The Ypres Tower, Rye, East Sussex

This week we had a short break in the beautiful town of Rye in East Sussex, staying one night in the beautiful Mermaid Hotel. The weather when we arrived was not very good, so we decided to visit the Ypres Tower.

The Ypres Tower or Rye Castle as it is sometimes called was probably built in the late 14th Century and looks pretty much the same today as when it was first built. In 1430 the tower was leased to John de Ypres, hence it being known as the Ypres Tower, prior to that time it was known as the 'Baddyngs' Tower.

The entrance to one of the tiny cells,

and one of it inhabitants, still in the Gibbet!

For a lot of its history the building has been used as a prison, with room for 9 - 12 prisoners. The cells can still be seen, they are tiny rooms which could hold a few people, although I am not sure where they slept.

In another cell is a display of herbs which at one time would have been growing in the Medieval Garden.

A wonderful old cell door.

A Pie-dieu in the corner of one of the cells.

Climbing the spiral staircase to the first floor.

Another wonderful old oak door, this one leading outside.

There are some nice displays on the first floor, this is part of the Rye Museum. 

This sculpture caught my eye, I am not sure if it is an animal head.

The Medieval Garden where the herbs were grown. In the corner is the tower housing the Victorian Women's Prison.

The entrance to the women's prison,

and inside one of the cells, which was able to hold two women.

Margate, the Harbour Arm and the Turner Contemporary

The Turner Contemporary as seen from the Harbour Arm. The gallery is built on the site of the guesthouse where Turner stayed when he visited Margate.

Last week my friend Sheila and I had a rare day out together, the weather forecast was not brilliant, so we decided to visit the Turner Contemporary, which neither of us had visited before.

The Shell Lady of Margate, a statue at the end of the Harbour Arm, made of bronze and named after Mrs. Booth who J.M.W Turner lodged with during his visits to Margate.



Part of Margate seafront, as seen from the Harbour Arm.

Sheila very bravely parked on the Harbour Arm, and as the weather was actually quite nice we had a stroll along the Arm, had a cup of coffee, then had a wander through the Old Town before going into the Turner Gallery.

The Turner contemporary -The Exhibits

The first exhibit in the foyer or Sunley Gallery is the magnificent Three Muses by Kashif Nadim Chaudry in conjunction with the gallery's Studio Group. 

The back view of the Serpent, the centrepiece of the Three Muses, the light was not good for getting a very good photo of the front, but below are a couple of photos of the amazing Serpents head.

The Serpent's Head

The head in close up, to show just how amazing it is :D

Above and below are photos of another part of the display, showing the gorgeous fretwork decorations, the scales of the Serpent are also made of these.

And below is part of the third section, this was taken from the gallery upstairs.

An amazing piece of Art!

This is the inside of the lift, a very colourful journey to the first floor. All the walls are painted!

A tapestry, I love the colours on this. 

Tenerife lace, held in place with pieces of quills.

A ceramic lizard covered with crochet work

Bobbins of all sizes

A beautiful piece of textured wood

I was pleased to see these penguins, and was going to send a photo to my daughter, until I noticed the children's shoes instead of feet. These figures do look as if the children are still in the costumes, which I was not keen on.

A forest of hats made with various materials.

And finally a ceramic crab, like the lizard this was covered with crochet work.

There were of course many other exhibits, I hope you enjoy the ones I have shared here. If you are in Margate, both the Harbour Arm and the gallery are well worth a visit, but check first to see what is showing as the exhibitions change regularly.