Towns & Villages in Herts

The Rye House

Hoddesdon

The Rye House is the oldest surviving brink building in Hertfordshire - see Bricks: The Rye House

THE RYE HOUSE
Hertfordshire
Engraved by John Pye, from a Drawing by J. C. Smith
For the Beauties of England & Wales – E.W.B. dxt
London : Published by Vernor, Hood & Sharpe, Poultry, Feb^y1, 1807

In 1443, Sir Andrew Ogard was granted a licence by Henry VI to "impark and fortify the Maner of Rye". The gatehouse is all that remains of the house that Ogard built, and is one of the earliest examples in the country of the re-introduction of brick into building. The house achieved notoriety through the Rye House plot to murder Charles II and his brother, James Duke of York, on their way back from the races at Newmarket in 1683. The then owner of Rye House, Richard Rumbold, was implicated in the plot which was foiled when the King returned to London earlier than expected.

During the late 18th and early 19th centuries the gatehouse was used as the parish workhouse of Stanstead Abbotts. In recent years it has been extensively restored and opened to the public by the Lee Valley Regional Park Authority.

Hoddesdon's Past in Pictures

Rye House, Broxbourne - a Langsdorff postcard fron 1906.

The Great Bed of Ware, which at one time was kept in Rye House
Postcard with no publisher details - circa 1930s?
The Bed is currently in the Victoria and Albert Museum

Web: Lee Valley Online includes historical information on the Rye House..

The Rye House is the oldest surviving brick building in Hertfordshire - see Bricks: The Rye House

Dr David Hughson's Description of London, published circa 1810 include a view of Rye House.

If you know of other books, websites, etc, relating to this place, please tell me.

Page updated May 2005