TAKE sensible shoes to Rye. Those cobbled streets might look very nice, but
they’re murder on the feet. After a browse in the antique shops by Strand
Quay, a walk along the much-photographed Mermaid Street will take you from
the tiny river harbour into the part of town known as the Citadel. This
tangle of historic streets drapes over a hill, looping from the 14th-century
Landgate round to the quayside on the River Tillingham (an offshoot of the
Rother).
At the top of the slope is the bell tower of the 900-year-old St Mary’s
Church. To the east, the big skies of Romney Marsh stretch into the
distance, flanked by the Wealden hills to one side and the vast shingle
landscape of Dungeness on the other. Southwards, the River Rother lazily
twists towards the sea across flat plains known as The Salts. West and
north, a picture-postcard landscape blurs the boundaries between Kent and
Sussex, the downland dotted with a few oast houses and an old windmill.
Rye describes itself as an ancient town, with a charter dating from the 11th
century. William the Conqueror’s grandson, King Stephen, gave the town its
first fortifications, of which the medieval Landgate and Ypres Tower are the
main remnants. Rye was also a member of the medieval federation of Cinque
Ports, providing ships to the Crown in exchange for trade privileges,
although centuries of silting and long shore drift have shifted the
coastline away, leaving the town stranded two miles inland. It remains a
river port, however, and fishing boats still chug upstream to land a daily
catch at the Strand Quay, amid moored yachts. “The Strand” also hosts a
year-round farmers’ market every Wednesday, offering temptations ranging
from Sussex goats’ cheese to decent wine from local vineyards. Good food, in
fact, is everywhere. Upmarket joints include the Landgate Bistro, Webbe’s
and the restaurant at The George, Rye’s entry in the boutique hotel stakes,
although pubs such as the Union and The Globe also put local ingredients to
good effect.
It’s a shame that the powers-that-be can’t synchronise the museums with the
farmers’ market, as two of Rye’s main cultural attractions turn out to be
closed on Wednesdays – Rye Museum and Lamb House. The latter is a Georgian
beauty which could lay fair claim to being the most literary house in the
country. Henry James lived there for nearly 20 years, while E. F. Benson –
the one-time Mayor of Rye – used both the house and the town as templates in
his Mapp and Lucia novels. Rumer Godden was the last of the
building’s three scribblers, best known for Black Narcissus
and The River, which were both turned into films.
Lamb House is also surrounded by some of the most beautiful town streets in
the country. Mermaid Street is lined with places straight from period
central casting: a Georgian jaw-dropper here, a Tudor marvel there.
Church Square and Watchbell Street offer more dream houses without the same
tourist traffic. There are brightly painted cottages by St Mary’s and the
buzzy High Street offers independent stores and neat contrasts.
Jacko Interiors sells modern design from the ground floor of a Tudor house,
while the dark 17th-century bricks of the town’s old grammar school now
house a vinyl junkies’ paradise, appropriately called Grammar School Records.
Farther along, a tiny boutique offers antique jewellery close to a classy
ironmonger’s dispensing Nigella bread bins and other celebrity endorsed
kitchen goodies.
Radclyffe Hall was once a notable high street presence here, although we’re
talking about the former house of the seminal lesbian writer rather than a
nattily named property. Marguerite Radclyffe Hall probably appreciated Rye’s
air of cosmopolitan bohemianism, which has long marked it out as a creative
hub.
Rye’s roll call of writers continues with Conrad Aiken and his daughter Joan,
John Christopher, author of The Tripods, Monica Edwards and Spike
Milligan. The wonderful painter, Paul Nash, lived here too, while
present-day musicians include Sir Paul McCartney, who regularly pops into
town from his longtime home in the nearby village of Peasmarsh.
Local residents say that Sir Paul is not mobbed during his visits. They are
vaguely surprised at the very suggestion and say that everyone is treated
the same in Rye. This egalitarianism has left a mark on the property market,
too, with no obvious demarcations of “good” and “bad” areas “It’s a very
mixed place, from council tenants to families who have lived here for
centuries,” says Jeremy Spelling, who is the owner of a fabulous retro shop
called New 2 You on Cinque Ports Street. A Rye resident for 30 years, Mr
Spelling says that there is a collective sense of pride among locals.
“There’s no graffiti and everything is nicely kept,” he says.
But are there any downsides? The A259, which skirts the Citadel, brings some
traffic blight, although it also provides routes west towards Brighton and
east to Dover for day trips to France. Meanwhile, Ashford, with its Eurostar
links and its fast connections to London, is just 20 minutes away by train.
While visiting the town in 1573, Elizabeth I liked it so much that she
bestowed on it the title “Rye Royale”. But even for the less regal, Rye
offers a warm welcome.
FACTFILE
An 18th-century two-bedroom cottage on Watchbell Street – a cobbled and
charming street but without the crowds of Mermaid Street – has just sold for
£365,000. At the top end, a five-bedroom 1720s beauty that comes with its
own watchtower on West Street is for sale for £1.25 million through Phillips &
Stubbs, 01797 227338.
Even within the Citadel, though, character can be had without breaking the
bank. By the Landgate, a two-bedroom Grade II listed cottage with garden is
for sale for £239,000, the same price as another two-bedroom cottage near by
with views over The Salts.
For better value, head slightly farther out. Cadborough Cliff, for example,
offers a mix of 1930s semis and detached houses looking towards Rye Bay and
the Citadel. Although the High Street is barely half a mile away,
three-bedroom semis in need of some work are available from £210,000
(£250,000-£270,000 is a more typical figure). A four-bedroom Georgian house
there can be bought for about £350,000.
The cheapest spot is South Undercliff, pictured above, a busy road in the lee
of the Citadel, where terraces are available from £170,000 despite being
just a few hundred yards from Strand Quay.
The best of the town’s limited supply of flats is on the riverfront. A modern
two-bedroom flat here, cased in the local black clapboard, is for sale for
£295,000.
