A peaceful Spring afternoon at Rye in East Sussex, England, UK, contrasts with the turbulent history of its Parish Church of St Mary. It was burned and looted of its bells by French raiders in 1377 and became a scene of capital crime in 1742, when a murderous butcher killed the wrong man by mistake. The murderer and his hapless victim are said to still haunt the churchyard.
Rye, East Sussex, England, UK: as visitors admire the panoramic view from the tower of the 12th century Parish Church of St Mary, and a woman sits reading in the churchyard below them, violence and murder seem far removed from such a peaceful scene on a sunny Saturday afternoon in late May. The violence took place in 1377, when Rye suffered a devastating raid by French marauders - an all-too-frequent occurrence during the Hundred Years’ War, with England and France locked in a series of bitter armed conflicts. The town and church were looted by the French and set on fire. The church was extensively damaged and the French made off with its bells. The men of Rye and Winchelsea took their revenge a year later, striking back at the French by raiding them in turn and recovering both the bells and other loot. The murder happened 365 years later, in 1742, when Allen Grebell was accidentally killed in the churchyard by butcher John Breads, who had wanted to murder Rye’s mayor instead. Breads was hanged for the crime, his body displayed in a metal cage and his skull, still in the cage, then exhibited in Rye Town Hall. The restless spirits of both murderer and victim are still said to haunt the churchyard. The cruciform church’s chancel, crossing transepts and nave were built between 1150 and 1180. The north and south aisles were added a few years later, with the north and south chapels following between 1220 and 1250. Flying buttresses were added to the south-east end of the chancel in the 1400s. In 1844, evidence of fire damage from the 1377 French raid were found in the crossing.
Size: 2729px × 4102px
Location: Rye, East Sussex, England, United Kingdom.
Photo credit: © Terence Kerr / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
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