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leads into a lounge named after Dr. Syn, the fictitious smuggler created by the writer Russell Torndike. Te room is panelled in carved oak and there is even a carving displaying the letters J.H.S. which stood for ‘Jesus Homnium Salvator’, a forbidden phrase during the Reformation.
Ten Judith shares with me a darker side to the Inn’s history –smugglers! Te most infamous gang to inhabit the Mermaid were the unscrupulous Hawkhurst Gang, a notorious band of gentlemen founded by George Gray, an original painting of whom still hangs in the Inn’s foyer. “Tey would just
be in here with their guns on their tables and no one ever dared say anything against them,” she explains. In fact, one of the apparitions most often seen by guests is connected very strongly to the Inn’s past as a smuggler’s haunt. Visitors to the Inn have described seeing a lady in grey, an apparition that ghost-hunters think may be the spirit of a maid who was murdered by the gang. Judith explains, “Te story goes that the barmaid actually said too much to the smugglers and was done away with.”
When asked if there have been many other sightings Judith’s answer is a categorical, ‘yes’. “I came into work one morning,” she recalls, “and there was a couple fast asleep in the lounge on one of the couches. Both of them had woken up during the night and seen a figure walk through one wall and out of the other. Tey refused to go back upstairs and get changed so I had to bring all of their clothes down so they could get changed in the public toilets downstairs!” Another couple, she adds, woke from their slumber to see two men locked in a sword fight come bursting through the wall! And it’s not just guests that have been scared to their wits end. Judith goes on to explain that, in the past, chambermaids have insisted on cleaning one of the rooms in pairs because of sudden bouts of cold and a rocking chair swaying on its own. One would think that such tales would put people off the Mermaid Inn but perhaps it is part of its appeal. It is steeped in history and the prospect of actually seeing the past come sword-fighting through the wall into the present is quite exciting. Add to that the AA Rosette restaurant and the exquisite period furnishings and it’s no surprise that the Mermaid is popular. In fact, there are often famous visitors, including HRH Elizabeth and the Queen Mother, Pierce Brosnan (who Judith described wistfully as, ‘just lovely’) and Johnny Depp. Tere is also a variety of activities for visitors to Rye, including ghost walks, which take in
sights such as the Ypres Tower, which was used for years as a prison, and the bar at the Mermaid Inn (for a stiff drink after a scary experience). So whether you’re a history enthusiast, a fan of ghost stories or even just a lover of fine cuisine there is something for everyone at the Mermaid Inn... providing you’re brave enough to stay the night!
For more information visit
www.mermaidinn.com or got to
www.ryemuseum.co.uk to find out about things to do in Rye.
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