Rye's Exciting History

Yesterday I introduced you to the town of Rye. It isn't very big, but it is very old.  And when you have a very old city on the coast, you are bound to have some mention of a darker point in its history.  Rye is no exception.

In the 1700s, Rye was a very important trade hub.  People who were importing or exporting goods would do a lot of their business through Rye.  But when there is trading going on in the daylight, there is also trading going on in the dark (not literally). 

SMUGGLING! There was a lot of it in Rye at the time.  Smugglers would hide their stashes in the old vaulted cellars.  They even had a network of secret tunnels and passages so they could do their business without being caught by the police or the navy.  Isn't that exciting?  Like pirates but on land!

But Rye wasn't completely without protection.  In 1380, King Edward III decided to fortify this important city in his kingdom.  Parts of it still stand today, including Ypres Tower.

It looks like a mini-castle! Really, it is a fort used to defend Rye from pirates and invading ships...if there ever were any.

You need cannons to protect your fort.

As well as knights willing to defend the fair city!

Now, what do you suppose this contraption might be?

Luckily, there was a sign to prevent any confusion:

Watch your step! Just one more way the early citizens of Rye kept their city safe!