William Brenchley Rye was born on 26 January 1818. He was educated at the Rochester and Chatham Classical and Mathematical School. In 1834 he came to London and entered the office of a solicitor, where he met John Winter Jones, principal librarian of the British Museum. After working at several posts in the British Museum, he became the supernumerary assistant in 1844. Rye was responsible for supervising the removal and subsequent arrangement of the Thomas Grenville Library at the British Museum. In 1857, Rye became the assistant keeper in the department of printed books, where he remained until his retirement in 1875. Rye's principal published work was England as seen by foreigners in the days of Elizabeth and James I , 1895. This work comprised of a collection of narratives by foreign visitors. Rye died on 21 December 1901. Rye's younger son, Reginald Arthur Rye became the Goldsmith's Librarian at the University of London.
From the guide to the Rye, William Brenchley, 1865-1892, (Senate House Library, University of London)
