Rye


most infamous gangs of 18th century smugglers – the Hawkhurst Gang. These reprobates were brazen about their nefarious activities, and violent to the extreme, and the Mermaid was a favourite haunt of theirs. Another timber-framed building opposite the Mermaid


is named, imaginatively, The House Opposite; and Smugglers Cottage a little farther along must surely have been known to the Hawkhurst Gang; while the first house on Mermaid Street, on the corner with West Street, is called, well, The First House. Together, they make this one of Rye’s finest streets – particularly eye catching during the spring when clambering creepers burst into bud and festoons of wisteria hang precariously from the buildings. West Street forms the literary centre of Rye. Perhaps not


surprisingly, this picturesque town has long inspired writers. Henry James lived at the top end of the street in Lamb House, a building he asserted was “…the very calmest and yet cheerfulist that I could have dreamed”. Its subsequent residents included A C Benson, who penned the words of Land of Hope and Glory; and his brother, E F Benson, author of the Mapp and Lucia novels. These were set in Rye, although fictionalised as Tilling. Other noted Rye authors include the late John Ryan,


creator of everybody’s favourite swashbuckling pirate, Captain Pugwash. Captain Pugwash and the Huge Reward was set in the town, which he called Sinkport. Other giveaway clues include Barmaid Street and Mutton House. The dramatist John Fletcher was born in Lion Street, his former tile-hung home now being Fletcher’s Tearoom.


www.britain-magazine.com BRITAIN 33


PHOTO: ALAMY, GLENN HARPER/PHOTOLIBRARY


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