Society's 40th anniversary

This year being the 40th anniversary of the founding of Rye Conservation Society, to commemorate the occasion we brought a speaker to the Rye Arts Festival.  Dr David Heathcote, a freelance historian and former academic,  gave a fascinating illustrated talk on  the history of The Shell County Guides to a packed audience at the Methodist Church on 18 September.  He described how John Betjeman and John Piper were involved in the earlier guides and then many different contributors became authors in recent times.

Dr David Heathcote

The audience was interested and amused to hear of the colourful backgrounds and histories of some of those involved.

Visit to Farnham, 11 September 2012

27 members of Rye Conservation Society visited Farnham on 11 September, with members of The Farnham Society as our hosts. We had coffee in the Council Chambers and an introductory talk on Farnham and The Farnham Society, which celebrated its centenary last year.  This was followed by a guided tour of Farnham, with one group escorted by the Town Crier.  We saw many interesting historic buildings in the town, many of them connected to hop-picking, a major industry in the past.  We visited the Victoria Garden, built on the site of the former open-air swimming baths to celebrate Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee.

Farnham Town Crier sends his regards to Rye Town Crier

Victoria Garden