RYE, a parish and borough and market-town and cinque-port, having separate jurisdiction, locally in the hundred of Gostrow, rape of HASTINGS, county of SUSSEX, 76 miles (E. by N.) from Chichester, and 63 (S. E. by E.) from London, containing 3599 inhabitants. This place belonged originally to the monastery of Feschamp in Normandy, from which it was separated, and, together with Winchelsea, annexed to the cinque-ports of England in the rejgn of Henry III., in all the charters granted to which, these towns are invariably styled " ancient towns." In the reign of Edward III., Rye was sur- rounded by a strong wall defended by several towers, erected by William of Ypres, Earl of Kent, the only one now remaining being called Ypres' tower. An inundation of the sea having formed a natural harbour, which was subsequently much improved by a similar recurrence, the town began to flourish, and soon became so considerable a port, that it furnished nine ships of war towards the invasion of France in the reign of Edward III., and was the place at which that monarch landed on his return from the conquest of that country. In the following reign it was burnt and plundered by the French, and from that calamity and others which it subsequently experienced it suffered so much, that in 1464, Henry VI., to indemnify the corporation for their losses, annexed to it Tenterden, which he separated from the county of Kent. From this time the town began to revive, and in the reign of Elizabeth it was a place of considerable importance; it has since been invested with several additional privileges, and a confirmation of all preceding charters. The town occupies the declivity of a hill, on a peninsula bounded on the south and west by the sea, and on the east by the river Rother, and consists of several regular and wellformed streets; the houses are in general well built of brick, but mostly old-fashioned, and command fine views of the channel, and the surrounding country, which abounds with interesting scenery: the town is well paved, lighted, and supplied with water by pipes from a reservoir under Playden heights, and there are a public subscription library and a small theatre. It is in contemplation to make a road to the sea-side along the banks of the harbour, and to drain the marshes in the neighbourhood of the town, which improvement, combined with the natural advantages of its situation, will contribute greatly to its eligibility as a watering-place. The'harbour, which flows up to the town, receives the rivers Rother, Tillingham, and Brede, and under proper management might be rendered safe for vessels of any burden; and the rivers, in their course through the interior of-the country, afford valuable commercial advantages. The old harbour having been choked up with sand, a large canal was cut to communicate with the sea, and vessels of two hundred tons' burden can now come up to the quay. On the north side of the town, about a mile from the original entrance, a great improvement was effected by throwing across the old channel a dam of peculiar construction, the invention of the Rev. Daniel Pope; but the harbour is still incomplete, and the water rises to such a height at spring tides, as materially to annoy the inhabitants. The trade is principally in hops, corn, coal, bark, wool, and timber, and several sloops are constantly employed in conveying chalk from the cliffs at Eastbourne, for the purpose of being burnt into lime. The herring and mackarel fisheries are carried on to a considerable extent, and the fish, which are sent to the London market, are in great estimation; flat fish are also taken in abundance. This port comprises within its jurisdiction the port of Hastings*, and there are seventy-one vessels, averaging a burden of fifty-eight tons, belonging to it. The market days are Wednesday and Saturday, the former for corn, of which there is a good supply, and the latter for prov isions of all kinds; there is also a large cattle market every alternate Wednesday; the fairs are on Whit- Monday and August 10th. Corporate Seal Obverse. Reverse. The borough has received a succession of charters; the earliest that can be traced is that of Richard I., which recites and confirms some previous privileges, that have been further ratified and extended in successive reigns to that of Charles II. The government is vested in a/ mayor, twelve jurats, and an indefinite number of freemen. The mayor is chosen annually from the jurats by a majority of the freemen, and the jurats are nominated by the mayor immediately after he has been sworn into office; the freedom is inherited by the eldest son of a freeman, or acquired by election of the corporation, and by nomination of the mayor, who has the privilege of appointing one freeman during his mayoralty. The mayor and jurats are justices of the peace, and hold regularly courts of session and general gaol delivery for all offences not capital; and, every alternate Wednesday, a court of record, for the recovery of debts to any amount. The town hall is a convenient building in the centre of the town, in which the sessions and other courts for the borough are held, and the public business of the corporation is transacted; the area underneath it is appropriated to the use of the market. Ypres' tower is now the borough gaol,, a small building comprising two wards, and adapted to the reception of about twelve prisoners. The borough has exercised the elective franchise from the earliest period of parliamentary representation, and has regularly returned two barons to parliament, as well as canopy bearers, to assist in supporting the royal canopy at coronations-two to each canopy. The right of election is vested in the mayor, jurats, and freemen, of whom the number qualified to vote is nearly fifty, and will probably be much increased; the mayor is the returning officer. The living is a discharged -vicarage, in the archdeaconry of Lewes, and diocese of Chichester, rated in the king's books at £42. 13.4., and in the patronage of Lord G. H. Cavendish. The church, dedicated to St. Mary, is a spacious and ancient cruciform structure, partly in the Norman, and partly in the early, style of English architecture, with a central tower, in which is a clock of peculiar mechanical construction: the interior is lofty, and lighted with windows, of which many are of modern insertion; the aisles of the chancel have narrow lancet-shaped windows, and in several parts are some portions in that style; the east window, in the later English style, is of large dimensions and of elegant design. There are places of worship for Baptists, Independents, and Wesleyan Methodists. A school was founded, in 1644, by Mr. Thomas Pecock, who endowed it with a rent-charge of £32, .the interest of £50, and a school-house, which is still remaining in the principal R Y 651 R Y T street; and in 1702, another school was founded by Mr. James Saunders, who endowed it with estates producing £116 per annum; these schools, according to a decree of the court of Chancery, in 1818, are to be both conducted under one master in the school-house built by Mr. Pecock; seventy boys upon the latter foundation, and fifty on the former, who are nominated by the corporation, will be instructed in reading, writing, arithmetic, the mathematics, and navigation, as soon as the funds are released from the expenses of the Chancery suit, with the payment of which they are at present charged. A monastery of friars of the order of St. Augustine was founded near the town, prior to the reign of Edward III., of "which the principal remains have been converted into a store-house. An arched gateway, leading into the town from the London road, is in tolerable preservation; and-some portions of the ancient walls are also remaining.