Rye Castle, also known as Ypres Tower, was built in the 13th or 14th centuries, and is situated in

Rye, East Sussex is a small town and civil parish in the Rother district of East Sussex, England, two miles from the sea at the confluence of three rivers: the Rother, the Tillingham and the Brede. An important member of the mediaeval Cinque Ports confederatio ...

, England. It is a Grade I

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

and has been scheduled as an

ancient monument In British law, an ancient monument is an early historical structure or monument (e.g. an archaeological site) worthy of preservation and study due to archaeological or heritage interest. The '' Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 197 ...

History

The exact date of construction is unclear although the possibility of creating a castle at Rye was mentioned in documents of 1226 and 1249. In 1329

Murage Murage was a medieval toll for the building or repair of town walls in England, Wales and Ireland. Origin The term ''murage'', while having this specific meaning, could also refer to other aid for walls or to the walls themselves. It is generally ...

was applied for and works carried out during the 14th century before and after attacks by the French. Rye became one of the

Cinque Ports The Confederation of Cinque Ports () is a historic group of coastal towns in south-east England – predominantly in Kent and Sussex, with one outlier (Brightlingsea) in Essex. The name is Old French, meaning "five harbours", and alludes to th ...

and was involved in both defence and trade. It was originally called "Baddings Tower". The castle may have been used as a prison and in 1430 became the property of John de Iprys; which lead to the name Ypres Tower. In the 16th century it was used as a prison and courthouse with a full-time gaoler being appointed in 1796. An exercise yard was added and then a women's prison in 1837. The prison function continued until 1891. It then became the town's

morgue A morgue or mortuary (in a hospital or elsewhere) is a place used for the storage of human corpses awaiting identification (ID), removal for autopsy, respectful burial, cremation or other methods of disposal. In modern times, corpses have cus ...

. The tower was damaged during air raids in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and has been repaired and restored since then.

Architecture

Gibbet with skeleton in Ypres Tower cell, Rye Castle

The three-storey castle is of iron-stained

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...

. It has a square plan with a round towers at each corner. The door in the north side is protected by a

portcullis A portcullis (from Old French ''porte coleice'', "sliding gate") is a heavy vertically-closing gate typically found in medieval fortifications, consisting of a latticed grille made of wood, metal, or a combination of the two, which slides down gr ...

Rye Castle Museum

Ypres Tower is one of two sites of Rye Castle Museum and is a grade I listed building. Exhibits in the tower include locally-made medieval pottery, an embroidery depicting many aspects of Rye life and history, medieval artifacts, activities and town maps. The East Street Site, a former brewer's bottling factory, is the main exhibit area for the Rye Castle Museum. Opened in 1999, the local history exhibits include fire fighting equipment, trade changes caused by the sea's retreat, maritime history and shipbuilding, antique toys and games, photos, town

seals Seals may refer to: * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: ** Earless seal, or "true seal" ** Fur seal * Seal (emblem), a device to impress an emblem, used as a means of a ...

, and archaeological artifacts.

References

External links

* *{{Official, http://www.ryemuseum.co.uk/ Rother District Castles in East Sussex Museums in East Sussex History museums in East Sussex Local museums in East Sussex 13th-century fortifications Rye, East Sussex Grade I listed buildings in East Sussex