Walter Rye

Walter Rye (October 31, 1843 - February 24, 1929) was a British athlete and antiquarian who wrote more than 80 works on Norfolk. Walter Rye was born on October 31, 1843 in Chelsea, London. He was the seventh child of Edward Rye, a solicitor and bibliophile, and his wife, Maria Rye née Tuppen. His sister was the social reformer Maria Rye, and his brother was the entomologist Edward Caldwell Rye. His grandfather was Edward Rye of Baconsthorpe, Norfolk. Paradise was the "father" of cross-country running (or the pursuit of paper, as it was then known), being the main founder in 1868, the Thames hare and hounds and its president until his death. He has won over 100 prizes for walking, running and cycling. He also served as Sporting Gazette sports correspondent. He regularly visited Norwich throughout his life and helped save some of his historic buildings from destruction. He was a founding member of the Norfolk Broads Defense Society. In 1900, he quit his job as a lawyer and settled in Norwich; and only eight years later was elected mayor, a post he held in 1908–9.