History of the River Rother (East)

Rye has a rich maritime history. Used by the Romans for the export of iron, it joined the Cinque Ports in the 12th century. Ships were built here and the town even had a royal dockyard. By the 16th century, Rye was the largest port on the south coast.

But the inundations of the sea mean that today's River Rother is not what it was. The river has been diverted several times throughout history, as ports have waxed and waned, coastal villages have been lost to the sea, and local nobles have fought to control flooding.

Navigation upstream was improved in the 1730s by the construction of Star Lock (now resited and known as Scots Float Lock or Sluice).

Ship-building continued into the 1850s. But siltation caused the decline of the port of Rye, and a rapid decline in the port's fortunes in the late 19th century saw almost all traffic leave for the commercial seaports of East Kent.

Today, Rye still attracts some commercial shipping, a fishing fleet and a thriving number of yachts. The Rother is now the only local waterway regularly navigated by boats, with the Brede, Tillingham and Royal Military Canal having fallen away. But the lower reaches of the Rye have benefited greatly from the increased popularity of sailing in recent years.