming a short stretch of the county's English Channel coastline. Rye is located roughly 10 miles northeast of the coastal resort of Hastings and some 63 miles southeast of London, it sits on the A259 road which links Hastings with Hythe & Folkestone. Rye has an ancient history dating back to pre-Conquest times, it was already a major town by that time, its unique site standing on a sandstone hill overlooking extensive salt marsh made it highly desirable as a defensive position. The town was fortified rather like similar hil-top settlements on the near continent with walls and gates surrounding. Its access to the combined rivers of the Tillingham, Brede and Rother enabled it to flourish as a port becoming a member of the Cinque Ports in 1336. For roughly 300 years trade flourished despite occasional depredations from the French. The port imported much produce from the Netherlands, Germany & France becoming a bonding port for French wine, in addition the produce of Sussex and Kent was exported and moved in coastal waters. The town became a ship-building centre to support this trade and various manufacturies also appeared including a substantial brewing tradition. In addition to the role as a port Rye was also a centre for trade and specialist skills as the local market town for its hinterland. The wider parish was largely filled with grazing marsh leading to much pastoral farming. Rye's diminishing came during the latter half of the 16th century when siltation severely impacted the capacity of the harbour. Trade has diminished but Rye still remains a substantial market town, a unique site and ancient buildings also make it a real tourist draw. Modern developments came to the town initially as further defensive fortifications in the form of the Royal Military Canal designed to allow rapid movement of defensive forces along the south coast. More productive was the arrival of the railway from London. In recent times Rye has expanded westwards with modern developments across the course of the Tillingham growing the size and population. The combined 3 rivers feed nowadays for over 2 miles before reaching the English Channel. Rye is sited on its 20 metres high knoll above land which is largely at or close to sea level, land rises to the north onto the Wealden peninsula reaching a little over 40 metres near nearby Iden. Covering just over 2,300 acres Rye parish was typically sized for its area, the compact town supported a population of close to 4,000 parishioners. As already mentioned Rye was a major settlement by Domesday times, containing some 189 households it was certainly in the largest 20% of settlements by population and very wealthy indeed for its landholder Fecamp Abbey, the assets of 46 ploughs backed by meadows and woodland are impressive enough but add in 100 salthouses and you have what was probably amongst the wealthiest manors in the land.

The Church

St Mary's church sits within the heart of the walled town south of the former market and surrounded by a dedicated square of land bordered by the pedestrianised area of Church Square. As befitting the size of the town by Domesday times the church too has extensive fabric dating back to the same era. Originally a cruciform Norman church of the late 11th and early 12th century both transepts remain as evidence for the Norman Romanesque period, the doorway of the northern transept is quite a piece of craftsmanship. The Norman church was also of sufficient size for the nave to be complemented by aisles but these were replaced in the 13th century by newer versions in the then fashionable Early English Gothic style. Flanking the chancel are two chapels contemporary with the aisles and showing typical lancet styled windows of the period. The Perpendicular era saw much change to the church with the entire central crossing area rebuilt including the construction of today's short tower complete with battlements and a pyramidal roof. Further work of the 15th century included replacing the arcades. Post-medieval work has been limited, the spirelet added in 1702 and the clerestory rebuilt in 1882 being the major changes. Whilst the church sits within its dedicated square of land that area is filled with dense trees making distant views of the church difficult to obtain, the photographer required much head-scratching and traversing of the churchyard to find the better angles.