Rye Harbour Image Library

Picture No:	80
Courtesy of:	Barry Yates
Year:	2005

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Rye Harbour Heritage logo

Rye Harbour Heritage was established in 2005, around 200 years after the harbour’s first settlement. It aims to record and promote the rich and varied history of Rye Harbour village, lying between the industrial area, the Harbour of Rye and the Nature Reserve.

It is funded by Rye Harbour Nature Reserve and English Nature through Defra’s Aggregates Levy Sustainability Fund.

Picture Added on 24 March 2006.

Comments

I remember using the ferry to go to Camber in the 50s. I have a record of Johnny Doughty singing the songs he used to sing in the pub. Round Rye Bay for More also has a booklet with his life story and photos-have you got this ?
Added by Shirley Gregory on 24 April 2006.

"Uncle Johnny" was the Ferry man at Rye Harbour, watching out for potential customers from the "Billy" (William the Conqueror) pub. He lived with "Aunty Meg" in Camber for many a year. At one stage he and Meg lived aboard a boat moored up on the Camber side of the river. He used to walk from the Camber Social Club, over the golf links to the boat and on several ocassions, Mr Doust, the Harbour Master, used to have to pull him out of the river having listed too far to starboard on attempting to board his boat. He gave me my love of the sea and all things in it. He was renowned for his singing, and versification, so much so that a record "Round Rye Bay for More" was made. Songs like these must be preserved for our future generations.
Added by Lionel Marchant on 23 October 2006.

Hi Lionel, I am Bernard Leeman. You used to drop in on me when I was 7 years old in Camber. The last time I saw you was when you had just joined the army and were serving drinks to the Boxing Day hunt outside Rye. The strange thing about Johnny was that in fact he was a Brighton man. My mother used the ferry daily to get to work at Gould's in RH. My uncle, Ken Rook, lives in RH. Sometimes Johnny let me row. Any news on where Theresa Doust is these days? I emigrated to Australia long ago and teach at a university there. However, between 2002-4 I taught at London University and often brought Japanese and Korean students on trips to Rye.
Added by Dr Bernard Leeman on 28 October 2006.

Yes, I remember dear old Johnny Doughty, when he was the ferryman at RH. During WWII he was a seaman in the convoys to Russia; his ship was sunk and he spent about a week on a wooden liferaft, before he was rescued. I believe the rest of his crew mates died due to hypothermia, and he was found just in time.

I regret to say that my sister Theresa Doust passed away mid-1994 following a severe attack of asthma. She, her husband and family were living in North Wales at the time of her death.
Added by Michael J. Doust on 15 February 2007.

The RH Heritage Logo, is the old black tarred house on the front at RH. This building, which was owned I believe by a Mr Blattman when I was a young boy. The building was in fact the original lifeboat house, and the eastern end has a large double door through which the boat was brought in and out. The boat was like the old "Mary Stanford, " propelled by both oar and sail. In front of the building, and it is still standing as far as I know, is the RNLI/CG signal mast on which were hoisted the northerly and southerly gale cones (apex upwards, north gale, apex downwards, south gale).
Added by Michael J. Doust on 21 February 2007.

The map attributed to Monica Edwards, the children's book author, is actually drawn by Geoffry Whittam, who lived somewhere in East Sussex. Since many of M.E's books feature Rye Harbour, GW would visit and draw the actual backgrounds to the illustrations, so Camber Castle, the cliffs at Winchelsea, Rye itself, Castle Farm (now demolished)and many other views are to be seen in his excellent drawings that accompanied her series of books published by Collins from late 1940s until early 70s.
Added by Rosemary Myers on 09 January 2008.