Rye
The Town
If you’ve ever notified buyers agents that your idea of property search perfection is a small town formerly known for smuggling, that town may just be Rye in East Sussex. Recoco buying agents can show you the location: where the Brede, Rother, and Tillingham rivers meet. Ask your property buying agent about the current population, a little under 5,000.
Property buyers might enjoy the Citadel, the original rocky heights. Recoco buying agents will, however, confirm this part of Rye has relatively few houses. Your property search company can, however, show you St Mary’s Parish Church, Lamb House, Church Square. Or get our property buying agent to introduce you to the fairy-tale cobbles and half-timbered buildings of Mermaid Street or Watchbell Street.
Real estate buyers agents can help you appreciate the town layout. Once it crosses the river, the main road skirts Rye to the south. Winchelsea Road runs parallel to the River Brede, and leads to New Winchelsea Road, where our property search company can locate opportunities.
Recoco property finders can identify homes with stunning gardens running down towards the river, plus boating and fishing rights. Ask your property buying agent about Rastrums Wharf too, which accommodates ships up to 80 metres at high tide.
Transport
Conducting your property search by car? Head for the main A268 and the A259. Regular bus services link local towns and villages including Hastings, Tenterden, and Tunbridge Wells. Real estate buyers agents will confirm Rye’s railway station is on the Marshlink line; it connects Ashford and Hastings. Recoco property finders can outline rail links to Gatwick Airport, via Lewes or Eastbourne.
History
Rye has been important since Roman times. It was later Saxon, then Norman. King Edward I awarded the town charter in 1289; it became an important trading centre. Real estate buyers agents can point you towards the Mermaid Inn, dating from 1156. Ypres Tower, meanwhile, part of the town wall, dates from 1249.
Property buyers will see Rye has reinvented itself repeatedly, as a fishing port, naval base, commerce and tourism centre. A small fishing fleet still operates, and it’s a popular location to moor yachts and other pleasure boats.
Inside the former town walls Recoco buying agents can point out attractive art galleries, restaurants, shops, and oast houses. Once smugglers’ havens, the Mermaid Inn and Olde Bell Inn Rye are allegedly connected by a secret underground passage.
Education
If schools feature in your property search decision, Rye Primary is the elementary school. Rye College, formerly Thomas Peacocke Community College, is the secondary school. Nearby independent schools include Frewen College; there are over 20 private schools in East Sussex.
Leisure and Events
Annual festivals include the Scallops Festival, Arts Festival and November Bonfire parade. The Non-League football club in town is Rye Town FC, and there is also a rugby club. For nature lovers, our property search company can pinpoint nature reserves in the area. The RSPB reserve at Dungeness is an especially noteworthy location and several long-distance walking routes pass through the town.
Property buyers can benefit from a farmers’ market and general market every Thursday. Ask our buyers agents about the antique shops, bookstores, and the art galleries which sell work by many local artists and ceramics creators. The town is especially well known for ceramics.
Celebrity Connections
Buyers agents can tell you about the many writers connected to the town, including American novelists Henry James and Joseph Conrad and British science fiction authors H.G. Wells and John Christopher (Samuel Youd). John Ryan, who created the Captain Pugwash stories, and children’s writer Joan Aiken are also connected, as is comedian, writer, and musician Spike Milligan.
Although more typically associated with Liverpool, Sir Paul McCartney was born in Rye in 1942. Doctor Who actor Tom Baker was also born here in 1934.
Foodies’ Corner
Catch a spot of lunch at Mermaid Street Café, Rye. Tuscan Rye offers ingredients sourced direct from Italy, served in an Olde English style eatery. For a light bite to fuel your property search, pay The Fig a visit. Unique gins are on offer at the Globe Inn Marsh, and craft beers at the Rye Waterworks Micropub.
Into quirky? Indulge in gorgeously subtle Indian food with a British twist at the Devil in Rye. And it wouldn’t be a coastal location if there weren’t excellent eateries specialising in seafood – give Webbe’s at The Fish Café a try for starters.
Fun Fact
The name of the football club ground is the Salts.