About the harbour
Rye is a living, thriving town and seaport. It always seems that the people of Rye are faintly surprised by the popularity of their town as a tourist attraction.
Certainly Rye has enough history for any museum piece. Many of its buildings date from 1377, when the French sacked and burnt the town and stole its church bells. The Bishop of Lewes, the following year organised a successful expedition for the recovery of the bells. This was neither the beginning nor the end of it. Rye, for much of its history, seems to have been either at war or at peace with its French neighbours, whichever was more profitable, regardless of what their respective countries were doing.
Much of Rye's prosperity has depended on its port. The Romans used Rye for the export of Wealden iron. Rye became a Cinque Port in the Fourteenth Century, becoming the seventh of the Cinque Ports. Records show that in 1573 up to 200 ships frequently moored near the Strand Gate and every type of cargo was handled. This must be about the same place as visiting yachts now moor.
The incessant long-shore drift of shingle closed most of the Cinque Ports and Rye found itself further and further from the sea. Rye declined as a port, so that by the 18th Century Rye's prosperity depended more on smuggling than legitimate trade. The local gangs swaggered about the countryside. They kept their contraband in cellars and moved it about the town through tunnels and secret passages. Many of the old houses still have their secret rooms and hiding places but you may have difficulty persuading their owners to show them to you! John Wesley is reputed to have said of the population of Rye, in 1773, that they refuse to "part with the accursed thing smuggling".
Rye is still a seaport, albeit a small one. It still has some commercial shipping, an excellent fishing fleet and is a thriving yachting centre. Perhaps the thing that appeals to the Rye mariners, as they sail or just sit on their boats overshadowed by the ancient warehouses, is the tangible link with the past. You can almost reach out and touch the seafaring heritage.