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Ross-on-Wye

Ross-on-Wye is a market town and civil parish in Herefordshire, England, near the border with Wales. It had a population estimated at 10,978 in 2021. It lies in south-east of the county, on the River Wye and on the northern edge of the Forest of Dean.

History
The name "Ross" is derived from the Welsh or Celtic for a "promontory". It was renamed "Ross-on-Wye" in 1931 by the General Post Office, due to confusion with other places of the same or similar name (such as Ross in Scotland).

Ross-on-Wye promotes itself as "the birthplace of British tourism". In 1745, the rector, Dr John Egerton, started taking friends on boat trips down the valley from his rectory at Ross. The Wye Valley's attraction was its river scenery, its precipitous landscapes, and its castles and abbeys, which were accessible to seekers of the "picturesque". In 1782, William Gilpin's book Observations on the River Wye was published, the first illustrated tour guide to be published in Britain. Once it had appeared, demand grew so much that by 1808 there were eight boats making regular excursions along the Wye, most of them hired from inns in Ross and Monmouth. By 1850, more than 20 visitors had published their own accounts of the Wye Tour, and the area was established as a tourist destination.

Parish church
The 700-year-old Church of England parish church, St Mary's, is the town's most prominent landmark. Its tall pointed spire is visible when approaching the town from all directions. The church holds several distinctive tombs, one of which – that of William Rudhall (who died in 1530) – is one of the last great alabaster sculptures from the specialist masons of Nottingham, whose work was prized across medieval Europe. Rudhall was responsible for the repair of the almshouses to the north west of the church, in 1575. Another tomb is of John Kyrle, a prominent figure in 18th-century Ross, whose name has been taken by the town's secondary school. He is also recalled in one of the town's notable inns, The Man Of Ross, and there is a fine painting of him, by an unknown artist, in the Corn Exchange in the High Street.

United Reformed, Methodist and Baptist churches
The Methodist Church in Christ Church in Edde Cross Street has closed permanently. The United Reformed Church congregation, part of the Herefordshire Group, likewise was at Christ Church. The former United Reformed Church in Gloucester Road has now been converted into housing.

Ross Baptist Church is in Broad Street. In 1731 the Baptists built Ryeford Chapel at Weston under Penyard, but in 1817 worshippers from Ross decided to separate. They purchased the site on Broad Street and constructed a chapel with an attached graveyard. The original chapel was replaced in 1879, with much of the funding from Thomas Blake, a local philanthropist. In 2017, the current Baptist church in Ross marked its 200th anniversary.

Plague Cross
The Plague or Corpse Cross was erected in the churchyard of St Mary's in 1637 as a memorial to 315 townsfolk who died that year of the plague and were buried nearby in a plague pit – at night and without coffins.

By 1896, the Plague Cross had fallen into disrepair and the top was missing. It was later restored. Since 1952, it has been listed as a Grade II* edifice, and since 1997 it has been a scheduled monument.

The Prospect
The Prospect was created by John Kyrle, who rented the land from the Marquess of Bath in 1696 and turned it into a garden and walkway. In 2008, heavy rain uncovered Roman remains that were excavated under the site.

The Prospect provides a public garden opposite the church, containing trees dedicated to local people, a VE Day Beacon and a War Memorial. It offers a view of the famous horseshoe bend in the Wye and as far west as the Black Mountains.

Present day
The town is known for locally owned shops and a market square with a market hall. Thursday and Saturday markets are held at the red sandstone Market House building in the town centre. This was built between 1650 and 1654 to replace a probably wooden Booth Hall. The upper storey now houses an arts and crafts centre.

The town's small theatre, The Phoenix, shows films once a month, along with plays and other arts events.

The ruins of Wilton Castle, to the west of the town, have been restored and opened to visitors. The town has a number of sculptures by Walenty Pytel – the left bank of the Wye shows two of these. Despite the common belief that both depict swans, one in fact shows ducks.

Politics and representation
Most local government functions are vested in Herefordshire Council, the unitary authority covering the county. Ross Town Council, with 18 councillors, six each from the Ross North, West and East wards, has the powers of a parish council. The Mayor is Councillor Louis Stark. Ross Rural was merged into the civil parish on 1 April 2015. Since the May 2023 local elections, the town council has a majority of Liberal Democrats (twelve), with one Conservative and five Independents.

The town is part of the Hereford and South Herefordshire parliamentary constituency, currently represented in the House of Commons by the Conservative MP Jesse Norman.

Transport
The former Ross-on-Wye railway station was at a junction on the Hereford, Ross & Gloucester Railway north of the town. It was the terminus of the Ross & Monmouth Railway, which joined the Hereford, Ross and Gloucester just south of the station. Opened on 1 June 1855, the line was merged into the Great Western Railway on 29 July 1862 and in 1869 converted from broad gauge to standard gauge in a five-day period. A line to Tewkesbury was authorised by Parliament in 1856, but never built.

Under the Beeching cuts, the lines to Ross closed in stages up to 1964. The brick station has been demolished and the site redeveloped into an industrial estate, on which the brick goods and engine sheds still stand.

The nearest railway stations are in Ledbury on the Cotswold Line and Gloucester on the Birmingham & Gloucester Railway.

To the east is the end of the M50, sometimes called the Ross Spur or Ross Motorway, which links with the M5.

Stagecoach West and Nick Maddy Coaches provide regular bus services. Stagecoach West operates hourly route 33 through Ross between Gloucester and Hereford, while Nick Maddy Coaches operates hourly route 40 serving residential streets across town. National Express also operate a twice daily service to and from London on its 445 route.

Media
Local news and television programmes are provided by BBC West Midlands and ITV Central. Television signals are received from the Ridge Hill and the local relay transmitters.

Local radio stations are BBC Hereford and Worcester, Free Radio Herefordshire & Worcestershire, Greatest Hits Radio Herefordshire & Worcestershire and Sunshine Radio.

The town is served by the local newspapers The Ross Gazette and Hereford Times.

Climate
Ross-on-Wye experiences a typically British maritime climate, with mild summers and winters. A Met Office weather station provides long-term climate data for the town. Meteorological readings have been taken in Ross since 1858; the Ross-on-Wye weather station holds some national records.

Notable people
People who were born in Ross, or have lived in the town, include:
 * John Kyrle (1637–1724), philanthropist known as "the Man of Ross"
 * James Cowles Prichard (1786–1848), scientist prominent in anthropology and psychiatry
 * Frederick Gordon (1835–1904), hotelier
 * William Partridge (1858–1930), soldier prominent in the 1879 Zulu war
 * Arthur Pugh (1870–1955), President of the Trades Union Congress
 * William Henry Squire (1871–1963), Royal Academy of Music member, cellist, composer and music professor
 * Frank Andrews (1886–1944), international rugby union (Wales) and professional rugby league player
 * Frederick Burrows (1887–1973), Governor of Bengal
 * Juxon Barton (1891–1980), Governor of Fiji
 * Noele Gordon (1919–1985), actress
 * Yvonne Littlewood (1927–2023), television producer
 * Dennis Potter (1935–1994), dramatist
 * Roger Whittaker (1936–2023), singer-songwriter
 * Pete Overend Watts (1947–2017), member of the Mott the Hoople band
 * Dale Griffin (1948–2016), member of Mott the Hoople

Twin towns
Ross-on-Wye has three twin towns:

 * Betzdorf, Germany
 * Condé-sur-Noireau, France (since 1978)
 * Namutumba, Uganda

title: Ross-on-Wye


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Rothbury

Rothbury is a market town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, on the River Coquet. It is 14 mi north-west of Morpeth and 26 mi north of Newcastle upon Tyne. At the 2011 census, it had a population of 2,107.

Rothbury emerged as an important town because of its location at a crossroads over a ford on the River Coquet. Turnpike roads leading to Newcastle, Alnwick, Hexham and Morpeth allowed for an influx of families and the enlargement of the settlement during the Middle Ages. In 1291, Rothbury was chartered as a market town and became a centre for dealing in cattle and wool for the surrounding villages during the Early Modern Era. Later, Rothbury developed extensively in the Victorian era, due in large part to the railway and the industrialist Sir William Armstrong. Between 1862 and 1865, Armstrong built Cragside, a country house and "shooting box" (hunting lodge) just outside Rothbury, and extended it as a "fairy palace" between 1869 and 1900. The house and its estate are now owned by the National Trust and are open to the public, attracting many visitors to the area.

Prehistory and Ancient (Pre-500)
The area around Rothbury was populated during the prehistoric period, as evidenced by finds dating from the Mesolithic period and later, although all the known finds are from beyond the outer edges of the modern town. Sites include a cairnfield, standing stone and cup-marked rock on Debdon Moor to the north of the town, a well-preserved circular cairn some 26 ft in diameter, a late Neolithic or Bronze Age standing stone, and an extensive hillfort, covering an area 165 by and associated cairnfield to the west of the town. No evidence of the Roman period has been found, probably because the town was a considerable distance north beyond Hadrian's Wall.

Saxons (500–1066)
Fragments from an Anglo-Saxon cross, possibly dating from the 9th century, are the only surviving relics pre-dating the Norman conquest. They were discovered in 1849, when part of the church was demolished, and in 1856. They are now in the town church and the University of Newcastle Museum.

Medieval (1066–1465)
The first documentary mention of Rothbury, according to a local history, was in around the year 1100, as Routhebiria, or "Routha's town" ("Hrotha", according to Beckensall). The village was retained as a Crown possession after the conquest, but in 1201 King John signed the Rothbury Town Charter and visited Rothbury four years later, when the rights and privileges of the manor of Rothbury were given to Robert Fitz Roger, the baron of Warkworth. Edward I visited the town in 1291, when Fitz Roger obtained a charter to authorise the holding of a market every Thursday, and a three-day annual fair near St Matthew's Day, celebrated on 21 September.

Rothbury was not particularly significant at the time, with records from 1310 showing that it consisted of a house, a garden, a bakehouse and a watermill, all of which were leased to tenants. When the line of Fitz Roger died out, the town reverted to being a crown possession, but in 1334 Edward III gave it to Henry de Percy, who had been given the castle and baronry of Warkworth six years earlier. Despite the Scottish border wars, Rothbury rose in prosperity during the 14th century, and had become the town with the highest parochial value in Northumberland by 1535. Feuds still dominated local affairs, resulting in some parishioners failing to attend church because of them in the 16th century, and at other times, gathering in armed groups in separate parts of the building.

