A Day in Medieval Rye: A Self-Guided Historic Walking Tour, Rye, England

Rye is one of the most complete medieval towns in England. The whole place is a conservation area, still built on its medieval street pattern. You can feel the past everywhere you look – which means, for history geeks like me, it’s an absolute dream.

I loved wandering through Rye’s crooked streets, uncovering the stories behind its ancient buildings and landmarks. So I’ve put together this walking guide to help you do the same — a route that takes in Rye’s most fascinating historic sites, starting and ending at the train station.

Before we start, a quick bit of history of the town itself. Rye is a small town in East Sussex with roots going back more than a thousand years. It became an important town from the 12th century, when it was incorporated into the ‘Cinque Ports’ – a group of coastal towns that supplied ships and men to the king in medieval times, in return for privileges. They were a sort of precursor to the Royal Navy.

Back then, Rye was almost entirely surrounded by sea – its name comes from the Old English word ‘ieg’, for island. It grew as an important trading port, fishing centre and transport hub for travellers. It was also vulnerable to French raids, meaning it had to be fortified. ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).