The town is buzzing; with an almost unbelievable planning story concerning the colour of Mr. Apps's recently repainted greengrocery shop in Lion Street. Mr. Apps chose the new paint in a colour which he believed to be the same as the original of the elderly, rather faded green woodwork of the shop, and therefore he did not apply for planning permission. He has now received a letter from Rother Council threatening him with prosecution and the prospect of a fine of £1,000 or three months in jail if he does not immediately repaint it – black! Mr. Apps, who is 83, is at present recovering from a recent illness; but his son tells us that they had, in view of the Council's objection, offered to repaint in a darker shade of green (and Sir Brian Batsford says that this would have satisfied the Conservation Society, who had not been happy with the "new" green). But the expense of changing to black, presumably so that the shop would match the rest of the street, would be considerable, with a further two coats of paint on top of the recent work - and anyway they don't want it black.
(To anyone standing at the corner of Lion Street and High Street it would appear that Mr. Apps's shop is at present identical in colour with Mr. Moore's shop in the High Street - "greengrocer's green", as someone called it - and Mr. Moore tells us that he has repainted twice in the past seven years, each time in the same colour, and he has had no complaints.)
Various approaches are being made to Rother from the town about this remarkable planning diktat; and on Monday evening Councillor Shackleton spoke personally to the Planning Officer and tells us that Mr. Powell does not want to make a major issue of this and hopes that a compromise can be reached which he can take back to the Planning Committee. We shall, of course, report on the outcome in due course.
In the meantime, the position seems to be that anyone wanting to repaint a building in the conservation area must be very careful indeed to get an identical match to the old colour, since otherwise they lay themselves open to having to repaint in whatever colour Rother Planning Committee sees fit to "advise" for them. Indeed, Eric Le Fevre says that strictly speaking, since conservation area rules rescind a householder's normal rights over his property, it appears to be illegal to lay a wet paintbrush in any colour on the outside of a listed building without planning permission - though if this is technically so, Rother has hitherto rightly turned a blind eye to it, and the Planning Officer tells the GAZETTE that permission is not required for identical repainting. Mr. Apps's problem therefore hinges on whether or not he has repainted the same colour as before. Mr. Le Fevre points out that to an architect's eye colour and shade are two different things (and also that green is notorious for fading); and he and many other people in the town are prepared to vouch for the fact that the shop is the same colour as before, though possibly not now the same shade.
But the Chief Executive's letter to Mr. Apps categorically states that the writer has been instructed by the Council "to secure that the woodwork is repainted black" (his underlining this time). It seems far from clear what right, if any, the Council has to insist on this, and whose idea it was in the first place. It did not, as far as we can ascertain, emanate from Rye.
Those who enjoyed last week's episode of "Pig in the Middle" will, we feel sure, also enjoy Thomas Peacocke School's production of "Hotel Paradiso". This hilarious sitcom, set in Paris at the turn of the century, involves in its twists and turns a henpecked builder and his bossy wife; the more compliant lady next door, and unfortunately her husband as well; the green young nephew and the rather less green parlourmaid; the friend from the country who only stammers when it rains, and his four excitable daughters; and the proprietor of the hotel itself, wrestling with his unpromising staff trainee. Produced by Mr. Ken Lewis, who has had many years' experience of getting the best out of a young cast, and with several familiar names among the actors, the play promises a very enjoyable evening. Tickets will be available at the door at 7.30 on Friday and Saturday of this week.
2.
Mr. Derek Bridgwater, FRIBA, who died on Thursday, lived in Rye for twenty years. He led so full a life that it is easy to forget that he came here for his retirement from a very distinguished architectural career in London, as a partner in Bridgwater Shepheard and Epstein - a team mainly concerned with work in the public sector, but always thinking of the people who were to live in the many buildings they designed. After serving in France as a very young platoon commander in the Warwickshire Regiment in 1918, Mr. Bridgwater studied at the Liverpool University School of Architecture under Professor Sir Charles Reilly, whose daughter Pat later became Mrs. Bridgwater - she died in 1968. A full account of his professional career will of course appear in the architectural press; we in Rye have lost a much-valued member of our community. He was a skilled artist whose work appears each year on the front of the Rye hotel list and who designed the beautiful poster used for St. Mary's Church Festivals; a member of both the Rye Society of Artists and the Tuesday Painters; a longstanding member of the Museum Association, and at one time an Honorary Consultant to the Conservation Society. However, his abiding love in Rye was for the future and success of the Rye Art Gallery, of which he was a tireless Trustee for many years, and which will, it is hoped, house a memorial to him.