Rothbury became a relatively important town in Coquetdale, being a crossroads situated on a ford of the River Coquet, with turnpike roads leading to Newcastle upon Tyne, Alnwick, Hexham and Morpeth. After it was chartered as a market town in 1291, it became a centre for dealing in cattle and wool for the surrounding villages. A market cross was erected in 1722, but demolished in 1827. In the 1760s, according to Bishop Pococke, Rothbury also had a small craft industry, including hatters. At that time, the parish church's vicarage and living was in the gift of the Bishop of Carlisle, and worth £500 per year.

Bernard Gilpin and the Border Reivers

Rothbury has had a turbulent and bloody history. In the 15th and 16th centuries the Coquet valley was a pillaging ground for bands of Reivers who attacked and burned the town with terrifying frequency. Hill farming has been a mainstay of the local economy for many generations. Names such as Armstrong, Charleton and Robson remain well represented in the farming community. Their forebears, members of the reiver 'clans', were in constant conflict with their Scots counterpart. The many fortified farms, known as bastle houses, are reminders of troubled times which lasted until the unification of the kingdoms of England and Scotland in 1603.

The theologian Bernard Gilpin, known as the 'Apostle of the North' for his work in northern England during this period, visited Rothbury. While he preached a sermon, two rival gangs were threatening each other; realising they might start fighting, Gilpin stood between them asking them to reconcile – they agreed as long as Gilpin stayed in their presence. On another occasion, Gilpin observed a glove hanging in the church and asked the sexton about it. He was told it was a challenge to anyone who removed it. Gilpin thus took the glove and put it in his pocket and carried on with his sermon, and no-one challenged him. A painting of this incident by artist William Bell Scott is housed at Wallington Hall.

Georgians (1714–1837)
Near the town's All Saints' Parish Church stands the doorway and site of the 17th-century Three Half Moons Inn, where the Jacobite rebel James Radclyffe, 3rd Earl of Derwentwater stayed with his followers in 1715 prior to marching into a heavy defeat at the Battle of Preston in 1715.

On 16 June 1782, Methodist theologian John Wesley preached in Rothbury.

Cragside
Although Rothbury is of ancient origin, it mainly developed during the Victorian era. A factor in this development was industrialist Sir William Armstrong, later Lord Armstrong of Cragside, who built the country house, and "shooting box" (hunting lodge), of Cragside, between 1862 and 1865, then extended it as a "fairy palace" between 1869 and 1900. The house and its estate are now in the possession of the National Trust and are open to the public.

1884 royal visit
Another factor in Rothbury's Victorian development was the arrival of the railway. Rothbury Station opened in 1870, bringing tourists on walking holidays to the surrounding hill country. This railway was most notably used by the Prince of Wales (later Edward VII) and Princess Alexandra and their children (Albert Victor, 10, George later George V, 9, Louise, 7, Victoria, 6, Maud, 4), They arrived in Rothbury on 19 August 1884 and left on 22 August to visit Cragside and Lord Armstrong. Firework displays were held by Pain's of London.

David Dippie Dixon
David Dippie Dixon was a historian from Rothbury. He previously worked in his father's draper's shop, William Dixon and Sons, set up in Coquetdale House. After William Dixon died, David Dippie Dixon and his brother John Turnbull Dixon renamed the shop Dixon Bros.

2006 royal visit
On 9 November 2006, Rothbury was visited by another Prince of Wales and future King, Edward VIII's 2nd Great Grandson, Prince Charles, who is now the King of the United Kingdom. Charles visited his wife Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, now Queen Consort. Charles visited to reopen the refurbished Rothbury village hall, Jubilee Hall, originally built in 1897 and named after the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria, his 3rd Great Grandmother. The royal couple also visited Rothbury Family Butchers, whose owner, Morris Adamson, said: "'I talked to them for about 20 minutes about the business. It was almost surreal, staggering. They were both very well informed about the trade, and the Duchess really impressed me with her knowledge and enthusiasm. I put together for them a gift of Northumbrian lamb and specialist sausages and two days later they sent me a thank you letter from Clarence House saying how much they had enjoyed the visit and the meat. The Duchess told me in the shop that her son (Tom) was a food critic and she said she would recommend he should come up to see us in Rothbury to sample our speciality sausages. And Prince Charles congratulated us on keeping alive the traditions of the trade and providing meat that was sourced locally. He urged us to keep up the good work. It was amazing, really.'"

Parish council
The Parish Council meets on the second Wednesday of each month (apart from August) with meetings commencing at 7 pm in the Dovecote Room, Jubilee Institute.

County Council
Rothbury is served by the Northumberland County Council and represented by Councillor Steven Bridgett, first elected in 2008 as a Liberal Democrat and re-elected in 2013, 2017 and 2021 as an Independent.

Parliament
Rothbury is in the parliamentary constituency of Berwick-upon-Tweed. The current representative is Anne-Marie Trevelyan of the Conservatives, who has been the local MP since 2015.

From 1973 until 2015, Rothbury's MP was Alan Beith, a member of the Liberal Democrats since 1988 and the Liberal Party prior to its merger with the Social Democratic Party; he is currently a member of the House of Lords.

European Union
Prior to Britain's withdrawal from the European Union, Rothbury was in the European Parliament constituency of North East England, represented predominantly by the Labour party.

Police
Rothbury is served by Northumbria Police and has a single police station, housed, since May 2019, in a building owned by the Northumberland National Park.

Fire
Rothbury has a fire station. The fire station is staffed by on-call firefighters: they do not work at the fire station full-time but are paid to spend time on call to respond to emergencies. The station has a four by four fire engine. The building and its facilities are shared with Sure Start.

Healthcare
Rothbury is served by a doctor's surgery and a hospital, Rothbury Community Hospital. The original facility was built as a private home known as Coquet House in 1872. It was converted into the Coquetdale Cottage Hospital in 1905. A maternity ward was added, as a lasting memorial to soldiers who died in the Second World War in 1946. It joined the National Health Service in 1948 and the adjoining Hawthorn Cottage was acquired in 1956. After Hawthorn Cottage had been converted into a physiotherapy department, it was officially re-opened by Jimmy Savile in 1990. After the old hospital became dilapidated, modern facilities were built in Whitton Bank Road and opened in 2007, by local GP, Dr. Angus Armstrong, and his son, TV presenter, Alexander Armstrong. The new hospital closed to inpatients in September 2016 and in June 2019 the trust advised that a group was working on proposals for the future of remaining services at the hospital. The closure caused controversy and a local protest was established called Save Rothbury Cottage Hospital. Rothbury's (Conservative) MP, Anne-Marie Trevelyan condemned the closure to inpatients in Parliament on 9 March 2017.

Geography
Rothbury is located in Northumberland, England, on the River Coquet, it is 13.5 mi northwest of Morpeth and 26 mi of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is located on the edge of the Northumberland National Park. Rothbury has two Zone 6 B roads going through it: West to East is the B6341, Rothbury's main street, Front Street, is part of this B road; The second B road is the B6342, its starting point is in Rothbury, and is connected to the B6341, it is part of Rothbury's Bridge Street before going over the River Coquet on the Rothbury Bridge and going South for 23.4 mi connecting to the A68 (Dere Street) at the hamlet of Colwell. Rothbury also has the B6344 on the eastern edge, it is connected to the B6341 and goes southeast for 5.6 mi passing through the hamlet of Pauperhaugh and connecting to the A697 at the hamlet of Weldon Bridge.

Ethnicity
Note: An ethnic group that is not on the table means that no one from that ethnic group was recorded being present in Rothbury at the time of the census.

Religion
Note: A religion that is not on the table means that no practitioner of that religion was recorded being present in Rothbury at the time of the census.

Landmarks
Rothbury's Anglican parish church building – All Saints' Church – dates from circa 1850, largely replacing but in parts incorporating the fabric of a former Saxon edifice, including the chancel, the east wall of the south transept and the chancel arch. The church has a font with a stem or pedestal using a section of the Anglo-Saxon cross shaft, showing what is reputed to be the earliest carved representation in Great Britain of the Ascension of Christ.

The Anglo-Saxon cross is not to be confused with the market cross near the church, the current version of which was erected in 1902 and is known as "St Armstrong's Cross" as it was paid for by Lady Armstrong, widow of Lord Armstrong of Cragside. Until 1965, Rothbury was the location of a racecourse, which had operated intermittently since April 1759, but seldom staged more than one meeting per year. The course was affected by flooding in the 1960s, and the last meeting was on 10 April 1965. The site is now used by Rothbury Golf Club.

Half a mile to the south, Whitton Tower is an exceptionally well-preserved 14th-century pele tower.

Lordenshaw Hill has an important concentration of rock carvings, amounting to over 100 panels in an area of less than 620 acres. Carved panels include cup-marked boulders and complex panels. Other archaeological sites in this area include an Iron Age enclosure and an Early Bronze Age cairn.

Former railway station
The town was the terminus of a branch line from Scotsgap railway station on the North British Railway line from Morpeth to Reedsmouth. The line opened on 1 November 1870, the last passenger trains ran on 15 September 1952 and the line closed completely on 9 November 1963. Rothbury station was located to the south of the River Coquet, and the site has been reused as an industrial estate, where the only obvious remains are one wall of the engine shed, which has become part of an engineering workshop. The old Station Hotel still stands near the site, but is now known as The Coquetvale Hotel. It was built in the 1870s by William Armstrong, as a suitable place for visitors to his house at Cragside to be accommodated.

Bus services
The town is now served by an Arriva North East bus service X14 which runs via Longframlington, Longhorsley, Morpeth and continues to Newcastle upon Tyne, the nearest city. This runs every two hours during the day, hourly at peak morning and evening periods.

Education
Rothbury has two schools:
 * Rothbury First School – a community school for 3- to 9-year-olds of both genders (this type of school is state-funded, with the local education authority employing the staff, being responsible for the school's admissions and owning the school's estate). The school can accommodate 126 pupils and currently has 94.
 * Dr Thomlinson Church of England Middle School – founded in 1720, and for 9 to 13-year-olds of both genders, the school is run by the academy trust The Three Rivers Learning Trust. The school can accommodate 258 pupils and currently has 232. In February 2019 pupils took part in the School's Climate Strike which saw pupils not attending school and protesting over climate change.

Rothbury is in the catchment area for The King Edward VI School, Morpeth, also run by The Three Rivers Learning Trust.

