the keep, are subterraneous entrances, or passages, formerly winding round from the portal of the castle into the inner bottom room of the keep. These passages are now so completely blocked up with rubbish, as to be impassable; but the artist discovered, in the walls of one, some apertures, which connected themselves with the next winding passage; this was, doubtlessly, (should an enemy have forced the outer works, and have obtained an entrance,) for the purpose of firing on them from the holes in the next passage, as fast as they should advance, which, from their circuitous windings round the keep, would have occupied a considerable time. The passage, or entrance, here described, had likewise a communication with the ramparts, so that the troops could obtain access to the keep under a covered way, without being annoyed by missiles.

Sir

In 1664, Captain William Carr petitioned Charles II. to bestow upon him the ruined Castle of Winchelsea, with a lease of the ground whereon it stood, and the yard thereto belonging. Denny Ashburnham was authorised to view the said castle, with an experienced carpenter and mason, to consider of the value of the materials thereof, and the yearly value of the ground. It was certified to the Lord Treasurer Southampton, that this ruined castle, and the ground whereon it stands, was of so inconsiderable a value, that a

grant to the petitioner would be worth nothing. In consequence of this curious appraisement, a constat was made out, pursuant to the Lord Treasurer's warrant, for a lease for thirty-one years, to be granted to Captain William Carr, at 12d. per annum, with a power to take down and sell the old materials for his own use without accompt, the lessee to repair the mounds and fences during the term. This latter obligation was a matter of consequence, if it related to embankments, and may, in some measure, account for the apparently favourable terms of the grant, the site of the castle comprehending full three acres of land, including the castle yard and the grounds attached.

Near the town of Winchelsea are large marshes, which the inhabitants were forced to defend with great earthen banks, to prevent the tide daily overflowing them.

RYE, TOWN AND HARBOUR.

The town of Rye derives its name from the Saxon Ree, a water-course, or channel; it has also been ingeniously deduced from the French, rive, a bank, Lat. ripa. The town being situated upon a bank, and by the sea shore, are, however, circumstances insufficient to overturn the Saxon etymology.

Rye and Winchelsea belonged to the Abbey of Fescamp. Henry III. took these two ancient towns into his own hands, for the better defence of the coast, and gave to the Norman monastery, in exchange for them, the manor of Chiltham (Cheltenham) in Gloucestershire, and lands in Lincolnshire. The town, seated upon the south side of a hill, enjoys a delightful prospect of the sea; it is governed by a mayor and jurats, and has sent burgesses to parliament from the 42nd Edward III.

This king encompassed the borough with walls; it was fortified by William of Ipres, Earl of Kent, and it was in a flourishing condition, as it enjoyed a commodious haven. The violence of the waves, during two tremendous tempests, ameliorated the harbour; and Winchelsea, falling into decay, the buildings, commerce, and fishing vessels of Rye rapidly increased. The fishing trade of mackarel and herrings was, however, in course of time, the chief support of this town *.

In the reign of Edward the Third, the town was encompassed by a wall, parts of which are still standing; and before the fishing grounds were destroyed by the French, it was famous for its supply of herrings.

In the 2nd Edward VI. Bills for making sluices about the towns of Rye and Winchelsea, and for casting of ballast into the Camber, were passed by the Lords.

In the early part of the sixteenth century, a tempest having caused the sea to swell to an extraordinary height, it broke with great violence upon this part of the coast, and formed a convenient bay for shipping, which another tempest, in the time of Queen Elizabeth, tended to improve. On the east, and north-east sides of the town, one of the ancient gates, called the Baddings-gate, and some streets, have been washed away by the flux and reflux of the sea; the Postern-gate leading to the New Conduit, and the other gates, with the exception of the Land Gate, have all been demolished.

Here numbers of French fugitives found protection during the horrible massacres of 1572 ; and, in the succeeding ten years, the French inhabitants of Rye amounted to upwards of fifteen hundred persons.

The high ground, on the right of the drawing, on which are several windmills, is called Pladding; and the craggy appearance of the cliff below, clearly proves that the sea once dashed its fury against it.

This town has been visited by singular vicissitudes and misfortunes. In the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, it was burnt by the French; and, on the latter occasion, the ancient records of the town are supposed to have fallen a prey to the devouring element, as none of a more remote date

than the twenty-seventh year of Henry the Sixth, with the exception of some fragments, are to be found. In the year 1563, a pestilence carried off upwards of five hundred inhabitants, and, on two subsequent occasions, the town suffered from a similar calamity.

Rye enjoys the same privileges and immunities as the cinque ports; it is represented by two members in Parliament, and has two markets weekly.

Present Condition.

Rye is a market-town, and parish in Gostrow hundred, situate on a cliff at the mouth of the Rother; it is sixty-three miles south-east of London, through Maidstone; Rye contains 601 houses, and 3600 inhabitants. The church is built of stone, and is allowed to be one of the largest parish churches of the county of Sussex; of the houses, many are old-fashioned, and generally built of brick. The Market-house, and Hall, in the centre of the town, is a handsome edifice; a free grammarschool was built, and endowed by Mr. Peacock in 1644, and another free school by Mr. Saunders. Many of the inhabitants are baptists, quakers, and methodists, and it was a principal resort of the French refugees, who, with their descendants, embarked chiefiy in the fisheries. At spring-tides, the sea rises so high, as to surround