R Y H 
503 
RYE 
f.iem in a charter granted by Henry III. In the reign of 
Edward III. the town was surrounded by a strong wall, and 
guarded by towers under the superintendence of William 
d’Ypres, earl of Kent, one of which still bears his name, 
and is now used for the town jail. At that period. Rye was 
so considerable a port, that it sent nine armed vessels to the 
royal fleet, when the king undertook the invasion of France. 
In the next reign it was plundered and burnt by the French, 
but soon recovered its consequence. The rise of other ports 
on the same coast, during the last century, has rendered it 
of less importance than before. Population 2681. Houses 
476. Market on Wednesday and Friday ; 34 miles south¬ 
east of Tunbridge, and 63 south-east of London. Lat. 51. 
57. N. long. 0. 44. E. 
RYE, a small town of Denmark, in North Jutland, 18 
miles west of Aarhuus. It is said to have been formerly a 
place of consequence, but is at present much reduced. 
RYE, a township of the United States, in Rockingham 
county, New Hampshire; 7 miles south of Portsmouth. 
Population 1020.—There is a small village of the same name 
on the road to Boston; 25 miles from New York. 
RYE, a township of the United States, in West Chester 
county, New York, on Long Island sound; 28 miles north¬ 
east of New York. Population 1278. 
RYE, a township of the United States, in Cumberland 
county, Pennsylvania, on the west side of the Susquehannah. 
Population 1233. 
RYE, s. [pyje, Sax.] A coarse kind of bread corn. 
Between the acres of the rye. 
These pretty country folks would lye. Sha/cspeare. 
Rye is more acrid, laxative, and less nourishing than 
wheat. Arbuthnot .—A disease in a hawk. Ainsworth. 
RYEGATE, a market town, borough, and parish of 
England, in the county of Surrey, situated in a pleasant 
valley called Holmsdale, at the foot of the chalk ridge of 
hills which traverses this county from west to east. It stands 
on a rock of beautiful white sand, which is not equalled, it 
is said, in colour, by any in the kingdom ; and the wells dug 
in this rock supply abundance of excellent water. The town 
consists of two streets; the principal, or High-street, running 
nearly east and west, and the other, called Bell-street, from 
north to south. The church is situated at the western 
extremity of the town; it is dedicated to St. Mary Magdalen, 
and is built of squared chalk or limestone. It has two aisles 
extending through the chancel, nearly to the east end of the 
nave, and an embattled tower of hewn stone, containing 
eight bells. Within the church are various handsome and 
costly monuments. On the north side of the town, behind 
the principal street, was situated the castle, of whose origin 
and ancient history little is known. It was one of the chief 
seats of the powerful earls of Warren and Surrey ; and here 
the .insurgent barons are reported to have held frequent 
meetings, especially on the evening preceding the celebrated 
congress of Runnymede. Some portions of the outer wall of 
the castle were standing about 30 or 40 years ago, but no 
part of the building now remains. The site is the property 
of Lord Somers. It is an eminence surrounded by a ditch of 
considerable breadth and depth, on the south and west sides. 
Here is still to be seen a singular passage, 235 feet long, into 
a vaulted room 123 feet long, 13 wide and 11 high, all hewn 
out of the solid rock. This cave probably afforded the ba¬ 
rons a repository for their treasures and military stores, and 
safe custody for their prisoners. The priory, a modern 
mansion, at the southern extremity of the town, belongs to 
Lord Somers. It stands on the site of a religious house 
founded by William de Warren, earl of Surrey, who died in 
1240.* The market-house is a small brick building, with 
piazzas below, and a chamber above, for the purposes of a 
town-hall. It was erected about the year 1708, on the site of 
a chapel dedicated to Thomas Becket. The block-house, a 
smaller building contiguous to it, was designed as a prison 
for felons and others brought to the Easter sessions held at 
Ryegate. Here were two other chapels in the town, one 
dedicated to the Holy Cross, and the other to St. Lawrence: 
the latter is now a dwelling-house. Ryegate formerly carried 
on a considerable trade in oatmeal, in the manufacture of 
which nearly 20 mills were employed about 60 years ago. 