Rothbury Traditional Music Festival
Rothbury holds the annual Rothbury Traditional music festival. It consists music concerts as well as competitions within the genre of folk music, mainly being that of traditional Northumberland folk music,. In 2013, the festival was featured on Northumberland born TV Presenter and actor Robson Green's documentary series Tales from Northumberland with Robson Green (Season one, Episode five). In 2019, TV presenter and singer Alexander Armstrong, who was born in Rothbury, was made patron of the festival, in 2021 Armstrong announced the return of the Music Festival from an erupting Icelandic volcano in a video posted on the Facebook page of the Festival after it was cancelled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Notable music acts that have performed at the festival include:

2015:

 * Dan Walsh, banjoist
 * Chris Parkinson, co-founder of the British folk band The House Band

2019:

 * Jez Lowe, County Durham folk singer-songwriter
 * Folkestra, The Sage Gateshead’s youth folk ensemble

2021:

 * Martin Carthy, influential folk singer and guitarist.

Rothbury Hills
Rothbury has a tune about it called "Rothbury Hills," written by Jack Armstrong in 1944. It has been performed by Kathryn Tickell on her 2009 album "Northumberland Collection", and Alexander Armstrong wrote and sang some lyrics to it on his 2015 album "A Year of Songs".

Rothbury Highland Pipe Band
Rothbury has its own pipe band, called the Rothbury Highland Pipe Band. The band was established on 1 June 1920, then being named the Rothbury Kilted Pipe Band. The tartan chosen for their kilts was taken from the army regiment the Seaforth Highlanders, as during World War One some of their soldiers were stationed in Coquetdale and developed friendships with the local people. They reformed in the 1950s, being renamed the Rothbury Highland Pipe Band. The band has appeared on the TV show The White Heather Club.

Football
Rothbury has its own football club: Rothbury FC; the club is in Division One of the Northern Football Alliance, which is on level 11 of the National League System.

Folklore
In Rothbury folklore Simonside Hills overlooking Rothbury has a mythical creature called a deaugar or duergar (Norse for  'dwarf'). It is said that the creature lures people at night by its lantern light towards bogs or cliffs to kill them. The deaugar has entered into Rothbury's popular culture: in 2021 local musician and poet James Tait wrote a debut children's book called The World of Lightness: A Story of the Duergar of Simonside; an annual 10-mile winter nighttime trail run in the Simonside Hills is called the Duergar Nightcrawler; and a Rothbury art gallery is named Red Deaugar Art Gallery, run by local artist Margaret Bodley Edwards, a descendant of Gothic Revival architect George Frederick Bodley (1827–1907), and of diplomat and founder of the Bodleian Library in Oxford, Sir Thomas Bodley (1545–1613).

Bedlington Terrier
The Bedlington Terrier was originally named after Rothbury and known as the Rothbury or Rodbury Terrier however the name changed due to popularity of the breed with miners in the Northumberland pit village of Bedlington.

Crime
The following are notable crimes committed in or connected to Rothbury.

1919 armed robbery of Rothbury Brewery
Dubbed by a newspaper as a "Wild West Drama", on the night of 28 February 1919, an attempted armed robbery took place at the Rothbury Brewery. Two Russian sailors, Peter Klighe and Karl Strautin, broke into the Rothbury Brewery to rob it, however, at around 9:00 pm, patrol officer PC Francis Sinton was walking past the Brewery, and he approached it after hearing noises of breaking glass. As he did so he told a passer-by named James Curry to fetch the manager, Mr Farndale. As PC Sinton approached the brewery one of the two men appeared from it and shot at Sinton, missing him only slightly, and the two began to tussle as the second man appeared from the brewery and smashed Sinton's head with an iron bar. Curry and Farndale arrived finding PC Sinton laying on the ground, Farnsdale struggled with one of the assailant, however he managed to fight Farnsdale off leaving Farnsdale with the assailant's muffler scarf, with the assailant escaping with his accomplice. After an extensive police search around Northumberland, the two perpetrators Klighe and Strautin were found in Walbottle Dene. Despite being armed with a pistol they gave themselves up. Klighe and Strautin were found wearing clothes stolen from the Ashington Co-Op, where they also broke into the safe. They were suspected of breaking into a number of safes across the region. They were charged with four counts of burglary and attempted murder, being sentenced to penal servitude for 13 years before being deported. PC Sinton was awarded the Kings Police Medal for Gallantry.

1993 armed robbery of the Rothbury Post Office
Overnight on 23 and 24 August 1993, Rothbury experienced another armed robbery. An organised crime gang robbed the Rothbury post office of £15,000 (about £30,000 in 2020 money) in cash, stamps and pension books. Armed with iron crowbars and dressed in camouflage and ski masks, the robbers cut the telephone wires, blocked the main road with a stolen council van, and threatened local residents.

The then MP for Rothbury, Liberal Democrat Alan Beith said the event showed rural communities like Rothbury needed extra police cover to fight organised crime. Detective Inspector John Hope, who led the investigation, stated that too much of focus on cities leads to organized crime moving to rural villages. He also said that improving roads to give better police access to rural villages would help decrease crime, and that the criminal justice system was failing to convict people, with criminals knowing they could escape punishment.

2010 Northumbria police manhunt
In July 2010, Rothbury was the site of a major police manhunt. Raoul Moat was released from HM Prison Durham on 1 July, after an 18-week sentence for assaulting a nine-year-old relative. During his prison sentence, his girlfriend had a relationship with a police officer that she kept secret from Moat; his business also collapsed while he was in prison, for which he blamed the police. After his release, he discovered his girlfriend's relationship; he shot and killed her new boyfriend, 29-year-old karate instructor Chris Brown, and attempted to kill her. Then, while driving on the A1, he attacked police officer David Rathband, stationed in a patrol car on the roundabout of the A1 and A69 roads near East Denton, permanently blinding him. (Rathband would hang himself at home in Blyth 18 months later.) Moat then went on the run for six days (3–9 July), hiding in and around Rothbury. Police then cornered him by the river on the night of 9 July. After a six-hour stand-off, with Moat holding a gun to his head the entire time, Moat committed suicide by shooting himself early on the morning of 10 July.

2021 pub robberies
In May 2021 burglars broke into two pubs in the same night, the Newcastle House in Rothbury, stealing £4,000 and The Three Wheats in Thropton stealing £150. The landlord of The Three Wheats, Gail Hooper, called the burglars "scumbags".

2021 cannabis farm discovery
In June 2021 police discovered a cannabis farm at the closed-down pub The Railway Hotel in Rothbury, the police said that "At about 2.20pm on Monday we received a report from an electric company that a cannabis farm had been found inside the Railway Hotel pub in Rothbury. Officers attended the scene and about 100 plants were removed and destroyed. A 25-year-old man was arrested and has since been charged with producing a Class B drug".

Deceased

 * Rowland Taylor (1510–1555) an English Protestant martyr during the Marian Persecutions.
 * James Robson (died ca.1757) a landowner, poet, songwriter and one time Jacobite rebel.
 * John Brown (1715–1766) an English Anglican priest, playwright and essayist.
 * Thomas Alcock (1784–1833) an English surgeon.
 * William Armstrong, 1st Baron Armstrong (1810–1900) an English engineer and industrialist

Living

 * Imogen Stubbs (born 20 February 1961, age 63), actress, was born in Rothbury.
 * Alexander Armstrong (born 2 March 1970, age 54), actor, comedian, and co-presenter of Pointless, was born in Rothbury. His father was a GP in the village.

Places named after Rothbury

 * 🇦🇺 Rothbury, New South Wales
 * 🇦🇺 North Rothbury, New South Wales (named after the larger town of Rothbury to the south that ultimately is named after Rothbury, Northumberland)
 * 🇺🇸 Rothbury, Michigan

Film

 * Moonlight Sonata (1937) is a film shot at Cragside. It was directed by Lothar Mendes, written by Edward Knoblock and E. M. Delafield, and starred the former Prime Minister of Poland, Ignacy Jan Paderewski.
 * The Boy and the Bus (2014), a short film (23 minutes long) directed by Simon Pitts, written by Rod Arthur, and featuring actors Ali Cook and Tracey Wilkinson, and with music by John Elliott and Tiny Ruins, was filmed in Rothbury, the film involved a number of locals as extras including pupils from Dr Thomlinson's.

Documentary

 * The Restoration Man (2010–present), is a home improvement show presented by architect George Clarke, the renovation of Thrum Mill by locals Dave and Margaret Heldey into a home was featured on the show in Series 3: Episode 4 (2014) and Clarke's revisiting of the mill a year later in Series 4: Episode Eight (2015).
 * Car SOS (2013–present), is show which restores classic cars in disrepair without the owner knowing, the owner being nominated for the show by a relative or friend, the owner is then surprised with their finished car in a staged event. The renovation of localman Tom Mason's 1934 Morgan F4 three-wheeler was featured in Series 3: Episode 4 (2015).

Drama
Vera (2011–present), a ITV crime drama set in North East England; Northumberland and Tyne and Wear, has scenes from two episodes filmed in Rothbury: Line producer Margaret Mitchell commented on filming at Rothbury for Darkwater: "'We arrived very early in the morning, on an October day when it was very misty. The sun was rising and shone through the water – that was particularly beautiful. It's a great place for walking. When you're here, you're completely struck by the expansive land, the light and the skies. You can see the vast panorama of countryside, the light just fills your eyes. It's incredible.'"Rothbury was also mentioned by DS Joe Ashworth (David Leon) in the episode 'Poster Girl', Series 3: Episode 2.
 * Silent Voices (Season 2 Episode 2) at Thrum Mill, and
 * Darkwater (Season 8 Episode 4) at Simonside Hills

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Rothbury


text:
Rye, East Sussex

 Rye  is a town and civil parish in the Rother district of East Sussex, England, 2 mi from the sea at the confluence of three rivers: the Rother, the Tillingham and the Brede. An important member of the mediaeval Cinque Ports confederation, it was at the head of an embayment of the English Channel, and almost entirely surrounded by the sea.

At the 2011 census, Rye had a population of 4,773. Its historical association with the sea has included providing ships for the service of the Crown in time of war, and being involved in smuggling. The notorious Hawkhurst Gang used its ancient inns The Mermaid Inn and The Olde Bell Inn, which are said to be connected to each other by a secret passageway.

Those historic roots and its charm make it a tourist destination, with hotels, guest houses, B&Bs, tea rooms, and restaurants. Rye has a small fishing fleet, and Rye Harbour has facilities for yachts and other vessels.

History
The name of Rye is believed to come from the West Saxon ieg meaning island. Medieval maps show that Rye was originally located on a huge embayment of the English Channel called the Rye Camber, which provided a safe anchorage and harbour. Probably as early as Roman times, Rye was important as a place of shipment and storage of iron from the Wealden iron industry.

