The GAZETTE would like to congratulate the Rother Planning Department staff on some very efficient undercover action in retrieving "the apothecary's drawers" -the antique shop-fittings from The Apothecary's Shop - which were removed at the end of May by a previous owner against all planning regulations. Rother prefer not to disclose how they did it, but the fittings are now back in place - a happy ending which few people could have hoped for three months ago. The main part of the shop has, of course, been open for some weeks as part of the James Kimber group of hairdressing salons. The small corner shop, now happily refitted, has just been acquired by Hastings estate agents Michael Farbrother & Partners, who hope (subject to "change of use" permission) to open a sub-office attached to their present office. Mr. Farbrother is well aware of the significance of the shop in local planning circles and intends to treat it with proper respect; he points out that the firm have received many approving comments on their present office in Hastings Old Town's High Street, which they restored before moving in last May.
Few local gardens can have remained unplundered over Bank Holiday weekend, when flower arrangers all over the area turned their skilled hands to beautifying their local churches. St. Mary's was a feast for the eye, from the Scouts' garland over the north door, past the Children's Corner and the ribboned and candled font to the exactly balanced arrangements in the choir and sanctuary, with every spare niche and corner and pillar and window glowing with flowers. Local societies of every kind had contributed arrangements, as had the other churches in the town and the sister churches in the Rye group of parishes. In charge of the complicated organisation was Mrs. Barbara Lloyd, to whom Canon Maundrell paid a very warm tribute. Refreshments were on offer in the sunny churchyard, and £1,046 was raised for church funds.
The Methodist Church had its own scheme of arrangements based on the four seasons - a golden springtime with an Easter garden, the full colours of summer with a pergola arch and a little running stream, the harvest fruits of autumn, and winter's icy touch, completed with a striking Christmas scene. The light and airy church lent itself particularly well to this outdoor theme, and visitors contributed £336.
Rye people also enjoyed visits to Icklesham and Brede, both of which added stalls and other attractions to their Flower Festivals. Icklesham's theme was "All Things Bright and Beautiful", and Brede's "The Glorious Company of the Saints" with more than fifty displays all done, Canon Harvey emphasised, by people in the parish. Brede (who noticed that two Soviet Union citizens had signed the visitors' book) also offered several musical events to accompany the flowers. Icklesham had a strong emphasis on crafts, as well as a Roman dig across the road, and raised the incredible total of £2,060; Brede preferred not to mention a figure, but said that the event had been very rewarding financially - twice as rewarding as last year.
Many visitors made repeat journeys to Rye Harbour Church over the Bank Holiday to look again at the fascinating collection of photographs relating to the area, on view in aid of church funds, RNLI and Missions to Seamen. Of course, there were contemporary photographs of the 1928 lifeboat disaster and the mass funeral which followed it; but there were also much earlier pictures, including several of the 'factory' set up to make concrete blocks for building Dover Harbour. The village of today was portrayed in an admirable group of photographs taken by Mary Lestocq, and there were also interesting aerial photographs of the river. The response to the exhibition was so good that the organiser, Mr. Michael Alford, is encouraged to think about staging a second edition, with a further selection of pictures, in a ouple of years' time. The £150 raised is itself a testimony to the interest and enthusiasm shown by the numerous visitors to this delightful exhibition.
Rye Art Gallery benefits by over £250 raised by the Friends at their stall in the Dairy Market on Bank Holiday Saturday. Their next event is a Great Treasure Hunt on Saturday, 2 October - see the GAZETTE for details nearer the time.
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Mrs. Norah Green, who died at her Udimore Road home on 24 August, aged 90, after some years of increasing ill-health, had lived in Rye for more than 50 years. Her late husband Tom opened the Gluepot workshop in Ferry Road, now in the hands of their son John; she also leaves two daughters, four grandchildren and a great-grandson. Mrs. Green had been a nurse at Charing Cross Hospital during the Great War and had a fund of horrific medical stories about the period.
Mrs. Sally Osborne and Mrs. Susan Manktelow and their families are mourning the death of their mother, Mrs. Sally Sargent of Beckley. Mrs. Sargent, who died on the eve of her 70th birthday, had been ill for two years. She leaves a widower, her two daughters and four grandchildren. She had many friends in Rye, and will be much missed by Ryesingers of which she was an honorary member.