This business has gradually declined, and only one mill now 
remains. Ryegate is a very ancient borough, and has sent 
two members to parliament ever since 23d Edward I. The 
electors are the freeholders of messuages or burgage tenements 
within the precincts of the borough: the returning officer is 
the bailiff of the manor. The elections, however, are under 
the influence of the noble families of Somers and Hardwicke, 
to the former of whom the manor belongs. Ryegate gives 
the title of baron to the earl of Peterborough. The 
neighbourhood of the town abounds with fullers’ earth, and 
medicinal plants and herbs. Holmsdale, though now 
overgrown with furze, was formerly noted for producing 
immense quantities of strawberries. In the woody part of 
this track outlying red deer were formerly often found ; and 
James II., when duke of York, used to chase the largest stags 
that have ever been seen in England. The deer have since 
been entirely destroyed. Population of the borough part of 
Ryegate, 1128; of the remainder, which has no vote at 
elections, 1312. Market on Tuesday; also a monthly one 
on Wednesday; 16 miles east of Guildford, and 21 south of 
London. Lat. 51. 14. N. long. 0. 13. W. 
RYEGATE, a township of the United States, in Caledonia 
county, Vermont, on the Connecticut; 28 miles east of 
Montpelier. Population 812. 
RYE'GRASS, s. A kind of strong grass.—Some sow 
ryegrass with the corn at Michaelmas. Mortimer. 
RYEHILL, a hamlet of England, East Riding of 
Yorkshire; 12 miles east-by-south of Kingstou-upon-Hull. 
RYEHILL, a hamlet of England, West Riding of 
Yorkshire ; 6 miles south-east of Wakefield. 
RYELAND SHEEP, a breed of fine woolled sheep, ori¬ 
ginally met with in the greatest perfection in a district of 
Herefordshire, termed the Ryelands. See Ovis. 
RYEPOOR, a town ofHindostan, province of Gundwaneh > 
district of Choteesgur. It contains about 3000 houses of 
different descriptions, and was formerly reckoned the second 
town in the Nagpore dominions. It is situated on the road 
from Cuttack to Nagpore. Lat. 21. 17. N. long. 82. 26. E. 
RYER (Andrew du), sieur de Malezais, a gentleman, who 
resided a considerable time at Constantinople, in the French 
king’s service, and was consul for the French nation in 
Egypt. He published a “ Turkish Grammar,” 1636, 4to. ; 
a “ French Translation of the Koran,” 1647, 12mo.; and 
another of the “ Gulistan” of Saadi, 1634, 8vo. His ver¬ 
sion of the Koran is not regarded as faithful. 
RYER (Peter du), a copious dramatic and miscellaneous 
writer, was born of a good family at Paris, in 1605. He 
procured a place of secretary to the king in 1626, but the 
indigence consequent upon an imprudent marriage obliged 
him to sell it, and he afterwards served in the same quality 
Caesar duke of Yendome. In order to support his family, 
he employed a very ready pen in prose and verse, and pro¬ 
duced a great number of translations, for which he was paid 
at a.crown a sheet, and which, of course, bear all the marks 
of haste. He composed nineteen pieces for the theatre, 
which were successful at the time of their appearance. Two 
or three of his tragedies obtained the applause of maturer 
criticism. His “ Alcyonee” so much delighted Queen 
Christina, that she heard it read three times in one day. 
His “ Scevole” still gives pleasure on the stage. Du Ryer 
was received into the French Academy in 1646. His life 
seems to have been a perpetual struggle with penury ; but a 
short time before his death, he obtained the brevet of 
historiographer royal, with a pension. He died in 1658. 
Moreri. 
RYFFTHAL, a pleasant valley in the west of Switzerland, 
in the canton of Vaud, lying between the lake of Geneva 
and Mount Jura, and extending from Lausanne to Vevay. 
RYHALL, a hamlet of England, in Rutlandshire; 13 
miles east of Oakham. 
RYHOPE, a village of England, in Durham, near 
Sunderland. 
RYLE, 