Rye, as part of the Saxon Manor of Rameslie, was given to the Benedictine Abbey of Fécamp in Normandy by King Æthelred; it was to remain in Norman hands until 1247. The town of Rye is recorded in the 1086 Domesday Book as possessing 189 households, marking it as a significant settlement at the time. The cellars of the Mermaid Inn date from 1156.

As one of the two "Antient Townes" (Winchelsea being the other), Rye was to become a limb of the Cinque Ports Confederation by 1189, and subsequently a full member. The protection of the town as one of the Cinque Ports was very important, due to the commerce that trading brought. One of the oldest buildings in Rye is Ypres Tower, which was built in 1249 as "Baddings Tower", to defend the town from the French, and was later named after its owner, John de Ypres. It is now part of the Rye Museum.

Rye received its charter from King Edward I in 1289, and acquired privileges and tax exemptions in return for ship-service for the crown. The "Landgate" (the only surviving one of four original fortified entrances to Rye) dates from 1329 in the early years of the reign of King Edward III. It is suitable only for light vehicles. In 2015, some 25 tonnes of pigeon excrement that had built up had to be removed from Landgate Arch for fear of damaging the ancient structure.

The River Rother originally took an easterly course to flow into the sea near what is now New Romney. However, the violent storms in the 13th century (particularly in 1250 and 1287) cut the town off from the sea, destroyed Old Winchelsea, and changed the course of the Rother. Then the sea and the river combined in about 1375 to destroy the eastern part of the town and ships began use the current area (the Strand) to unload their cargoes. Two years later, the town was sacked and burnt by the French, and it was ordered that the town walls be completed, as a defence against foreign raiders. Rye was considered one of the finest of the Cinque Ports, though constant work had to be done to stop the gradual silting up of the river and the harbour. Also, a conflict arose between the maritime interests and the landowners, who gradually "inned" or reclaimed land from the sea on Romney and Walland Marsh, and thus reduced the tidal flows that were supposed to keep the harbour free of silt. Acts of Parliament had to be passed to enable the Rother to be kept navigable at all.

With the coming of bigger ships and larger deepwater ports, Rye's economy began to decline, and fishing and particularly smuggling (including owling, the smuggling of wool) became more important. Imposition of taxes on goods had encouraged smuggling since 1301, but by the end of the 17th century, it became widespread throughout Kent and Sussex, with wool being the largest commodity. When luxury goods were also added, smuggling became a criminal pursuit, and groups – such as the Hawkhurst Gang who met in The Mermaid Inn in Rye – turned to murder and were subsequently hanged. In the 1500s, there was a small Huguenot community at Rye and neighbouring Winchelsea.

Since 1803, lifeboats have been stationed at Rye although the lifeboat station is now at Rye Harbour about 2 mi downriver from the town. The worst disaster in RNLI history concerning a single vessel, and in the 20th century, occurred in 1928, when the lifeboat Mary Stanford sank with all hands; 17 men were drowned. The incident is recorded by a tablet at Winchelsea church, by the imposing memorial at Rye Harbour Church and by the folk song "The Mary Stanford of Rye". A new Mary Stanford was commissioned by the RNLI two years later, and stationed at Ballycotton on the coast of Ireland. Since 2010, the RNLI has operated an Atlantic 85-class inshore lifeboat at Rye Harbour.

Between 1696 and 1948, six ships of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS Rye.

During the 1803–1805 Napoleonic invasion threat, Rye, Dover, and Chatham were regarded as the three most likely invasion ports, and Rye became the western command centre for the Royal Military Canal. The canal was planned from Pett Level to Hythe, but was not completed until long after the threat had passed.

From 1838 to 1889, Rye had its own borough police force. It was a small force, often with just two officers. Rye police frequently had difficulties on Bonfire night (5 November) and special constables were recruited to help deal with the problems bonfire gangs caused. After amalgamation with the county force in 1889 a new police station was provided in Church Square. In 1892 the strength of the town police, now amalgamated, was one sergeant and three constables.

In May 1940, during the darkest days of World War II, the Rye fishing fleet was invited to participate in Operation Dynamo, the seaborne rescue of the stranded British Expeditionary Force at Dunkirk, but refused to do so.

Rye Royal
Rye, being part of the Cinque Ports Confederation and a bastion against invasion on the Channel Coast, has always had close links with the crown. King Edward III and the Black Prince defeated the Spanish in Rye Bay in 1350 in the battle of Les Espagnols sur Mer, but Queen Elizabeth I gave the town the right to use the title "Rye Royal" following a visit in 1573. King Charles I described Rye as "The cheapest sea-towne for the provision of fish for our house". George I whilst returning from visiting his continental possessions in 1726 was grounded on Camber Sands and spent the next four days in Rye, being accommodated at Lamb House.

Governance
Historically, Rye was an independent borough granted rights of governance under its charter of 1289, with its own appointed Mayor of Rye and chosen jurats (magistrates). These independent powers were terminated by the Local Government Act of 1972 and, although officially considered to be a rural parish, Rye's governing body – because of its history – is that of a Town Council. That Council has one electoral ward, electing 16 members, one of whom then is elected mayor of Rye. In Rye Town Hall, the list of the mayors of Rye is unbroken going back to the 13th century. Two gruesome relics of Rye's violent past include the gibbet cage which was famously used to display the hanged body of the murderer John Breads in 1742, and the pillory last used in 1813 in the case of a local publican who assisted the escape of the French General Armand Philippon.

Apart from the Town Council, the majority of local government functions are exercised by Rother District Council, with its headquarters in Bexhill-on-Sea, and East Sussex County Council, based in Lewes. The Rother District Council ward of Rye and Winchelsea returns two councillors. The East Sussex County Council division of Rye and Eastern Rother returns one councillor.

Since 1983, Rye has been part of the parliamentary constituency of Hastings and Rye, prior to which it had its own seat. The current Member of Parliament, since 2024, is Helena Dollimore of the Labour Party.

Geography
Rye stands at the point where the sandstone high land of the Weald reaches the coast. The medieval coastline (see map above), with its large bay, enabled ships to come up to the port. The original course of the River Rother then reached the sea at Romney to the northeast. Storms in the English Channel in the 13th century, coupled with reclamation of the bay, brought huge quantities of gravel through longshore drift along the coast, blocking the port entrance. The course of the river has also changed over the centuries so that Rye now stands on the river at the point of its confluence with the River Tillingham and the River Brede, whereas the river flows southward into Rye Bay. River Rother and the environs of Rye Harbour are managed and maintained by the Environment Agency. The Rivers Brede and Rother also form part of the Royal Military Canal between Winchelsea and Iden Lock. The town is part of the remotest and least populated area of southeastern England, on the edge of Romney Marsh and within 3 km of the coast.

A part of the town, but only a minority of the housing stock, lies on the original rocky heights (the Citadel) and contains the historic buildings including St Mary's parish church, the Ypres Tower (part of the Town Wall), Lamb House and many of the houses on Mermaid Street, Watchbell Street, and Church Square. The main road skirts the town to the south after crossing the river; Winchelsea Road leads to New Winchelsea Road, formerly Royal Military Road, which runs parallel to the River Brede before leaving the town boundary. The houses along New Winchelsea Road date from the 1930s, built on the excavations from the Royal Military Canal. The gardens run down to the river, with fishing and boating rights. Most of Rye's inhabitants live outside the Citadel area.

Economy
Rye, over the centuries, has successively been an entrepôt port, a naval base, a fishing port, an agricultural centre, and a market town. The old part of the town within the former town walls has shops, art galleries and restaurants. Additionally, Rye is known for oast houses in the surrounding villages and hamlets Many have been converted into private residences, however a few, like the Playden Oasts Inn, remain open to the public.

The great attractiveness of the town has kept it on the tourist trail, especially its "perfect cobbled lanes, like Mermaid Street, which must be one of Britain's most photographed". A 2020 report praised the medieval streets "often wonky houses and it is easy to get lost in the town's history". Camber Sands beach, "with its moody sand dunes and long sandy beach", is nearby. The town and its surrounding areas were branded "1066 country" because of the historic aspects. Few statistics are published for Rye as a town, but an estimated one million visits were made in 2016.

Since the Second World War, the town has become a centre for ceramics. The COVID-19 pandemic negatively affected many East Sussex businesses in 2020–2021. East Sussex Council estimated in September 2020 that "more than £45 million" was expected to be "injected into the county’s economy to aid recovery from the impact of Covid-19".

Apart from its tourist base, Rye continues to operate as a port. At Rye Harbour, the Rastrums Wharf (which was renovated in the 1980s) has the capacity to take large ships up to 80 m on a high tide.

Considerable investment has been made in facilities for both the fishing fleet berthed at Rye and the commercial wharves at Rye Harbour. Rye fishing boats are code-lettered RX (from "Rye, Sussex"; this registration is also used by the Hastings fishing fleet) and land fish daily. Some of the catch is sold at the quayside, though most is sold through the great regional market in Boulogne.

Rye also is an important yachting base, offering the only safe haven for many miles in either direction along this section of Channel coast. Yachts may currently moor either at Rye Harbour or at the Strand Quay at the edge of the town. Numerous plans have been proposed for a modern yacht marina to be built at Rye, but each has foundered on economic or planning grounds.

Transport
At the latter end of the 18th century, Rye was connected to the turnpike trust system of roads. One of these, the Flimwell Turnpike, took passengers towards London; the second ran from Hastings eastwards through the town. These two roads are now the A268 and the A259. The Monk Bretton Bridge over the Rother was built in 1893 and provided a link with Rye and New Romney via Brenzett. In the 1980s and 1990s, proposals to bypass the A259 route around Rye were met with local opposition and never received any priority in the building programme.

In addition to the half-hourly 100/101 Dover-Hastings Stagecoach long-distance bus service, buses connect Rye with other towns and villages, including Tenterden, Hastings, and Tunbridge Wells.

Rye railway station is on the Marshlink line between Hastings and Ashford. This now provides an hourly service from Eastbourne to Ashford International connecting with Eurostar services to Paris Gare du Nord and the high-speed Class 395 service to London St Pancras. Gatwick Airport may be reached by rail via Eastbourne or Lewes.

Before World War II, a summer steamship service ran from Rye to Boulogne. Rye was also the terminus for the prewar Rye & Camber Tramway, built to serve golf courses and Camber Sands; it was closed to the public at the outbreak of World War II, never reopened, and scrapped in 1947.

Several long-distance footpaths can be joined by walkers in the town. The Saxon Shore Way which starts at Gravesend, Kent, and traces the coast as it was in Roman times, passes through Rye en route to Hastings; the 1066 Country Walk leads from Rye to Pevensey; the High Weald Landscape Trail goes to Horsham; and the Royal Military Canal Path follows that waterway to Hythe.