But despite all this, we shall remember not primarily the public figure, but the tall, rather gaunt, utterly indomitable man, with a smile and a greeting and a kind word for everyone, always interested in the life around him, who somehow shrugged off his increasing disability until the last evening of his life when he died suddenly and peacefully in his own home. He was 83. "A dear man"- "such a gentle man” - "they don't come like that now", people have been saying. He leaves a son, two daughters (one is of course Joanna Le Fevre) and eight grandchildren. There will be a service at St. Mary's Church on Friday, 18 March, at 3 pm following an earlier private cremation; his family asks that there shall be no flowers, but donations could be sent to the Memorial Fund at Lloyds Bank, Rye, towards the formation of a Sculpture Garden at the Rye Art Gallery.
Freda Gardham School recently hosted a football and netball tournament for all the local primary schools, and a very enjoyable occasion it was. Plenty of parents turned up in support, and some pupils and staff from Thomas Peacocke helped with the organisation. The netball was won by Peasmarsh School, and Freda Gardham 'A' team won the Bourne Cup for football - one member of the team was Richard Webb whose grandfather had presented the Cup in the early Sixties, when his own children left.
There will be no Easter Fair this year, but after the very successful coffee morning last autumn they are holding a similar event just before the end of term, this time in the afternoon - an Easter Tea. Anyone is very welcome to come, not only parents, on Thursday, 24 March from 2 to 3.30; there will be stalls, an Easter Bonnet contest, and a second showing of the school film made last summer by staff and pupils.
The Museum Association AGM on Thursday welcomed a very satisfactory report from its Treasurer, Mr. D.S. Ryall; despite a poor year elsewhere in the town, the Museum continued to keep its head above water. Financially, that is; but Curator Mr. Geoffrey Bagley said in his report that since recent work by Rother, owners of the building, on the Ypres Tower, water had begun to permeate the walls and during a period of heavy rain there had been puddles two inches deep on the floors, involving staff and other helpers in emergency work to keep the exhibits safe. Rother is wondering what to do next, and will consider the problem once the drier weather begins. (See GAZETTE no.16 for more details of this.)
New Chairman of the Association is Mrs. Jo Kirkham, since Mr. Bagley wants to be free to give more time to his honorary work as Curator; Mrs. Kirkham is succeeded as Vice-Chairman by Mr. Eric Le Fevre. Mrs. Audrey Bartlett (10 East Street, Rye 222316) replaces Mrs. Owen as Secretary. Mr. Gibson and Mr. Kurrein were elected as new Committee members. After the meeting, Mr. Bagley showed a selection of slides he had taken over the last 25 years, which was much enjoyed by members.
THE RYE GAZETTE, 16.3.83 - page 3
Rye WRVS were congratulated by the new County Organiser at their AGM on Wednesday for their initiative in making their own transport arrangements for paperbacks, etc. for our troops abroad, as this service has ceased almost everywhere else because of petrol costs. Mrs, Barton said that since September 114 parcels of books, etc., had left Rye for Lydd on their way attached to individual soldiers' kit - to Northern Ireland, though a few were retained at Lydd Camp for the troops training there before departure; Mrs. Doris Chatterton, in charge of the packing, is now a very fast worker! Other WRVS services reported on were, of course, Meals on Wheels (with a pot-plant for Miss Cotton, in charge of catering); the Monthly Lunch Club - a new organiser is needed here, since Mrs. Judy Brown retires in the autumn; and the Good Companions, now in the hands of Miss Martin - visits and other help are arranged for people in difficulty on their own. Members who attended (and Mrs. Barton-would have liked to see more of them) were rewarded with a delicious tea after the meeting.
The Rye Art Gallery in East Street reopened last week with a memorial exhibition of the work of the late William Warden, RBA, who died last year. This is not a loan exhibition in the usual sense, since everything on view comes from Bill's Winchelsea Beach studio, and therefore some of his best-known work is not on show but we do have the chance to see pictures not hitherto exhibited. The work ranges from his early watercolours (some very early) including scenes from his time in Germany at the end of the war, through his quieter oils familiar to those who visited the early Rye Society of Artists exhibitions, to the more flamboyant work of his later Provencal period. It is a particular pleasure to see so many of his watercolours, a medium he had abandoned for many years; but the whole exhibition will be much enjoyed by his many friends and pupils and fellow artists in the area.