ESCC are applying to the Secretary of State for the Environment for "listed building consent" to put up the much-discussed hand-rail on Conduit Hill. Plans, with drawings, can be seen at the Ferry Road office, and normal planning permission will also have to be applied for before work could start. Basically, the proposal is for a black iron rail to run from the Community Centre to the top of the hill. It would be attached by brackets to the wall of the Centre where possible, and the rest of the lower section, including a rail down the Centre's steps, would be on iron stanchions. Once clear of the Saltings Hotel back entrance, the rail would be supported by black iron bollards of traditional appearance, and would run on the left-hand side of the footpath as far as the Monastery steps, and on the right-hand side from there to the top. There still seems to be ample room, even at the top, for a fire-engine to get through in an emergency; the Council has already proposed to close Conduit Hill to traffic with bollards at the top, but these are to be of a type which can be removed in a hurry if necessary.
Some 25 curators from East and West Sussex convened in Rye on Monday, and after a meeting in the Stormont Gallery and lunch in the town they toured Rye Museum, and many appreciative comments came Geoff Bagley's way. The party then went up Rye Hill to Cherries, where Mrs. Betty Townsend offered tea before a visit to the Folk Museum she has built up in her garden. This project started as a simple rescue operation and developed into a large and most interesting collection of agricultural equipment and domestic chattels, which she is always willing to show to visitors by appointment (Rye 32XX).
Rye Methodist Church September Sale raised £331 for church funds. All friends of the church will be welcome at the Harvest Supper on Tuesday, 28 September - tickets from any member of the choir, who will be singing in the course of the evening.
Vidler & Co's monthly auction sale on Friday produced the excellent price of £1,100 for a triple-leaf George II tea/card table - in unusually good condition, please note, due to having come from a house with no central heating to warp the wood.
The Church Square coffee morning on Monday raised £92 for the NSPCC.
Rye Sea Cadet Corps reports a total of £487 raised through the recent house-to-house and street collections, which is, pleasingly, 15% up on 1981.
Rye W.I.'s Autumn Fair at the F.E. Centre on 4 September raised £139. "Polly's pain" - half-way down her left forearm - was successfully diagnosed by Mrs. Playford.
Seeboard say that last Thursday's power cut was a combination of circumstances; a small fault caused trouble at Wittersham sub-station, which would not normally have affected Rye. But all circuits undergo maintenance in the summer, time of least demand, and it so happened that the alternative circuit for Rye was out of action for this reason. Normally switching circuits only takes a minute, and the problem would not have arisen.
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(We all hear about it when businesses have to close, but in the course of the last few months, and without very much publicity, new businesses have also opened in the town. The GAZETTE wishes them every success and will always be pleased to pass on to its readers news of any new projects.)
Pat and Mary Bonham, formerly of Rope Walk, have recently opened Rye Wholefoods at the old Smeaton's Stores in Winchelsea Road. No face creams, no vitamin pills, but a wide range of simply packaged groceries - many organically grown, some very exotic, and a perfectly delicious muesli. Price list available, and a delivery service.
The Tollgate Garage complex may well be a bit of a surprise to some people nowadays. As well as the petrol pumps, there is an off-licence which also sells ice-cream, and a video film library, and the whole outfit stays open until 10.00 every night.
Behind the garage, and with particularly good parking arrangements, Bob and Hazel Young of Tillingham Avenue have opened a warehouse selling pet foods, plants, garden supplies and agricultural feeds. Bob is Secretary of the Rye Allotment and Garden Society, who recently held an impressive Rose and Sweet Pea Show and have another planned for this weekend. Backing on to the Youngs' premises is a workshop where Henry Stockwell, of Broad Oak, and Les Wildish of New Romney produce pine joinery - furniture, sauna surrounds, even a boat. They are always pleased to discuss possibilities with potential customers. They also have bags of shavings for free, rabbit owners, please note.
Back across the Tillingham and up The Mint, Tony Campion of Udimore Road has opened up the Mint Arcade, where (at present) six stallholders combine to provide something for almost everyone. Victorian oil paintings fill one window and stripped pine furniture the other, while further back customers can find small children's clothes (new and second-time-around) most reasonably priced, an interesting display of coins and medals, and two familiar faces from the Dairy Market, Mrs. Bartholomew with a huge assortment of postcards and Mr. Street with more suitable accommodation for his quality books.
A goldsmith in Wish Ward? Yes indeed; tucked away under the rafters of Rye Tiles (The Old Brewery) - but not on Mondays and only some Saturday mornings - is Peter Farrow, of Peasmarsh. Until he decided to set up on his own, Peter worked for John Donald, the internationally-known jeweller who has a workshop at Brightling; he is a skilled goldsmith, but will also work in silver. Like all craftsmen, what he really welcomes most are new commissions, but he is also pleased to undertake repairs to jewellery and other gold and silver items. Peter's wife Carol parks their two small children while she works part-time in the Easton Rooms.
