It’s been a busy couple of weeks at Rye Museum with three events to involve volunteers, members of the museum and the local community.
In the winter, the museum at East Street closes (the Ypres Tower site of the museum is open every day except for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day) and during this time displays can be cleaned and changed, and other maintenance tasks undertaken. This winter closing, the museum has introduced monthly Third Tuesday action days during which volunteers can take part in activities behind the scenes.
As well as the day-to-day administration, the upkeep of the castle (a grade I listed and scheduled ancient monument), accessioning, displaying and caring for the collection, and offering help and access for researchers, the museum organises events and talks. This month there was a very successful second world war evening with a wonderful meal based on recipes from the war, cooked to perfection by Jen and David Tomkinson with the help of their daughter, Charlotte.
After the meal, there was a fascinating illustrated talk by Jo Kirkham, on Rye and Winchelsea in the second world war, packed with an incredible amount of information about the preparations for war and the possible German invasion. Today there is still evidence of the pillboxes, the radar station on the marsh, the tank traps, gun emplacements and beach defences, and the air raid shelters in the local landscape.
Among the description of troop movements, the toing and froing of evacuees from London, the destruction of the town from bombing, were eyewitness accounts from Ryers. It is amazing to think that people would gather at the lookout to watch the dog fights in the air during the Battle of Britain, and terrifyingly, in one instance school, children in the town were strafed by German machine gun fire. The Romney sheep were so highly prized that they were rounded up from the marsh and transported to hill farmers in Yorkshire.
In the summer, the museum enlisted the help of the British Legion to help restore an ordnance box that was in the garden at the tower and had fallen into disrepair (https://www.ryenews.org.uk/culture/help-to-make-a-difference). It was decided that this was a really successful involvement of the local organisations, and to continue to find ways to involve the wider community.
So on Tuesday, November 19, the museum was very grateful for the help of several members of the local fire service who came from Rye fire station, to clean and wax the museum’s 18th century fire engine (see A history of Rye through museum objects). John Booth, Pete Ashbee, Neil Thomas and Graham Butler offered their services and were busy using Renaissance wax to clean and refresh the wooden fire engine, fuelled by hot drinks, sandwiches and cakes supplied by Jen and David Tomkinson.
Peter Ashbee was keen to help. “As we are part of the community it is good to help and give back to the community that we serve. We don’t only put out fires!”
As part of the Christmas festival on December 7 the museum will be open with mulled wine, hot chocolate and mince pies on offer.
Further “Tuesday action days” will take place at East Street from 10:30am to 3:30pm on the third Tuesday of each month on December 17, January 21, February 18 and March 18.
Image Credits: Geoffrey Austen , Stephen Masters , Juliet Duff , Rye Museum Association .