A pocket full of Rye

You’d have to be a real Philistine to not have a soft spot for a lovely old town like Rye. With its cobbled streets and narrow passages, the town is a treasure trove of  Medieval, Tudor and Georgian buildings, some of which are real architectural treasures, and beautifully preserved.

Often referred to as the “Ancient town of Rye”, this gem of a place is set on a hill overlooking the River Rother; a situation which meant it was an important member of the Cinque Ports confederation, during medieval times. Rye is no longer the port it once was, as the sea retreated from the town centuries ago, leaving it stranded, a couple of miles inland.

Today, Rye relies on its appeal as a tourist attraction and attracts visitors from all over the world The old part of the town, which is contained within the former town walls has numerous shops, art galleries, pubs and restaurants. Apart from its tourist base, Rye continues to operate as a port; albeit on a much reduced scale, with a small fishing fleet berthed at the Strand Quay at the edge of the town, and a larger one at nearby Rye Harbour.

Mrs PBT’s and I spent part of our honeymoon in the town, staying at the historic Mermaid Inn, an historic old inn with a long, turbulent history. The current building dates from 1420 and has 16th-century Tudor style additions. The cellars pre-date this, having been dug out in 1156. The Mermaid was a stronghold of the notorious Hawkhurst Gang of smugglers, who used it in the 1730s and 1740s. 

Although Mrs PBT’s and I had stopped off in Rye, for fish and chips, back in December, it had been sometime since I had wandered along its ancient streets, so when Retired Martin came up with a plan to visit the town last Friday, I jumped at the chance. Earlier last week, I booked a well deserved and much needed day off from work and eagerly waited for Friday to arrive.

Several months ago, the pair of us had loosely discussed a visit to the Ypres Castle in Rye; a lovely old pub now run by the legendary Jeff Bell. This followed the Ypres being selected for the CAMRA Good Beer Guide. I’d reminded Martin of this plan, only to discover that he’d subsequently visited the pub and “ticked” it, but as he was travelling down to Sussex anyway, to tick off a further two pubs (see previous post), he was happy to re-visit Jeff’s pub before completing the aforementioned GBG ticks.

As RM’s route passed close to my house, he kindly picked me up on what turned out to be a beautiful sunny day, once we had left the thick fog which had enveloped Tonbridge, behind us. We arrived at Rye at around 11.30am , and after Martin had parked the car in a quiet side-street, we walked up into the town, entering through the historic Land Gate. We then made our way along to Gun Gardens, below the landmark Ypres Tower, but as we were running early, and the Ypres Castle didn’t open until midday, we took the opportunity to ascend the church tower.

My last ascent was when son Matthew was still at primary school, and before that I recall climbing up the tower with my father, when I was still school boy. This was a first for Martin, although I discovered that he’s the veteran of several arduous church tower ascents, including Cologne cathedral, and Ulm Minster - the tallest church in the world.

Now I too have climbed to the top of Cologne’s massive cathedral, but that was over 40 years ago and today, the church of St Mary the Virgin is quite enough for me. The climb is well worth the £4 fee as the church is situated at the highest point in Rye and the 360 degree view over the ancient rooftops, and out to Rye Harbour Nature Reserve, Camber Sands and Winchelsea, is not to be missed. Although it was still somewhat hazy, with the sun shining brightly above us, we were rewarded with a real picture-postcard view of the town and the surrounding area.

After leaving the church, we made our way along to the Ypres Castle, which is built on the side of the town ramparts, and is reached by descending a series of steep stone steps. It is an attractive, white-painted building, decked out in places with the weatherboarding which is traditional in this part of south-east England.

The pub dates back to the 17^th Century, and I have known it on and off over the years, from visits to Rye. It has everything you would expect from such a venerable old inn - roaring fires in winter, and plenty of old beams and standing timbers. I’ve always regarded the Ypres Castle as a special sort of pub, given its tucked away location, so last year I was pleased to learn that  it had been bought by Jeffrey Bell, a lawyer turned pub landlord, who established a legendary reputation for running a good pub, during his tenure of the Gunmaker’s in London’s Clerkenwell area.

Jeff also writes his own  blog, under the name of Stonch’s Beer Blog, and that along with the Gunmaker’s and his subsequent pub, the Finborough Arms in West Brompton, is what most people know him for. Given Jeff’s reputation for looking after beer, and running a good pub, it was no surprise to see the Ypres selected for this year’s Good Beer Guide.

The pub was quite quiet at 12.15pm when Martin and I walked through the door, with just a handful of customers, but it didn’t take long for the place to fill up. We did a quick scan of the  pump-clips, both opting for the Über Brew from Old Dairy Brewery – a pale coloured 3.8% hoppy pale ale. Also on tap was Level Best from Rother Valley, Dark from Three Legs Brewery (Martin’s next GBG tick) and from a little further afield, Greensand IPA from Surrey Hills.

As the very pleasant barmaid pulled our pints we enquired after Jeff. She told us that he would be along in about 20 minutes. We sat down, opposite the bar to enjoy our beer, which was full of condition, refreshing to the palate and served  nicely chilled, at perfect cellar temperature.

As we sat there chatting we noticed the influx of customers, and how the barmaid dealt with them all in a pleasant and professional manner. Shortly afterwards, the man himself walked through the door, looking and sounding larger than life. Although neither of us know Jeff that well, he recognised us both and welcomed us to the Ypres.

He was soon flitting between the bar and the kitchen, serving customers and bringing out people’s food orders. The latter looked good, and a look at the menu showed the food offering to be good value. As well as stocking four cask ales, the Ypres offers a traditional cider and a perry from Nightingale, who are based in nearby Tenterden. Lovers of proper lager will not be disappointed either as on tap Jeff offers Röthaus Pils from the Black Forest in Baden-Württemberg and Oechsner Vier from Bavaria.

As I wasn’t driving, I squeezed in a quick half of Greensand IPA. This was a much more malt-driven beer than the Old Dairy offering. The pub was positively buzzing by now, which delighted experienced pub-man, Martin, and for a weekday lunchtime, in the run up to half term, it was a sight to gladden the heart of anyone who cares about pubs.

Jeff came over to say goodbye, as we were making to leave, and said he looked forward to seeing us again. Given the proximity of this lovely old pub to where I live, and the fact Rye can be reached fairly easily by train, I don’t think it will be too long before my next visit.

Footnote: for a more detailed write-up on the Ypres Castle and Jeffrey Bell, please click on this link to Roger Protz’s website.