St. Mary the Virgin, Rye

We made another visit to Rye to do a bit of shopping and I visited the church that sits on top of the hill on which the old town is built: St. Mary the Virgin. This is the parish church of Rye and has been here for over 900 years.

As you look uphill along Lion Street, you see the tower of the church that holds this clock. It was installed in 1561 and is one of the oldest working church tower clock in the country. The present clock face and the two so-called "quarter boys" were added in 1760. The figures above and on either side of the clock strike the quarter hours but not the hours, hence the name.

Inside, we see the roofing system we expect to see in a church of this vintage over a remarkably intricate stained glass window.

It is a spacious church. In part because of its size, its location on the hill, and the fact that it was in the town of Rye, one the Cinque Ports, it was sometimes called the cathedral of East Sussex.

It is laid out in a cross shape. Where I stand to take this photo is the cross hallway that connects to the entryway. As you can see, the arches are Gothic even though it is difficult to see the point in the arches in the nave due to the angle of the photo.

Turning and looking out the entry door, we see the pendulum for the tower clock. This was added much later than the clock. I have not been able to find the date.