A Guide and History of Rye
Clark was the most colourful of the Rye historians. His Guide is a mix of personal history, town history and verse. Still a very enterrtaining read, if some of the humour is impenetrably Victorian. Read PDF
Reading Room
A collection of digitised and typeset historical books, articles and archival material relating to Rye and the surrounding Sussex coast. These editions have been reconstructed from historical source material for ordinary reading and reference. editor@ryelocalhistory.org
Books and Monographs
Rambles through Rye
These essays were originally serialised in the South-Eastern Advertiser from November 1862 through February 1863, then published together in book form later that year. Another edition was published in 1866, but no substantial changes were made to the text. Read PDF
Ancient Rye
Deacon is best known for his popular Guides of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Ancient Rye is likely distilled from the editorial portions of those books. Read PDF
Articles & Excerpts
A Concise Historical & Topographical Sketch of Hastings, Winchelsea, & Rye
This is an exerpt of a very early local guidebook. The Hastings and Winchelsea sections have been removed in this edition, leaving a brief but interesting view of Rye. The full document is available in many places. Read PDF
Deacon's Court Guide
This series of gazetteers and county blue books was a commercial publication of the firm C. W. Deacon & Co of London. Not to be confused with J. L. Deacon, Mayor of Rye, who printed Deacon's Guides and Ancient Rye. Excerpts of city guides are not substantial sources of information, but they do provide a useful snapshot of important events and meaningful dates. Read PDF
“Mad Jack” the Honest Sussex Squire
An article from the Sussex County Magazine by the editor, Arthur Beckett. John "Mad Jack" Fuller (1757–1834) was one of Sussex's most colourful Georgian landowners. Squire of Brightling, Tory MP, patron of the arts and sciences, and benefactor of Michael Faraday, he is remembered today chiefly for the extraordinary follies he built across his estate. Read PDF
A Dissertation On Sussex Proverbs And Curious Sayings
An article from the Sussex County Magazine by the editor, Arthur Beckett. It's a short article that collects sayings in the Sussex dialect. I have added footnotes using the magic of Google to look up some of the phrases that puzzled Beckett. Read PDF
The Amusing H.P. Clark of Rye
An article from the Sussex County Magazine by the editor, Arthur Beckett. Largely extracts from the autobiographical section of Clark's Guide, though there are some interesting observations. Read PDF