Education
Rye College (formerly called Thomas Peacocke Community College, and before that Thomas Peacocke School) is a secondary school in Rye. The two primary schools, Tilling Green Infant School and Freda Gardham Community School, were replaced by a new school, Rye Primary, adjacent to the secondary institution, in September 2008. The original Rye Primary School was situated just off Ferry Road near the railway crossing.

Places of worship
Past and present places of worship in Rye include St Mary's, the Anglican parish church with Norman origins; St Anthony of Padua Roman Catholic church, rebuilt in 1929; a 1909 Baptist chapel in Cinque Ports Street, replacing the Rye Particular Baptist Chapel of 1754 (which itself stood on the site of an older Quaker meeting house); former Congregational and Independent churches; and a Methodist chapel.

Amenities
Rye is a local commercial centre for the Romney Marsh and Walland Marsh areas, as well as being a tourist spot. Rye Farmers' Market takes place on Strand Quay every Thursday morning. Rye has a well-established reputation as a centre for shops trading antiques, collectors' books, and records, and has many art galleries selling works by local artists and potters with changing exhibitions throughout the year.

Rye's general weekly market takes place on the marketplace car park by the station every Thursday. Until the foot-and-mouth disease crisis in 2001 (which closed all livestock markets in England), livestock sales were held frequently at Rye.

Rye Castle Museum is located on two sites, on East Street and at the Ypres Castle. One of the tourist websites includes a picture tour of the town Rye Art Gallery was established as a Trust in the early 1960s. Located at 107 High Street and incorporating the former Ypres Studio in Ockmans Lane, home of artists Mary Stormont (1871–1962) and her husband Howard Gull Stormont (1859–1935), it provides a focus for contemporary visual art, which it exhibits alongside heritage artworks from its permanent collection.

Rye also stands at the centre of a network of nature reserves, some of national importance. The Rye Harbour SSSI lies to the south and includes the Rye Harbour Nature Reserve. The neighbouring Pett Levels and Pools, and the Pannel Valley nature reserve are accessible via Winchelsea and Winchelsea Beach a few miles to the west, whilst Scotney Lake lies just off the Lydd road and the RSPB reserve at Dungeness lies a few miles further to the east with the Bird Observatory located in the old lighthouse.

The recent redevelopment of the Rye wharf for the RX fishing fleet has provided modern amenities for the landing and storage of fish. Most is sold wholesale through the regional market in Boulogne, though there is a trend for Rye to develop as a gastronomic centre in the style of Newquay or Padstow, featuring the use of fresh local produce from the sea. The annual "Rye Bay Scallop Festival" which takes place each year in February was first proposed by the then Chair of the Chamber of Commerce, Kate Roy, as a means of promoting the "Rye Bay Catch".

Every year in September, Rye hosts its annual two-week Arts Festival which attracts a world-class series of performers in music, comedy, and literature.

On the second Saturday after 5 November, the "Bonfire Boys" stage their annual torch-lit parade through the streets of the town, supported by visiting Bonfire Societies from all over the Sussex Bonfire Societies Confederation. This is followed by a "gurt 'normous bonfire" where the chosen "effigy" of the year is ceremoniously blown up, and a spectacular firework display. This event typically attracts over 10,000 visitors to the town, and results in the town's roads, and the main roads to London, Hastings, and Ashford, being clogged up and closed to traffic from the early evening onwards.

Local media
Local news and television programmes are provided by BBC South East and ITV Meridian. Television signals are received from the Dover and the local relay transmitters.

Rye’s local radio stations are BBC Radio Sussex on 104.5 FM, Heart South on 102 FM and a community radio station which launched on FM on 7 March 2022 and is called Cinque Ports Radio. This station broadcasts across Rye, Romney Marsh and Hythe on 100.2FM and replaced Shoreline FM 100.2 which broadcast since January 2020. Shoreline FM now being an online only service for Rye, Romney Marsh and Hythe called Shoreline Easy.

The town’s local newspaper is Rye News

Sport and leisure
Rye has a non-League football club, Rye Town FC, who play their home matches at The Salts. The club, which was formed in 2016, plays in the East Sussex Football League, and replaced the now defunct Rye United FC (formerly Rye & Iden United) of the Sussex County Football League, which folded in 2014. Rye has a rugby union club, Rye RFC, who compete in the Sussex Intermediate League. The club was formed in 1991 and field both adult and youth teams. The rugby club and its playing fields are located on New Road.

Rye in literature and film
Several mentions of the "small English seaport" were made by travel writers between the 16th and 18th centuries. Among them, Daniel Defoe described the state of the harbour and its approaches, believing that "Rye would flourish again, if her harbour, which was once able to receive the royal navy, cou'd be restor'd", but thought it very doubtful that large ships would be able to use the port again.

Rye has also produced and attracted many writers, some of whom lived at Lamb House which is one of the town's most notable historic residences and now owned by the National Trust. Residents have included Henry James, who lived there between 1898 and 1916, and E. F. Benson. Others who lived in the area include Joseph Conrad; Ford Madox Ford; Stephen Crane; Rumer Godden and the naturalist W. H. Hudson. H. G. Wells, Lytton Strachey and Virginia Woolf were also visitors to Rye.

Lamb House and the town of Rye feature prominently in Benson's Mapp and Lucia novels, as Mallards House and Tilling, respectively. In the mid-1980s, Rye was used as a location by LWT in its adaptation of the novels. Later a BBC adaptation of Mapp and Lucia was filmed in Rye in the summer of 2014. And in May 1958 the author Georgette Heyer spent some time in the town, researching background for several scenes for what became her novel The Unknown Ajax, set in 1817.

The artistic connection
The town and its striking surroundings have frequently served as subject for painters, many of whose works are now on display in its art gallery. One of the earliest topographical panoramas, dating from the 17th century when the town was still an island port, is in the style of Hendrick Danckerts and on display in Rye Castle Museum. Later landscapists who recorded views of the town have included Thomas Girtin, William Daniell, and J. M. W. Turner. During the 20th century, the harbour and its marshy surroundings were a particular draw for such artists as Paul Nash, Eric Ravilious and John Piper. In addition, Edward Burra lived near Rye and frequently painted its marshy surroundings, buildings in the town and even local characters.

Twin towns

 * 🇺🇸 Rye, United States

Notable people
Other residents of the town and environs have included:
 * Conrad Aiken (1889–1973), American writer: Aiken's former home, Jeake's House, is now a guest house.
 * Joan Aiken (1924–2004), children's author, daughter of Conrad Aiken
 * Geoffrey Bagley (1901–1992), Canadian war artist who settled in Rye post war and then worked to preserve the town's historic mementos and places.
 * John Banting (1902–1972), artist and writer, moved to Rye in the 1950s. He lived at 10 High Street.
 * Frederick Edward Bradshaw MacManus OBE (1903–1985) architect, moved to Rye in his retirement.
 * Viola Bayley (1911–1997), children's writer of adventure stories.
 * Reginald Blomfield (1856–1942), prolific architect and designer of the Cross of Sacrifice
 * Fred Boreham (1885–1951), professional footballer
 * Edward Burra (1905–1976), painter, draughtsman and printmaker, born near Rye and lived in the town from time to time in the 1920s and 1930s
 * John Christopher (1922–2012), science fiction author. The 1980s British television series based on his trilogy, The Tripods, was filmed near his house.
 * Tom Chaplin (born 1979), singer of the band Keane
 * Frederick Cuming (artist) (1930–2022) Royal Academician specialising in Landscapes and Seascapes of the Sussex Coast.
 * Monica Edwards (1912–1998), children's author who lived at Rye Harbour and set her Romney Marsh novels in the area, renaming Rye Dunsford.
 * Horace Field (1861–1948), influential "Wrenaissance" architect
 * John Fletcher (1579–1625), Jacobean playwright and solicitor
 * Babylon Graundfote (c. 1420 – 1480), English politician who sat in the House of Commons at several points between 1459 and 1465, and also served as Mayor of Rye between 1463 and 1475.
 * Radclyffe Hall (1880–1943), ground-breaking lesbian writer
 * John Howlett, writer (1942–2019) of novels, TV series, the script of the film If.... and other works.
 * Henry James, (1843–1916), American author
 * Wendy Law-Yone Burmese writer who current lives in London and Rye
 * Paul Nash (1889–1946), World War I artist, lived in East Street in the 1930s
 * Simon Nelson, 10th Earl Nelson (born 1971)
 * Paul McCartney, Beatle, has a home near Peasmarsh.
 * Spike Milligan (1918–2002), comedian, writer, musician, poet, playwright and vice-president of the Rye Rugby Club
 * Prince Rostislav Romanov (born 1985), painter and member of the Russian Romanov family, grew up in Rye
 * John Ryan (1921–2009), although born in Edinburgh, this British author/cartoonist famed for his TV cartoon Captain Pugwash, was a resident of Rye.
 * Malcolm Saville (1901–1982), author of nearly 80 children's books, largely thrillers and adventure stories. Saville was the creator of the Lone Pine series of books, a number of which were set in Rye, including The Gay Dolphin Adventure and Rye Royal.
 * Baron Saville of Newdigate (born 1936) chair of the "Bloody Sunday" enquiry and nephew of Malcolm Saville, attended Rye Grammar School (1947–1953). The new Rye Studio School's dance theatre is named after him.
 * Admiral Sir Aubrey Smith (1872–1957) lived in Rye at Iden Cottage.
 * Russell Thorndike (1885–1972) set his Dr Syn novels about smuggling on the marshes.
 * Philippa Urquhart (born 1940), British actress
 * Sir Anthony van Dyck (1599–1641) did several drawings of the town.
 * J. M. W. Turner (1775–1851) did many drawings and paintings of the town and its coastline, including surrounding areas such as Hastings.

title: Rye, East Sussex


text:
Tavistock

Tavistock is an ancient stannary and market town within West Devon, England. It is situated on the River Tavy from which its name derives. At the 2011 census the three electoral wards (North, South and South West) had a population of 13,028. It traces its recorded history back to at least 961 when Tavistock Abbey, whose ruins lie in the centre of the town, was founded. Its most famous son is Sir Francis Drake.

Middle Ages
The area around Tavistock (formerly Tavistoke), where the River Tavy runs wide and shallow allowing it to be easily crossed, and near the secure high ground of Dartmoor, was inhabited long before historical records. The surrounding area is littered with archaeological remains from the Bronze and Iron Ages.

