The original Rye Local History Group was founded by local historian Alan Dickinson in September of 1984. In the beginning, it was not a formal society, but a loosely-knit association of scholars collaborating on research projects.
More than a dozen turned up for the first meeting upstairs in the Rye Library, including such figures as Geoffrey Bagley, then curator of the Rye Museum, Brion Purdey of the Hastings Library Service (who chaired a similar group in that town), local historian Peter Ewart and Frank Palmer, owner of a legendary Rye photograph collection.
They met monthly for years and the small collaborative group of scholars grew into a more formal association of 100 members. Eventually, the activities included field trips, site visits, talks and the regular publication of a Local History Journal.
In the early 2000s, the Group merged into the Rye Museum Association with the expectation that the Museum would continue to publish the Journal. This they did as a traditional paper publication until 2020, when lockdown put an end to production.
In 2026, the name was revived as a vehicle to republish publications on the topic of Rye history, beginning with the Rye Gazette (a weekly newsletter published by Mary Owen from 1983 to 1988).