River Brede

River Brede, East Sussex
The river to the west of Winchelsea
Country	England
Basin features
Main source	Netherfield, west of Battle, East Sussex 360 feet (110 m)
River mouth	River Rother, Rye sea level

The Brede is an English river in East Sussex. It flows into the Rock Channel (tidal section of the River Tillingham) and then onto the River Rother at Rye, Sussex. It takes its name from the village of Brede, which lies between Hastings and Tenterden.

The river takes its name from the village of Brede. The village is on the north bank of the river, and its name in Old English means breadth, as it overlooks the wide river valley. Prior to the fifteenth century, the river was known as the Ee or Ree, which simply means 'river' in Old English. A new channel was then constructed for much of its course downstream from its junction with Doleham Ditch, slightly to the north of the Ee, and running parallel with it, which was for many years known as the Channel, but subsequently became the Brede.

The Brede is known to have been used for navigation from early times, when boats could reach Sedlescombe. Lead was carried for Battle Abbey, and in the Tudor period, an iron furnace was built at Brede, which continued to operate until 1766. Between 1747 and 1766, boats brought iron ore to the furnaces from Strand Wharf in Rye, and transported guns which had been manufactured from the iron back down the river. There was also a trade in groceries, moving up the river.

Access to the sea from Winchelsea and Rye was continually changing, as the whole area is subject to deposition of shingle and silt. Winchelsea once had a harbour, but by the 1550s, it had been abandoned as a port. The future of the port of Rye, a little further to the north, was in doubt by 1600, and Camber Castle, which had once protected the entrances to Winchelsea and Rye harbours was abandoned in the 1640s, as it could no longer serve that function, due to the changing channels. The idea of cutting a new channel was first suggested by the Italian engineer Frederico Genebelli in 1593, but was rejected by Rye Corporation, who thought it would enhance the port of Winchelsea, more than the port of Rye. Commissioners from the Royal Navy and Trinity House decided that Rye Harbour was of no further use in 1698.