Just in case you haven’t heard (and who can’t have done), 2016 is the 950th anniversary of the Battle of Hastings which could so easily have been – had the winds been a little different – the battle of Rye (well, maybe that is a flight of fancy too far – although two of the Norman ships did land at Romney and were not received kindly by the people of that town).  As the last serious invasion  of this country (and before you all write in, yes of course there have been others but none that could reasonably be described as a conquest) it deserves to be celebrated.
And Rye, of course benefited. Along with others of the Cinque Ports confederation (no Royal Warrant yet, but in existence, nevertheless) it became a main trading hub between England and France and, although like much of England, Rye and the surrounding area was given to William the Conqueror’s chums, the town prospered and one of the results was the building of our lovely church, believed to be modelled, in part, on the Abbey of Fecamp in Normandy and to which the town belonged as a result of a Royal Deed of Gift. So, despite being overrun by foreigners  (not much changes, there) and being made, for a while, to speak another language, the invasion almost certainly ended up being a Good Thing for Rye and today, Thursday October 14, precisely 950 years to the day after the battle is a good time to celebrate that.
If you want to get an idea of what the battle itself might have been like, then head off to Battle over this weekend (10am till 4pm on both days) see the encampment, talk to a Norman, try out an English (ok, Anglo-Saxon) longbow and watch as Normans (who were really Vikings and not French at at all) and Saxons clash in (not very) bloody conflict. There were some 13,000 men at the original event and although there won’t be anywhere near that number at the re-enactment, it should still be quite a sight. This paper’s own Viking (or maybe Anglo Saxon) will be there and will report next week.
Just in case you haven’t had enough noise for one day, Saturday also sees Hastings Bonfire night. The Bonfire Boys from all the local societies will be there en masse with the usual flaming torches, drums, floats and costumes. And it all comes to Rye on November 12.
Photo; library image
Rye already belonged to Fecamp Abbey in Normandy before William the Bastard clobbered our own dear Harold. I may be of Norman descent myself, but I am commemorating, not celebrating.
Oh dear Mr Minter! Have you read the St Mary’s guide book at all? Rye was given to Fecamp in 1017!
Thank you Shelley and Richard for enlightening me on the date when the Abbey of Fecamp controlled Rye. When writing the article I was really thinking of the date when construction of the church began, which I believe was some years well after the Conquest
Fifty years ago I was living in Rye and commuting to my first job in Hastings. Nine hundredth anniversary fever had gripped Hastings and the main Post Office in Cambridge Road was awash with people buying the special commemorative stamps and posting first day covers, often to themselves. I worked in Cambridge Road, just opposite the Post Office, and got caught up in the general excitement.
From the vantage point of 2016, it just struck me what a half century really looks like! A blink of an eye* in history, but nearly a lifetime for humankind.
*not Harold’s eye, of course.