There’s no question that our beloved town of Rye is of huge historical importance. As a small town we punch well above our weight when it comes to our contribution to almost every aspect of our country’s history – landscape, industry, economy, military, arts and literature and even sport. Any visitor to the town who dismisses us as “just” a quaint English location good for an ice-cream and a photo-opportunity would sadly have missed the point entirely.
As with any town with a rich history, tourism is the industry vital to the town today. Many of our businesses and shops, bars, cafes and restaurants depend on a thriving tourist season. So, our historical high days and holidays have an important part to play in encouraging visitors to the town.
But while we have a duty to preserve the past in order to ensure we thrive in the present, we cannot do so at the expense of the future.
Of course, we want our town to offer historical spectacle – so our town criers undoubtedly keep tradition alive, mayor making is also important for the same reason. But when it comes to replacing the more standard robes for our councillors when it will cost £6,000 to do so, we perhaps should consider a more creative approach, mindful of the eyes of future generations.
We could simply wait until the town council has the money to replace the robes with new – but in the current climate we might be waiting a long while. It seems that in four years’ time the current set of robes will be 100 years old so they have given good service, there’s no argument about that. Perhaps we could just look at getting them refurbished – there are plenty of experts in that field. Or maybe we eschew replacing like with like and look at something different…
While we hope school children and tourists in the 2060s will still be visiting Rye to learn about smugglers and pirates, perhaps we should start thinking of ways we can showcase our town’s unique character and rebellious reputation in the here and now. Maybe one way we could do this would be to challenge textile students to design new robes for our councillors to reflect the town in the 21st century. For a much-reduced budget I’m sure we could work with Sussex College and create a careful brief for them to work to. Perhaps each new robe might be trimmed slightly differently – maybe one to recognise our maritime history, one to celebrate diversity, one to use recycled materials to show our commitment to a sustainable future and so on. Perhaps we could even run a competition in town for our school children to determine the 14 themes for the plain robes currently worn by councillors.
Now I’m sure we’ll have instantly set the cat among the pigeons with the mere hint of a different way of thinking, and that in part is our point. Why not have a conversation about doing this differently? The way to ensure the young value our past, is to make them recognise the significance of what they do right now for those in the future. How marvellous would it be for visitors at mayor making 2028– to come not just for the town crier, the mayor and the hot pennies – but also for the first glimpse of our councillors in the most unique set of ceremonial robes in the history of the UK ready to take on the next 100 years of service?
Image Credits: Rye Town Council .
Great idea Sarah.
I think that robes designed by students which highlight various aspects of Rye is a fabulous idea and would set Rye apart from other towns who parade traditional robes. It would demonstrate the creative thinking and attitude of Rye and would also be a great opportunity for students to showcase their skills.
Great idea, Sarah and Jane. Traditions renewed are living traditions, and that’s the only way they survive. Rye needs to bring life to its civic culture and heritage otherwise it merely becomes an irrelevant anachronism to the next generation and to those parts of our community who already feel excluded. What better way to get us all (young and old) to consider the significance and symbolism of the robes, regalia and artefacts that adorn our local democracy? What do they all stand for traditionally and what do they represent today? I think if this conversation gets people to reflect upon what our democracy means, beyond the process and the spectacle, that would be a very good thing. Bcs, democracy is merely a fragile tradition too, and that needs preserving and reviving perhaps more fervently than the robes…
Great idea, it was raised at the annual Town meeting that the Council could engage more with the wider community, joining forces with the Chamber to take this forward would be a perfect example of doing just that
Sarah , totally agree, let’s think outside the box for once. I don’t really want our hiked taxes to go to new robes, as we are told all the time there is no money and soon RTC will take on allotments and possibly other assets which will cost money. Heidi
I’ve heard on the grapevine that there are plans for a repair shop in Rye. Could someone with a dab hand with a needle, possibly repair the robes?
Excellent idea to ask students to come up with new and individual robes. I really do hope that it comes about. I am sure the request could be fitted into a GCSE or A level curriculum somehow…
Excellent idea to ask students to come up with new and individually unique robes. I really do hope that it comes about. I am sure such a request could be fitted into a GCSE or A level curriculum somehow…
I like this idea. I know there isn’t the money available, but those robes LOOK a hundred years old in many cases and it’s a shame to see our town officials dressed so shabbily. They deserve better and it’s time we took some pride in our “quaint” traditions, especially now that so many photos of our ceremonies end up on social media.
Could we also perhaps raise some money by appeal or sponsorship (NOT with the names of the sponsors on the robes, of course)? Yes we need allotments and better loos, but we also need to boost pride in our lovely town for the sake of those who live and work and grow up here.
Jane Steen I totally agree and am happy to fundraise for this project
I feel traditions are really important but also understand the economic constraints
A great idea Sarah! Why not work with the Romney Tweed weavers (see article on them in Rye News this week) to design a bespoke range of tweeds for our Town Council finery? There could be a competition for fashion design students to create new ceremonial robes and a crowd funding campaign to fund them?