The abbey of Saint Mary and Saint Rumon was founded in 961 by Ordgar, Earl of Devon. After destruction by Danish raiders in 997 it was restored, and at the time of the Conquest ranked as the wealthiest house in Devon, including the hundred and manor of Tavistock among its possessions. Among its famous abbots was Aldred, who crowned Harold II and William I, and died Archbishop of York.

In 1105 a royal charter was granted by Henry I to the monks of Tavistock to run a weekly "Pannier Market" (so called after the baskets used to carry goods) on a Friday, which still takes place today. In 1116 a three-day fair was also granted to mark the feast of Saint Rumon, another tradition that is still maintained in the shape of the annual "Goosey" fair on the second Wednesday in October.

By 1185 Tavistock had achieved borough status, and in 1295 it became a parliamentary borough, sending two members to parliament. The abbey church was rebuilt in 1285. In 1305, with the growing importance of the area as one of Europe's richest sources of tin, Tavistock was one of the four stannary towns appointed by charter of Edward I, where tin was stamped and weighed and monthly courts were held for the regulation of mining affairs.

Parish church
The St Eustachius' Church (named after the Roman centurion who became a Christian) was dedicated by Bishop Stapledon in 1318 though there are very few remains of that building today. It was rebuilt and enlarged into its current form between 1350 and 1450, at which time the Clothworkers' Aisle (an outer south aisle) was included, an indication of the growing importance of the textile industry to the local economy—the trade was protected by a 1467 statute. The whole is in the Perpendicular style and consists of a nave and chancel; both with two aisles, tower and outer south aisle.

It possesses a lofty tower supported on four open arches, one of which was reputedly added to accommodate the 19th-century "tinners" or tin miners. Within are monuments to the Glanville and Bourchier families, besides some fine stained glass, one window being the work of William Morris and another of Charles Eamer Kempe. It also has a roof boss featuring one of the so-called 'Tinners' Hares', a trio of rabbits/hares joined at and sharing three ears between them. The font is octagonal and dates from the 15th century.

Early modern period
The greater part of the abbey was rebuilt in 1457–1458. The town continued to prosper in the charge of the abbots, acquiring one of England's first printing presses in 1525. Tavistock remained an important centre of both trade and religion until the dissolution of the monasteries—the abbey was demolished in 1539, leaving the ruins still to be seen around the centre of the town. From that time on, the dominant force in the town became the Russell family, Earls and later Dukes of Bedford, who took over much of the land following the Dissolution. In 1552 two fairs on 23 April and 28 November were granted by Edward VI to the Earl of Bedford, then lord of the manor.

In the 17th century great quantities of cloth were sold at the Friday market, and four fairs were held at the feasts of Saint Michael, Epiphany, Saint Mark, and the Decollation of John the Baptist. The charter of Charles II instituted a Tuesday market, and fairs on the Thursday after Whitsunday and at the feast of Saint Swithin.

Tavistock is tied from late medieval times with the Russells, the family name of the Earls of Bedford and since 1694, the Dukes of Bedford. This is clearly seen from the history of the town. The second title of the Duke of Bedford is the Marquess of Tavistock, taken as the courtesy title of the eldest son and heir to the dukedom, and illustrates the importance of this Devon town, its hinterland and the minerals beneath it to the family's fortunes. It is believed that the Russell family retains considerable interests in the locality. Most recently, Robin, the short-lived 14th Duke, as Marquess of Tavistock, was a frequent visitor to the town along with his wife, Henrietta. Andrew Russell is the 15th Duke of Bedford and Marquess of Tavistock.

It is this Russell family connection through the Bedford Estates which gives the name by ownership to Russell Square and Tavistock Square in London, famously home to the Tavistock Clinic, and the bus-bombing of 7 July 2005.

Francis Drake
Around 1540 (some sources state 1542 as the exact year), Sir Francis Drake was born at Crowndale Farm, just to the west of what is now Tavistock College. A Blue Plaque is mounted on the current farmhouse, behind which Drake is believed to have been born, the original farmhouse having been dismantled and the stone transported for use in Lew Trenchard. He became a prominent figure of his age, a champion of Queen Elizabeth, the first Englishman to circumnavigate the world from 1577 to 1580 and one of the English commanders in the victory against the Spanish Armada in 1588.

The famous statue of Drake on Plymouth Hoe is a copy of that on a roundabout on the A386 at the western end of the town, with panels not replicated on the Hoe copy. Drake later made his home at Buckland Abbey, about 8 mi away towards Plymouth, jointly owned/run by Plymouth City Council and the National Trust, and now a museum to Drake.

Industry
Mines of copper, manganese, lead, silver and tin were previously in the neighbourhood and the town played host to a considerable trade of cattle and corn, and industries in brewing and iron-founding.

By the 17th century, tin mining was on the wane and the town relied more heavily on the cloth trade. Under the stewardship of the Russells the town remained prosperous, surviving the Black Death in 1625 (though 52 townspeople died).

English Civil War
In the English Civil War starting 1642, the town was at first held by the Parliamentarians (Francis Russell, the 4th Earl of Bedford was a leading figure in the parliamentarian movement), before later hosting King Charles I and his Royalist troops in 1643 after the defeat of the Parliamentary forces at the Battle of Bradock Down. The town was recaptured by the Parliamentarian New Model Army following the end of the Siege of Plymouth in 1646.

In 1694, William Russell, 5th Earl of Bedford became the first Duke of Bedford.

Late modern period
By 1800, cloth was heading the same way as tin had done a century earlier, but copper was starting to be copiously mined in the area, to such an extent that by 1817 the Tavistock Canal had been dug (most of the labour being performed by French prisoners of war from the Napoleonic Wars) to carry copper to Morwellham Quay on the River Tamar, where it could be loaded into sailing ships. In 1822 the old fairs were abolished in favour of six fairs on the second Wednesday in May, July, September, October, November and December.

In the mid-19th century, with nearby Devon Great Consols mine at Blanchdown one of the biggest copper mining operations in the world, Tavistock was booming again, reputedly earning the 7th Duke of Bedford alone over £2,000,000. A statue in copper of the 7th Duke stands in Guildhall Square. The Duke built a 50,000 imperial gallon (230 m3) reservoir to supply the town in 1845, as well as a hundred miners' houses at the southern end of town, between 1845 and 1855. There is a strong, recognisable vernacular "Bedford style" of design, exemplified most strikingly in Tavistock Town Hall and "Bedford Cottages" ubiquitous across Tavistock and much of the local area to the north and west, where the Bedfords had their estate and summer "cottage" at Endsleigh House and Gardens, which since 2005 is the Hotel Endsleigh run by Alex Polizzi.

Tavistock was deprived of one member of Parliament in 1867 and finally disenfranchised in 1885. The railway came to the town in 1859, with connections to the Great Western Railway and the London and South Western Railway (LSWR). At around this time the centre of town was substantially and ruthlessly remodelled by the 7th Duke of Bedford, including the construction of the current town hall and Pannier Market buildings, and the widening of the Abbey Bridge, first built in 1764, and a new Drake Road ramped up northwards from Bedford Square to the LSWR station. Tavistock North railway station opened to much acclaim and fanfare in 1890. The population had peaked at around 9,000. By 1901 the population had halved, recorded as 4,728. In 1968, following the Beeching Report, Tavistock Station closed, and in 1999 English Heritage listed the building as Grade II.

Kelly College, a co-educational public school, to the north-east of the town, was founded by Admiral Benedictus Marwood Kelly, and opened in 1877 for the education of his descendants and the orphan sons of naval officers, and is a pastiche of the Bedford and High Victorian styles of building. It later amalgamated with Mount House to form Mount Kelly Foundation.

Early 20th and 21st centuries
In 1911, the Bedford influence on the town came to an end after over 450 years, when the family sold most of their holdings in the area to meet death duties.

West Devon Borough Council is based in Tavistock, about 500 metres north of Bedford Square at Kilworthy Park. There was a small police station under part of the Bedford building complex on Bedford Square; this has closed and a new one is in Abbey Rise. The adjacent historic Magistrates Court has also closed and the nearest criminal court is now at Plymouth Law Courts.

In 1926 a meeting was held in Tavistock with representatives of the UK government and UK scientific instrument makers. A comparison was made on Dartmoor between UK theodolites and their European competition, especially the Swiss Wild T2 theodolite. One result of this conference was the 1930 "Tavistock" theodolite by Cooke, Troughton & Simms.

In 1933 the long-disused canal was put to use providing hydroelectric power for the area.

A war memorial in Bedford Square commemorates the townsfolk killed in the First and Second World Wars. Many families across Britain exercised their right not to have their family members named on these public memorials. In 2006 it was planned to move the monument to a site in the graveyard of the Parish Church, but due to local opposition this did not happen.

World War 2
In May 1943, parts of the American 29th Infantry division were stationed in Tavistock, as well as other areas of the South West. From 1944 there were a number of high ranking visits to the division, including that of Dwight D. Eisenhower, in February of that year, and Army Lieutenant General Omar Bradley.

The stationed division then left the town in May 1944 to be involved in the Omaha Beach landings part of Operation Overlord.

Later 20th and 21st centuries
Tavistock had two railway stations, both now closed. Tavistock South was the Great Western Railway's station, on the route between Launceston and Plymouth. This was closed and mostly dismantled between 1962 and 1965. The station was sited to the south of Bedford Square, just over the bridge and to the right—now a council depot: no trace of the station remains. Tavistock North was the Plymouth, Devonport and South Western Junction Railway's station, operated by the London and South Western Railway, on the route between Lydford and Plymouth via Bere Alston. This opened on 2 June 1890 and closed on 6 May 1968. The main station building survives as railway-themed bed and breakfast accommodation while the extensive goods yard is now known as Kilworthy Park and houses the offices of West Devon Borough Council. The railway for around a mile south of Tavistock North station is open to the public as a footpath and nature reserve and one can walk across the viaducts that overlook the town.

The trackbed of the Tavistock North route is almost intact to Bere Alston, where it joins today's Tamar Valley Line. The possible re-opening of a rail link has been discussed for a number of years. Engineering assessment shows the rail-bed, bridges and tunnels to be in sound condition. In 2008 a housing developer offered to rebuild the railway to Bere Alston (from a new station slightly south of the town) if they were allowed to build 800 properties. This has also encouraged speculation about restoring the Tavistock-Okehampton rail link, which could provide an alternative to the Devon coastal main line to link the South West Region with the rest of the country. In December 2010 the developer published an update on the possibility of reinstating the line between Tavistock and Bere Alston and hence providing a train service between Tavistock and Plymouth. In April 2010 the Liberal Democrats had suggested that a Tavistock-Plymouth service could be included in the rail expansion plans should they win the 2010 General Election.