Not quite "a thousand men and a girl' - but sixty-five men and Mrs. Joan Camier met in Birmingham last week for the AGM and Council Meeting of the National Association of Cycle and Motor Cycle Traders. Mrs. Camier, representing the south-eastern area, was the only woman delegate, though some had brought their wives with them to the excellent hotel where the conference was held - but even so, she says, it was very entertaining to be the only woman at a table with thirteen men. Not that it was all socialising; there were discussions with manufacturers and importers, all of whom were represented, and recommendations to Ministries (Lynda Chalker was one of the speakers) - “two days of very hard work" says Mrs. Camier.
People who admired Wendy Masters' hop-design sweaters, on view at the Craft Market and elsewhere last summer, will be pleased to know that she has extended her range very considerably. Based at Tramp Studios (Rye 222101), she now offers a number of patterns incorporating among other motifs sheep, skiers, planes, a seascape, the very successful hops, and an unusual sampler design to include the wearer's name - and more to come. Any of these patterns can be worked into sweaters of all sizes from toddlers to mens, with necklines and so forth to choose, in a wide range of colours and at present a surprisingly short delivery period.
Most of us have probably despaired of our bathrooms at one time or another. When Linda King came to Ferry Road from Cornwall last October, she did something about hers; she turned it into the Garden of Eden, with the cistern disguised as a tree and the Serpent crawling up a pipe. Then she clouded over the ceiling of her neighbour's attic, and invited a crocodile to inhabit the radiator in the children's room. Although her art school training was in graphics, she enjoys creating transformation scenes, and will be very pleased to produce sketches and an estimate for anyone who would like to have a difficult room turned into something entirely different. Ring her on Rye 224861.
as the editorial duplicator has broken down, we are sorry that however melodramatic Tuesday may turn out to be, there can be no last-minute news on the middle pages this week.
THE RYE GAZETTE, 16.3.83 - page 4
A recent press photograph of a presentation to Mr. Leslie Stutely on his retirement, sent us in some surprise to his office at Vidler & Co. Yes, he did retire, several years ago in fact, and is now a consultant; but he says – and he didn't sound entirely sorry - that there still seems to be plenty for a consultant to do. So it seemed a good opportunity to delve back into the history of the firm – the longest-established estate agents in the town by around 100 years. The firm developed through an intricate network of familiar Rye names; at least three of its partners over the past 170 years (Reeve & Vidler were in business in 1812) have been Mayors of the town several times over, including of course Mr. Stutely's father Ernest Holden Stutely, who succeeded the last of the Vidlers (Ernest J.) after WW1. There has now been a Stutely in the firm for between 70 and 80 years.
Publicity material produced at the time of the Coronation refers to Reeve & Vidler; Mortley & Finn; Finn Kelcey & Finn; James Coleman Vidler; and Vidler Son & Clements - all predecessors of the present management. The 1953 list of previous partners includes 2 Reeves, 3 Finns, 3 Vidlers, 2 Stutelys (then, of course), Captain Cory, and also Mr. J.H. Daniels, who we are glad to say is now comfortably established in retirement at Southsea.
Nowadays one thinks of estate agents as synonymous with house agents, but it is not necessarily so. Vidlers do really manage Estates, both farming and forestry, and there are four chartered surveyors in the firm, including the third of the Stutelys, Colin. They run the Rye cattle market, of course, which now only sees sheep, lambs and calves, but not so long ago also disposed of cattle, and before the last war horses, goats, sheepdogs, poultry, ferrets, rabbits - and horticultural products of the kind which now appear at the WI Market. The October Ram Sale is the leading annual sale of the famous Romney breed of sheep (the modern name for what used to be called Kents or Romney Marsh), but the Fatstock Shows once held in the Agricultural Hall are, alas, no more.
