Walter Rye (31 October 1843 – 24 February 1929) was a British athlete and
antiquary, who wrote over 80 works on
Norfolk
Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...
.
Early life
Walter Rye was born on 31 October 1843 in
Chelsea, London
Chelsea is an affluent area in west London, England, due south-west of Charing Cross by approximately 2.5 miles. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames and for postal purposes is part of the south-western postal area.
Chelsea histori ...
. He was the seventh child of Edward Rye, a solicitor and
bibliophile
Bibliophilia or bibliophilism is the love of books. A bibliophile or bookworm is an individual who loves and frequently reads and/or collects books.
Profile
The classic bibliophile is one who loves to read, admire and collect books, often ama ...
, and his wife, Maria Rye née Tuppen. His sister was the social reformer
Maria Rye, and his brother was the entomologist
Edward Caldwell Rye.
His grandfather was Edward Rye of
Baconsthorpe, Norfolk.
Career
Rye was the "father" of
cross country running
Cross country running is a sport in which teams and individuals run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain such as dirt or grass. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open cou ...
(or paper chasing, as it was then known), being the principal founder in 1868 of the
Thames Hare and Hounds
Thames Hare and Hounds is the oldest adult cross-country running club in the world, based on the Roehampton end of Wimbledon Common, adjacent to Richmond Park, and draws runners from across south-west London. Both the men's and women's teams co ...
, and its president until his death.
He won over 100 prizes for walking, running and cycling. He also served as the athletics correspondent of the ''
Sporting Gazette
Sporting may refer to:
*Sport, recreational games and play
* Sporting (neighborhood), in Alexandria, Egypt
Sports clubs
*AC Sporting, a football club from Beirut, Lebanon
*Alexandria Sporting Club, a sports club from Alexandria, Egypt
*Real Sporti ...
''.
He regularly visited
Norwich
Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the See of Norwich, with ...
throughout his life, and helped save a number of its historic buildings from destruction. He was a founder member of the Norfolk Broads Protection Society. In 1900 he retired from his career as a solicitor and settled in Norwich; and only eight years later was elected Mayor, an office he held in the year 1908–9.
Personal life
Rye married Georgina Eliza Sturges in 1870: he described her as "the prettiest and pluckiest creature I have ever met".
The couple had seven sons and three daughters, including the solicitor and
conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...
politician
Frank Rye
Frank Gibbs Rye (12 August 1874 – 18 October 1948) was a British solicitor and Conservative politician.
The third son of Walter Rye, the athlete and antiquary, and Georgina Eliza Rye of Norwich, he was educated at Fauconberg Grammar School, ...
.
Rye died at his Norwich home, 66 Clarendon Road, on 24 February 1929. He is buried in the village of
Lamas Lamas may refer to:
* the plural form of Lama, a title for a teacher of the Dharma in Tibetan Buddhism.
Places
*Lamas Province, Peru
**Lamas District
** Lamas, Peru, the capital of Lamas Province and seat of Lamas District
*Lamas (Braga), a paris ...
, Norfolk.
References
Further reading
*
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External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Rye, Walter
1843 births
1929 deaths
People from Chelsea, London
Mayors of Norwich
English antiquarians
Historians of Norfolk
Contributors to the Victoria County History
English male cross country runners