Winchelsea

Winchelsea Review

Like Rye, Winchelsea perches prettily atop its own small hill amid farmland. The town's historic houses, some with clapboards, are surrounded with gardens. Look for the splendid (though damaged) church built in the 14th century with Caen stone from Normandy. This was once a walled town, and some original town gates still stand. Winchelsea was built on a grid system devised in 1283, after the sea destroyed an earlier settlement at the foot of the hill. The sea later receded, leaving the town high and dry. The town is 2 miles southwest of Rye.