There is a new look to Foremans in Cyprus Place, where manager Mark Brooks is in charge of a full range of animal feeds and health care products, as well as garden necessities. Dog owners in particular will have no difficulty in finding an excuse for a visit, and there is also emphasis on the care of horses. An unusual feature of the shop is a free advertisement board for postcard-type ads of interest to customers.
Fagins, at Bannister's Corner, offer not only the printed T-shirts on view in the window, but also a full range of other printing to order - enquiries welcomed.
Leo Bonassera, the Strand Quay potter with the amusing ideas, has recently opened up the ground floor of the Grist Mill into a very pleasant walk-through showroom.
Tony Conti, formerly of Cheyne House, is now back in business in the same building but with a different name: his many friends and customers in the area will have welcomed Ristoranti Casa Conti with great pleasure.
And finally, if you will want really individual Christmas presents made to order, it is not too soon to discuss them. Rye Craft Market, held at the F.E. Centre on the fourth Saturday morning of each month, gives an opportunity for a great many makers to display their wares; and Rye W.I. Market (Community Centre, every Friday at 10 a.m.) - and, incidentally, open to everyone both for buying and selling, not just W.I. members - also has a craft section beside the cookery and produce.
Orders for special items placed now will be most welcome, whereas nearer Christmas the answer might well have to be "Sorry, too late!".
(Rye Festival apart, see below)
Friday, 10th Papa Joe's film: "The Exorcist", Pizzeria, 9 p.m.
Saturday, 11th Maritime England in Flowers (Rye and District Flower Club), F.E. Centre, 10 - 5.
Rye Allotment and Garden Society Autumn Show, Community Centre, 2.00.
Sunday, 12th St. Mary's Church Patronal Festival.
Rye Bowls Club Finals and presentation of cups, Salts, 3.00.
Owing to pressure on space in this, our first issue, the GAZETTE will carry a full report of Rye Festival events next week, but two Gungarden happenings at the weekend were made even more enjoyable by the fine weather. Winners of the Children's Pavement Artist Competition - appropriately sponsored by Atlas Stone and judged by the Deputy Director of South East Arts - were Ben Martin, ex Ferry Road and now of Gun
Cottage, and R. Stephens (name and address, please?). The entries in that contest were still in place on Sunday to please the large and appreciative audience who sat in the sun and enjoyed a two-hour concert from the Betteshanger Colliery Band - ten minutes after the end the thunderstorm broke! Non-bookable events still to come include the Fall-Out Theatre Group at the Mermaid at 8.0 on Friday (10th) presenting "Galaxy Guide to Survival"; Chris Cummings, in costume with songs and poetry at the Town Hall on Saturday at 11.0 a.m.; and Ryesingers in the Town Hall Courtyard on Saturday afternoon from 2.0.
The Branch is planning both house-to-house and street collections during Battle of Britain Week, 13-19 September, and would welcome help with either - please phone Gordon Stanbridge any evening. The Battle of Britain service will be held at St. Mary's at 10.30 on Sunday, 19th; in the parade will be the ATC and the East Sussex Region standards, but the Branch's own standard will be carried by Mr. Stanbridge at the Cenotaph in London, one of only 22 from all over the country, and the Branch is much honoured by its inclusion in this parade. On Saturday, 18th, Air Show enthusiasts can have a good day out for 24 (including admission) at the Abingdon Air Show; the RAFA coach leaves Rye at 7.30 a.m. - enquiries to Gordon Stanbridge or Graham Trill.
There may be seats available to non-members on this Museum Association outing to the Cinque Ports Exhibition (ends 30 September), leaving Rye 10.30, cost £3.50; enquiries to Mary Owen, Rye 2303.
...to see the very successful "Ships at Sea" exhibition at the Stormont Gallery in East Street, which ends on 12 September. Curator Margaret Casson has been very gratified by the number of local people, many of them not till now regular visitors to the Gallery, who have enjoyed the exhibition; total attendance by the end is expected to be over 4,000. She is most grateful to people who have lent pictures and maritime accessories and hopes that they and others in the town will consider lending to the Gallery again for future exhibitions.
There are already dates booked in for 1983, and doubtless others have been fixed; if secretaries would like to get in touch with the GAZETTE, we will publish at the end of September all the 1983 bookings received by then.
THE RYE GAZETTE is published by Mrs. Mary Owen, 94 Udimore Road, Rye (Rye 2303) assisted by Mrs. Joan Parkes, Bridge Place, Rye. We are always glad to receive news items for inclusion in this weekly publication (deadline 10 p.m. on Monday - in emergency, up to 9.30 a.m. Tuesday on Rye 2303 only).
Photocopied by Sussex Secretarial Services, 11 Claremont, Hastings (9422633).