However, Mr. Stutely was responsible for the introduction in the early 1950s of the furniture auctions which are now such a regular feature of Rye's diary - held originally in the old Market Hall, then lit by gas and hired for a hectic three days for each sale, and subsequently on a more regular basis. The Rye Auction Galleries have been in their present more convenient site since 1968, when builders Ellis Bros reorganised their premises (which were originally built as a wholesale grocer's store and had a railway siding to them). As well as the monthly auctions, Vidlers hold special evening sales of antiques and Fine Art at intervals; and once a year there is the boat auction, with all kinds of chandlery as well as boats set out in the cattle market premises. And, of course, they sell houses, and that is one of their busiest activities.
The staff (not counting market and sale-room porters) consists of ten full-timers, three part-timers, plus the two present partners (Roger Pickett and Colin Stutely) - and, of course, an extremely active consultant, retired or not.
Footnote: only twice in Mr. Stutely's memory has Good Friday fallen on the first Friday in the month - which is, of course, the day of the regular auction sale. This year is one of them, and sale day will be on Maundy Thursday, 31 March, with viewing on the Wednesday.
After last year's success, Rye and District Lions are repeating their Sponsored Ramble on Sunday, 24 April, leaving the Scout Hut at 2.30 pm this time and coming back between 5 and 6 pm after a ten-mile stroll round by Playden, Iden, and Peasmarsh. Trevor Humphreys tells us that the route is designed to avoid road walking, merely crossing main roads where necessary; it is of course a very pleasant walk anyway, and in a good cause as well.
Lions are looking for teams from organisations who would like to take part - pubs, clubs, youth groups, charities, whatever - and the sponsor money can be split 50:50 with the team earning it, e.g. half to Lions and half to (say) RNLI. Those interested should get in touch with Mr. Humphreys (Rye 223285) or Douglas Luck at Westfield (Hastings 752159) to arrange about sponsor forms, etc. Lions would prefer to know in advance who is taking part, but a team turning up on the spur of the moment would certainly not be turned away.
5.
Reporting to the Rye Safety Committee on Monday, Chief Inspector Dyson said that there were no fatal accidents in Rye itself during 1982. There were 23 accidents altogether, of which 11 caused damage only; in the rest, five people were seriously injured (two motor-cyclists and three pedestrians) and ten, mostly in cars, received less serious injuries. Six of the accidents were hit-and-run cases where the driver did not stop, although, says Chief Inspector Dyson, the police do eventually trace most of them - the usual reason is to avoid the breathalyser, although in one case a heavy goods vehicle may simply not have realised that he had damaged another in passing.
In the Rye sub-division there were, alas, two fatal accidents, 32 involving serious injury, 58 slight injury and 61 damage only. Total casualties were 144 adults and 18 children. Widening the area again, to the whole county, 162 people were killed - the highest number since 1974; most of these accidents were due to error on the part of a driver or motor-bike rider.
Chief Inspector Dyson adds that a recent snap check along High Street and Cinque Ports Street revealed that in 12 out of the first 100 vehicles checked someone was not wearing a seatbelt. This is a backsliding from the beginning of the year, and he points out that not wearing a belt can be expensive in more ways than one!
Approved by last month's planning committee was a report from Mr. David Powell, the Planning Officer, about the proposed release of land for development along this road. Three blocks of land are involved, all with road frontage: the area between Weslakes and Atlas Stone; one rather swampy piece on the river side between the sewage works and the chemical works; and the third, with a frontage roughly equal to the other two combined, on the nature reserve side beyond the chemical works. Mr. Powell says that this land would yield over 300,000 sq. ft. of industrial floor-space "and possibly 750 jobs". We wonder how he substantiates the latter much publicised figure, since a warehouse would provide far fewer jobs than, say, a light assembly unit (but see Icklesham's views, below).
The Harbour is, as Mr. Powell says, an established and successful employment centre, with access from the sea and the A259 coast road - though whether "ready access" quite describes the junction between the Harbour Road and the A259 at the height of the summer seems a little doubtful. However, we come to this in a moment. He says, too, that the environment of the Harbour could be improved by new development "carried out to modern standards of design and landscaping", and that such development could screen earlier mistakes. The main objection would, he thinks, be the increased traffic at the road junction, though other adverse effects would include interference with views to and from the nature reserve, and pressure on Rye Harbour facilities from the new workforce. The County Structure Plan recommends that industrial development at the Harbour should in general be confined to its present limits, but the view seems to be that if an environmental gain can be shown and if the road junction is improved, the Plan could be amended.
