town on the northeastern coast of the Isle of Wight (Wight, Isle of), historic county of Hampshire, England, opposite Portsmouth on the mainland. It is located on the site of a former village called La Rye, which the French destroyed early in the 14th century. Still a small fishing hamlet by 1800, Ryde grew rapidly in the railway age as an attractive holiday resort (being incorporated in 1868). It is linked with the mainland by ferry service. Pop. (2001) 22,806.