Every month Rye News features women celebrated in the HerStory of Rye project. Capturing the stories of women of all ages who work in and around Rye, the website is building up a huge archive of local lives. This month: Sophie Thorpe
Sophie grew up in Rye and apart from a short spell in Hastings, she has lived in the town all her life. Her first job was a Saturday job at Winchelsea Beach at the Cats Whiskers hairdressers where she made tea and coffees, swept the floor and took out perming rollers from the customers’ hair.
Sophie studied childcare at Hastings College. Her work experience with a mother of twins turned into a permanent job after college and she worked as a nanny with the twins for five years. By then she had moved to Hastings to live with her first husband. In Hastings Sophie worked in a nursery with 2-3 year olds but she only worked there a short time as she soon became pregnant and she and her husband moved back to Rye so that they could have family support.
Sophie had a second daughter soon after the first and was happy being at home with the children. Sadly her marriage broke up but she subsequently met someone else and they had two children together. Now with four young children in tow, Sophie got involved with community activities such as ‘Messy Church’ and her local PTA, and she helped to care for her grandfather when he fell ill. She says she has always been involved with the local community, doing different things as her children got older. Rye, as she says, is a very positive community “punching above its weight”.
In June 2023 Sophie was approached to see if she would like to become a local councillor. She was up against three other candidates – all men – but was chosen as she thinks because she has a clear vision of what she would like for Rye in the future, principally better and more stable genuinely affordable housing for the local community. She herself had to live in a caravan for a while with her children and there are many caravan parks on the outskirts of Rye which are not just housing holiday makers but local families who desperately need a permanent home.
Her vision is also to set up mentoring scheme on the local council so that more young people can get involved in local issues, and she would like to get a young apprentices scheme going too.
Along with Caroline Drummond she recently set up the much needed Rye Youth Zone as a community interest company. Sophie, one of the directors, and her team aim to fill a gap in provision for 11 – 17 year olds in town. Although there are football teams, dance classes and the guides and scouts, there were no “hang-out” spaces in Rye and nothing to do for young people who don’t want to join in those other activities. Rye Youth Zone has already acquired the old Rye Boys Club building just off Mermaid Street and with community help and funding this big empty building, once a school, is now being re-fitted. A Saturday club is already up and running at the Tilling Green Centre attracting growing numbers of young people each week. Besides many activities there will be support for young people from a variety of willing volunteers and Sophie hopes the Youth Zone will be open in its new home in Mermaid Street by June this summer. Watch this space!!
Information about the Rye Youth Zone is at https://theryz.com/
Hear the interview with Sophie here.
The HerStory Rye project, which has received funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund, is ongoing and the team very much welcome volunteers to undertake interviews. It is easy to record these oral histories on a mobile phone. If you are interested in becoming a volunteer
interviewer please contact Ali Casey at ali.casey63@gmail.com for further information.
Image Credits: Susan Benn .