By Lyn Funnell
We went on a Day Coach Trip to Rye Market. But the coach pulled up in front of an empty market site as it was raining!
No worries. Rye is a unique Medieval town so we set off to explore.
The Church of St Mary the Virgin has dominated the town for nearly 900 years.
In 1377 the church was looted and severely damaged when the French raided the town.
The church bells were taken, but the following year the men of Winchelsea and Rye sailed to France and took back most of the stolen goods, including the church bells.
For a small charge you can climb the stairs and ladders of the Tower where you can see the bells and get a good view all around, as far as Dungeness and Hastings.
Unfortunately the weather was too bad when we went there.
It’s a beautiful church to explore and it has the largest collection of church monuments in East Sussex.
The rain had stopped and we walked along the cobbled streets until we came to Ypres Tower.
Before we went inside, we paused to admire the view.
Rye Castle opens in April but Ypres Tower is open all the year round.
It has various objects on display. Most of them are copies, including a set of Medieval armour.
Downstairs in a case are several authentic Medieval swords on chains and you can lift them up. How on earth those knights managed to wield them in battle is a mystery. They were heavy!
I asked Tom, the Front of House Manager there, if he ever saw anything strange as he sat there on his own.
After a few seconds while he obviously sussed me out, he said that he’d seen a lot since the CCTV was installed; shadows just out of sight.
What about orbs? I asked him and he nodded. Oh yes, lots of orbs! He replied.
We went out and wandered along the streets.
Amazingly, most of the houses date from the 1400s. They’re mostly original and unaltered on the outside, (and inside, as we peeped through a few windows) and they all seem to be holding each other up!
Most of the roads are cobbled and not easy to walk on, so we walked along the narrow pavements when we could.
Many famous people have lived in Rye. Our favourite was EF Benson as we love his books and TV series about Mapp and Lucia.
We found Lamb House, a National Trust property, where Henry James and then EF Benson lived.
Down the hill where the shops and restaurants are, there’s a narrow alleyway with steps connecting two streets.
Halfway down there’s a step with 1936 painted on it and the steps above it have worn edges.
For some unknown reason you mustn’t walk on the marked step or you will have bad luck. So everyone hops over it and that’s why the adjoining steps are worn!
It was lunch time so we headed for Marino’s Fish & Chips where we’d arranged to meet our friends.
We must return to Rye soon as there’s so much to see!