In 1986, the town's two newspapers, the Tavistock Gazette (founded in 1857) and the Tavistock Times (established in 1920) merged to form the current weekly publication, the Tavistock Times Gazette, with a circulation of around 8,000. The newspaper is owned by Tindle Newspaper Group. The newspaper celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2007, with a visit from the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall.

In July 2006 Tavistock was named the eastern Gateway to the Cornish Mining World Heritage Site, which runs westward through the Tamar Valley and Great Consols Mine, down the spine of Cornwall to Lands End. This £75 million project is likely to bring more tourists to Tavistock. There has been no progress with proposals for a £1.1 million World Heritage Site Interpretation Centre, planned for 2007, to be built in the area of the Guildhall, and overlooking the River Tavy.

A local community group known as "Tavistock Forward" have been negotiating to take over the Guildhall complex with police and English Heritage endorsement, with leaseback of the existing police station to Devon & Cornwall Police, while developing the Guildhall itself.

Geography
Tavistock lies on the edge of Dartmoor, around 24 km north of Plymouth on the A386, with a population of 11,018. The town is centred on the paved amenity of Bedford Square, around which are found St. Eustachius' Church and the abbey ruins, to the west, the Grade 2-listed town hall, the disused former Guildhall/magistrates' court buildings, and Pannier Market buildings behind the town hall. Abbey Bridge crosses the River Tavy to the south, while West Street and Duke Street, on either side of the north end of the square, form the main shopping areas, with the indoor [Pannier] market running behind Duke Street.

Plymouth Road, the A386 heading west from the centre of the square, is home to much of the town's tourist trade, with many hotels and bed and breakfast establishments, as well as the town's bus station. Between Plymouth Road and the Tavy is the park, known locally as the Meadows, along with car parks, the Wharf theatre, cinema and culture centre, and a public recreation pool. West of the Meadows are found the substantial playing fields and buildings of Tavistock College, reached by an underpass below the A386. Further south along the Plymouth Road/A386 lie industrial estates, supermarkets and other large retail outlets. To the north and east of town lies Whitchurch Down, where Dartmoor begins immediately.

Climate
Tavistock has an oceanic climate (Köppen climate classification Cfb).

Religious sites

 * See also Tavistock Abbey
 * For the parish church of St Eustachius, see above, Parish church
 * The Roman Catholic Church of Our Lady of the Assumption and St Mary Magdalene, Fitzford, was built at the expense of the Duke of Bedford in 1867. It is an ambitious building in the neo-transitional style and the tall spire is conspicuous from the high ground surrounding the town. This church was intended as a place of worship for miners. It fell into disuse and was bought in 1952 for use as a Roman Catholic church.

State
Most secondary education is provided by Tavistock College, a state-funded specialist Language College with approximately 2,000 pupils, drawn from a catchment area of about 20 km radius. The college has links with Japan, Uganda, Spain and India where staff exchanges and student visits and projects take place.

Some children who pass the optional Eleven-Plus exam at a high level travel to one of the three remaining grammar schools in Plymouth. Others who leave school at 16 attend the City College C of F E there. Tavistock has a choice of primary schools: Church of England St Peter's and also St Rumon's, together with Devon County Council's Tavistock Community Primary and Whitchurch Primary.

Independent
Mount Kelly School is the independent school in Tavistock. It has two main sites, the college which is situated on Parkwood Road and the Preparatory School which is situated on Mount Tavy Road. The school has 570 pupils between the ages of 3 and 18. Mount Kelly was formed in 2014 after two independent schools, Kelly College and Mount House School merged.

Market village and shopping centre
Tavistock remains a small market town, providing shopping and entertainment for its residents, many small outlying villages and the local farming community. The town is now a centre for the West Devon and Dartmoor tourist trade. It is a fast-growing dormitory area for commuters working in Plymouth and has a sizeable retired population, perhaps drawn by the rural tranquillity and scenery, giving Tavistock an average resident age of 43.

Markets were originally held in Bank Square. A specialist Corn Market was erected on the corner of West Street and King Street in 1835. The main market continues to operate in the large covered market building, the Pannier Market, completed in 1860; the main market is on Fridays, on other days the market hosts specialised events, such as craft fairs and antiques fairs. A Farmers' Market takes place in the Square fortnightly and has been voted Best Farmer's Market in the South West.

In 2005 Tavistock was voted 'Best Market Town' in England and in 2006 'Best Food Town', largely on the strength of the many independent food shops and suppliers in the town and nearby, such as a long-established family grocer and delicatessen in Brook St and the cheese shop behind the Pannier market. The town also became Devon's second Fairtrade Town (in 2006). In 2006 the town was in the news for having successfully cold-shouldered to closure the local branch of McDonald's.

Events
The biggest event in the town's calendar is the annual Tavistock Goose Fair (known locally as the "Goosey Fair") which has existed since 1116. It occurs on the second Wednesday of October, and takes over much of the town for several days either side, drawing crowds which far outnumber the resident population. Traditionally, the Fair was an opportunity to buy a Christmas goose, with plenty of time to fatten the bird before Christmas; nowadays, along with a multitude of gypsy street vendors selling a vast range of wares, there are all the rides and games associated with funfairs, such as fortune tellers.

There is an annual two-day garden festival held on the Spring Bank Holiday weekend and a carnival with a two-day Balloon Fiesta each August bank holiday weekend. In May there is an annual Tavistock Music & Arts Festival.

In 2010, the town was chosen to be a stage depart town in the Tour of Britain cycle race.

On the first Sunday in October, the annual Abbots Way Walk finishes in Tavistock. Started in 1962, this challenge walk starts at Buckfast Abbey and participants walk 24 miles across Southern Dartmoor to finish at Tavistock.

Bus services
The main bus operator in Tavistock is Stagecoach South West. Stagecoach's service 1 runs frequently into Plymouth 7 days a week. Other Stagecoach services include the 87 to Bere Alston and service 89 Town Service. Plymouth Citybus run rural services onto Dartmoor from Tavistock. Dartline operate service 118 to Okehampton.

Coach excursions
Lomax Tours run coach day excursions from Tavistock and surrounding areas.

Rail Links
Currently Tavistock doesn't have a railway station although it used to have two. Okehampton and Plymouth are the nearest current stations.

Road
The A386 connects Tavistock to the A30 in the north and the A380 in the south.

Culture and sport
Tavistock's coat of arms is blazoned "Per pale, gules and azure, a fleece banded; a chief, dexter a lion passant gardant, sinister a fleur-de-lys, all or". The earliest record of these arms is in 1684. The fleece refers to the wool trade and the fleur-de-lys probably to Our Lady, joint patron of Tavistock Abbey. The town's motto is "Crescit sub pondere virtus", meaning "virtue flourishes under a burden".

Tavistock Penny Token
Bigbury Mint Ltd, medal makers based near Plymouth in Devon, produce a semi-reproduction of the Tavistock Penny Token which is distinguished from the original by the Bigbury Mint mark stamped on both sides of the coin. There is an example of the original coin held in the Science Museum Collection. The Bigbury Mint reproduction coin is struck in copper as a celebration of the proud mining history of the town, the obverse of the coin features the Tavistock fleur-de-lys and the reverse of the coin has a carving of the mine, along with the words "Devon Mines, 1811".

Literature
Tavistock was the birthplace of the poet William Browne. The town is mentioned in some of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes adventures, including The Hound of the Baskervilles and "The Adventure of Silver Blaze". It is also receives a mention in R. D. Blackmore's classic Lorna Doone and Neal Stephenson's novel, The System of the World. Anna Eliza Bray was the author of The Borders of the Tamar and the Tavy (1836), an account of the traditions and superstitions of the neighbourhood of Tavistock in the form of letters to Robert Southey.

Sport
Tavistock has one senior football team, Tavistock A.F.C. and two junior football teams, Tavistock Town and Tavistock Thistles. Together the three clubs form Tavistock Community Football Club offering coaching and competition to players of all ages from 5 years old to veterans. There is also a rugby team with a large and active minis and junior section, Tavistock Rugby Football Club.

Media
Local TV coverage is provided by BBC South West and ITV West Country. Television signals are received from the Caradon Hill and the local relay TV transmitters.

Tavistock's local radio stations are BBC Radio Devon on 103.4 FM, Heart West on 96.6 FM, and Greatest Hits Radio South West (formerly The Breeze) on 105.5 FM.

The Tavistock Times Gazette, published on Thursdays, is the town's local newspaper.

Twin towns
The town has had twinning links with Pontivy in France since 1958 and Celle in Germany.

Notable people

 * Mary Colling, poet and domestic servant of Tavistock.
 * Sir Francis Drake was born nearby, and was mayor of, Tavistock
 * Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, a model, grew up on a farm near Tavistock.
 * Pete Quaife, the Kinks bass player, was born in the town.
 * Olympians Kate Allenby and Heather Fell both have ties with Tavistock.
 * Graham Dawe (England, Sale and Bath rugby hooker) and Rob Baxter (the Exeter Chiefs and England rugby coach) were both born in Tavistock.
 * The hymn writer Elizabeth Parsons was also born in the town.
 * Michael Howat (born 1958), cricketer
 * William Thomas Goode (died 1932), journalist and academic

title: Tavistock


text:
Thetford

Thetford is a market town and civil parish in the Breckland District of Norfolk, England. It is on the A11 road between Norwich and London, just east of Thetford Forest. The civil parish, covering an area of 29.55 km2, in 2011 had a population of 24,340.

There has been a settlement at Thetford since the Iron Age, and parts of the town predate the Norman Conquest; Thetford Castle was established shortly thereafter. Roger Bigod founded the Cluniac Priory of St Mary in 1104, which became the largest and most important religious institution in Thetford. The town was badly hit by the Dissolution of the Monasteries, including the castle's destruction, but was rebuilt in 1574 when Elizabeth I established a town charter. After World War II, Thetford became an "overspill town", taking people from London, as a result of which its population increased substantially.

Thetford railway station is located on the Breckland line and is one of the best surviving pieces of 19th-century railway architecture in East Anglia.

Name
The origin of the name Thetford is unclear. The site was an important crossing of the River Little Ouse, so one possibility is that the settlement drew its name from the Anglo-Saxon Theodford or people's ford. It is also unclear if the nearby River Thet is named after the crossing or the later settlement.

Early history
Breckland was used as an excavation site for flint tools around 2000 BC. During the Iron Age, a fort was established on Icknield Way at the site of Thetford Castle. Thetford was an important tribal centre for the Iceni during the late Iron Age and early Roman period, with Castle Hill and Gallows Hill being sites of particular note. During the Saxon period it was the principal centre of the eastern Heptarchy and a regular battle site between locals and the Viking invaders.