Mr. Powell therefore recommends that development should be allowed on the land referred to, as long as it would generate employment, and on condition that (a) the road junction improvements shall be made first; (b) that at least one-fifth of any site shall be planted and landscaped (this, we feel, may be wishful thinking, since planting things on this very exposed ground is one thing and persuading them to grow is quite another); (c) that the design "shall reflect the proximity of the Nature Reserve and the historic town of Rye; and (d) that the normal planning requirements are observed.
The main objector, among those whose views were invited, is Icklesham Parish Council. They are not happy about the third plot of ground, which is basically good agricultural land, if rather neglected in part; there is, they feel, more waste land in the area which can be developed before this is used. (They are also rather sceptical about the 750 jobs, since they suspect that modern industrial development inclines more to automation than to a labour-intensive factory floor nowadays.)
6.
Thursday, 17th Christian lunch club: Rev. Colin Urquhart, Community Centre, 12
Red Cross Thrift Shop, 10.30 to 4 (also Friday and Saturday)
Friday, 18th "Hotel Paradiso", Thomas Peacocke Upper School, 7.30 (see p.1)
Saturday, 19th Inner Wheel jumble sale, Community Centre, 2
Methodist Church jumble sale, Methodist Hall, 2
"Hotel Paradiso", Thomas Peacocke Upper School, 7.30
Sunday, 20th SUMMER TIME BEGAN, 2 am.
Monday, 21st Monday Club, Clinic, 2
Tuesday, 22nd Muscular Dystrophy Group, coffee morning and bring-and-buy sale, Float Farm House, Udimore, 10.30
Wednesday, 23rd BRCS Over-60s Club, Red Cross Centre, 1.45
• A date to book: Saturday, 26 March, when the WI Group Craft Show takes place at the FE Centre, on view to the public from 2.30 to 4.30. This show is always something to look forward to because of the high standards achieved; and this year some of the exhibits will be for sale.
• Congratulations to Barbara (nee Wilkinson) and John Parker, who were married at Playden Church on Saturday, with a reception for 140 guests at the Community Centre afterwards. Barbara is the eldest daughter of Barry and Rosemary Wilkinson of Pottingfield Road, and John's parents are Bill and Joan Parker from Leasam Lane. Barbara was attended by four bridesmaids and two pages, and all the outfits were made by neighbour Mrs. Barbara Wood. The honeymoon is being spent in the New Forest, and Barbara and John will be living at Cadborough Farm in the same cottage where John's parents began their own married life.
• Wires were unfortunately crossed over last week's report of the Community Centre's latest plan. What they have in mind is not a regular stall market, but an occasional or even one-off event, and only second-hand goods would be on sale. Table rent would be £6 for a large trestle table or £2.50 for one of the smaller octagonal ones. Ring Mrs. Sherwood, Rye 222850 in Community Centre hours.
• Rother are advertising for an assistant tourist information clerk (May to September) for Rye. The job will involve some weekend working. Details are in the Ferry Road office window, and applications should reach Bexhill by 25 March. Although the main Council offices will be moving to Cinque Ports Street as soon as the new office is ready we hear that the Tourist Information Office is likely to be in the bus station for one more season.
• The coffee morning held by the Civil Service Retirement Fellowship on 8 March attracted some 20 members and funds were raised to cover the next few months' activities; the next meeting will be on Tuesday, 12 April (Community Centre).
• As part of its Easter display Tower Forge has an unusual diversion for the young wanting to help with Easter Day catering. Tablets of dye in five different colours come in a really inexpensive little packet, and a quick dip produces an attractive alabaster-type finish on pre-boiled eggs; to enhance the effect, tiny transfers are also available. We also admired the daffodil-yellow candle sets, part of a much wider permanent range; and the "moorhen" (black) chicks.
• We beg to remind readers who have not yet paid next quarter's subscription (12 issues a 25p) that it will cost them £2.75 instead of £3 if the payment (cheques to THE RYE GAZETTE) reaches 94 Udimore Road before the end of March.
THE RYE GAZETTE is registered as a newspaper at the Post Office. It is published by Mrs. Mary Owen, 94 Udimore Road, Rye (Rye 222303), who is always glad to have news items for inclusion - normal deadline Monday afternoon, emergencies first thing Tuesdays. It costs 20p a week until the end of March and is normally delivered to subscribers and pick-up points on Wednesday.
Photocopied by Sussex Secretarial Services, 11 Claremont, Hastings (0424 422633).