Rye

Rye is a town and civil parish in the Rother district of East Sussex, England, two miles (three kilometres) from the English Channel at the confluence of three rivers: the Rother, the Tillingham and the Brede. In the mid-twelfth century, it was an important member of the mediaeval Cinque Ports confederation, it was at the head of an embayment of the English Channel, and almost entirely surrounded by the sea. Over the subsequent centuries, the coastline has moved further away due to a combination of natural silting up from storm damage, changes in the flow of the River Rother, and tidal changes, along with deliberate land reclamation from the sea.

At the 2011 census, Rye had a population of 4,773. Its historical association with the sea has included providing ships for the service of the Crown in time of war, and being involved in smuggling. The notorious Hawkhurst Gang used its ancient inns The Mermaid Inn and The Olde Bell Inn, which are said to be connected to each other by a secret passageway.