A mint was built in Thetford in the 9th century. There is evidence of coins minted in Thetford from the time of King Canute to the reign of King John. A monastery was established around 1020 and a grammar school was operating since before the Norman Conquest of 1066. The town greatly prospered during the reign of Edward the Confessor (1042–1066), and at one point there were 944 free Burgesses living in Thetford. The Domesday Book of 1086 estimated the population of Thetford to have grown to between 4000 and 4500 people, which would have been the sixth largest town in Britain at the time. The Book lists William of Bello Fargo as the Bishop of Thetford at the time. The bishopric had moved here from North Elmham in 1071 and stayed in Thetford until moving to Norwich in 1096. In 1067–1069, Thetford Castle was built on the ruins of an Iron Age fort at Castle Hill. It is believed to have been constructed either by Ralph Guader, Earl of East Anglia, or Roger Bigod, his successor as Earl, who is known to have ordered Bungay and Framlingham castles to have been built in Suffolk. In 1104, Bigod founded the Cluniac Priory of St Mary. The priory grew rapidly, with an influx of monks from Lewes, and in 1107 it was moved to a larger site on the other side of the river where the ruins remain today. It became the largest and most important religious institution in Thetford.

The Norfolk Lent Assizes were held at Thetford from 1264 because there was only one Assize for both Norfolk and Suffolk. Thetford, being close to the border between the two, was convenient for both. However, after much pressure, an Act of Parliament was passed in 1832 to transfer them to Norwich. In 1373, John of Gaunt, the Duke of Lancaster, was responsible for altering the administrative makeup of the town, promoting the mayor to its most important official, subjecting the bailiff and the coroner to report to him. Thetford had its own coroner, courts and legal officials, without depending on those for the counties of Norfolk and Suffolk.

Tudor history to present
Henry VIII sent Anne Boleyn's father, Thomas, as part of a Commission to assess Thetford in 1527. The Commission concluded that the town had fallen into "great ruin and decay" and that the burgesses of the town had squandered rents and dues which belonged to the King. Thetford was struck hard by the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the 1530s and 1540s. A formal complaint was raised by the mayors and burgesses to Thomas Cromwell in 1539, arguing that many of the town's inhabitants would fall into extreme poverty because their livelihoods depended on pilgrims visiting Thetford. Thetford Priory was closed down in 1540 and fell into the possession of Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk. In 1574, Elizabeth I granted a Charter of Incorporation to the town, setting up a governing body of a mayor, ten burgesses and twenty commoners to meet in the Guildhall and redevelop the town main streets, houses and shops. Elizabeth arrived in Thetford on 27 August 1578 to survey developments, holding a Privy Council meeting at Sir Edward Clere's Place House, now Nunnery Place. A lot of material from the decaying priory and religious buildings in the town were used to save building costs in the building of King's House and other buildings in Thetford.

In 1819 there was a local desire to develop Thetford into a spa town modelled on Bath, Cheltenham and Harrogate. A pump room was built over the spring at Nuns Bridges and the Thetford Mineral Spring Company was established. The mayor financed a new gravel path along the bank of the Little Ouse, which was named Spring Walk. The plan did not succeed; by 1838 the pump room was closed. In 1835 the old Corporation of Thetford was abolished, and a new one set up a mayor, four aldermen and twelve councillors. The town was represented by two MPs until 1868 when it lost a seat to Scotland.

Dr Allan Glaisyer Minns, born in Inagua, the Bahamas, became the first black man to become a mayor in Britain when he was elected as Mayor of Thetford in 1904.

In 1912, more than 30,000 troops participated in military manoeuvres on the heath land outside the town. Over 700 men from the town fought in World War I; a memorial was erected in 1921 with the names of over 100 men who died during the war. Locally in the wooded and sand like areas, the trial tests of the first tank took place in total secrecy in early 1915. At the end of World War II, Thetford still only had a population of around 5000 people. In the 1950s, the borough council drew up a plan with the London County Council to relocate Londoners and several businesses to Thetford and double the population. By the late 1980s the population of Thetford had reached around 21,000 people. This meant that Thetford grew faster than any other town in Norfolk.

Geography
Thetford is situated in the south of Norfolk, close to the county boundary with Suffolk. By road it is 33.8 mi northeast of Cambridge and 30.7 mi southwest of Norwich. It lies on the River Little Ouse. On the western side of Thetford is Thetford Forest, which is heavily forested with pine trees. Brettenham Heath National Nature Reserve is to the northeast, near the hamlet of Roudham. To the southeast of Thetford is Nunnery Lakes Nature Reserve, covering about 200 acres, with breckland heath, woodland, fen and open water habitats and 2 km of paths.

Economy and services
The Thetford Borough Police Force was established in 1836, and in 1857 the small force joined Norfolk County Constabulary. Thetford Fire Brigade was established in 1880.

The Thetford Gas Company, founded in 1838, proved very short-lived until Thetford Gasworks opened on Bury Road in 1845. In 1848, gas street lighting was installed in Thetford. From 1877 the town was provided with a clean water supply thanks to a new reservoir and steam engine on Gallows Hill to pump fresh water into the town. In 1929 the Anglian Electricity Supply Company began supplying electricity to the town, which was completed in 1933.

Thetford was the headquarters of Tulip International, large-scale manufacturers of bacon, beef and pork. In March 2007 the factory laid off three quarters of their workforce in Thetford with the loss of 350 jobs, and the factory later closed in 2010. In January 2018 it was announced that a new retail park and restaurant had been approved on the factory site with over 7,367 m2 of retail floor space. The development was initiated by Stapleford Thetford Ltd. as part of the Thetford-Cambridge-Norwich Technology Corridor. The market is held outside Thetford Guildhall in the town centre on Tuesdays and Saturdays.

The British Trust for Ornithology has its headquarters at The Nunnery in Thetford.

Landmarks
Thetford contains the ruins of Thetford Castle and Thetford Priory, which was closed during the Reformation. The Grade II listed timber-framed Bell Inn in the town was first mentioned in 1493 and was used as a coaching inn on the Norwich-London road until 1845 when it became connected by railway. The Black Horse public house dates from the mid 18th century, and is grade II listed. Thetford Warren Lodge was built in around 1400 by the Prior of Thetford to protect gamekeepers and hunters against poachers, and was later used to harvest rabbits.

The Charles Burrell Museum opened in 1991 in the former Paint Shop of Charles Burrell & Sons on Minstergate in Thetford. The museum is dedicated to steam power and steam transport. The Ancient House Museum is situated in an oak-framed Tudor merchant's house on White Hart Street. It contains replicas of the Thetford Hoard and has numerous displays about flinting, rabbit warrens and wildlife. The Thetford Academy, Norfolk was established through the merger of Charles Burrell Humanities School and Rosemary Musker High School in September 2010.

Culture
The external scenes for the BBC TV series Dad's Army were filmed in and around the town, with Thetford's flint buildings doubling for Walmington-on-Sea. The Dad's Army Museum is housed in part of Thetford Guildhall.

Media
Local news and television programmes are provided by BBC East and ITV Anglia. Television signals are received from the Tacolneston and local relay transmitters.

The town's local radio stations are BBC Radio Norfolk on 104.4 FM, Greatest Hits Radio Norfolk & North Suffolk on 96.7 FM, Heart East on 102.4 FM, and Thetford Radio, a community radio station.

The local newspapers are the Thetford & Brandon Times and the Eastern Daily Press.

Sport
The local football club, Thetford Town, plays in the Eastern Counties Football League. Thetford Rugby Union Football Club is based on Mundford Road just outside Thetford, with its first team playing in the Eastern Counties London 3.

Thetford Town Cricket Club have two adult teams competing in the Norfolk Cricket Alliance and one in the Norfolk Friendly Alliance. The club also boasts a thriving junior section.

A swimming team called the Thetford Dolphins is based at Breckland Leisure Centre's Waterworld swimming pools. World champion triathlete Chrissie Wellington is a former member of this swimming club.

Thetford Golf Club, to the northwest of the town in Thetford Forest Park, was established in 1912 with a course originally designed by Charles H. Mayo, and later alterations by James Braid and Philip Mackenzie Ross. The construction of the second Thetford bypass resulted in five of the course holes being lost and having to be re-fashioned by Cameron Sinclair and Donald Steel.

Transport
Thetford railway station is located on the Breckland line between Ely and Norwich and opened in 1845. The station building was designed in a Neo-Jacobean style and constructed using local Breckland flint, and extended in 1889. It has one of the best preserved set of railway buildings in East Anglia, retaining nine separate buildings that have survived from the nineteenth century, and has been Grade II listed since 1971. The Thetford to Bury St Edmunds line opened on 1 March 1876, and included a second station in the town, Thetford Bridge. The line closed to passengers in 1953 and goods in 1960.

The town sits on the historic turnpike road between London and Norwich, which later became the A11. The first bypass opened in 1968, followed by a second in 1987. A high speed dual carriageway link from Thetford towards London opened in December 2014, which removed the remaining 9 miles of single carriageway via Elveden. The other main roads through the town are the A134 from Colchester to King's Lynn, and the A1066 towards Diss.

The National Cycle Route 13 links Thetford to Gateley, near Fakenham.

Notable people

 * Theodosia Ann Dean (1819-1843), missionary; was born in the town
 * Allan Glaisyer Minns (1858-1930), Doctor and the first black man to become a mayor in Britain, was mayor of Thetford
 * Allan Noel Minns (1891-1921), latter's son, Doctor and one of first British Army officers of Afro-Caribbean descent to serve in World War I; buried in Thetford Cemetery.
 * Thomas Paine (1737-1809), political radical, involved in both the American Revolution and the French Revolution, was born in the town.
 * Duleep Singh (1838-1893), last Maharaja of the Punjab, lived part of his exile at nearby Elveden. An equestrian statue of the Maharaja was unveiled in 1999 at Butten Island in the town, which benefited from his and his sons' generosity.

Twin towns
Thetford is twinned with the towns of:
 * Hürth, near Cologne, Germany
 * Skawina, near Kraków, Poland
 * Nissewaard, near Rotterdam, Netherlands
 * Les Ulis, near Paris, France

Freedom of the Town
The following people and military units have received the Freedom of the Town of Thetford.

Individuals

 * William Ellis Clarke: 1973.
 * David Osborne: 14 September 2019. Town Historian

Military Units

 * RAF Honington on 9 June 2019.

title: Thetford