The Mermaid Inn
This is The Mermaid Inn referred to in my previous photo. Rye was once a thriving port at the head of an embayment of the English Channel, and almost entirely surrounded by the sea. Over the subsequent centuries, the coastline has moved further away due to a combination of natural silting up from storm damage, changes in the flow of the River Rother, and tidal changes, along with deliberate land reclamation from the sea. Rye’s historical association with the sea has included providing ships for the service of the Crown in time of war, and being involved in smuggling.
Located on Mermaid Street, which was once the town's main road, the current building dates from 1420 and has 16th-century additions in the Tudor style, but cellars built in 1156 survive. As mentioned in the commentary attached to the photo of The Old Bell the Mermaid Inn has a strong connection with the notorious Hawkhurst Gang of smugglers, who used it in the 1730s and 1740s as one of their strongholds. Some of the smugglers, their mistresses and other characters are reported to haunt the inn, in fact the events in one room have been described as "one of the most well-organised ghostly scenarios anywhere”.
The inn has rooms for overnight guests but there is no way my wife would stay there!
The Mermaid Inn
This is The Mermaid Inn referred to in my previous photo. Rye was once a thriving port at the head of an embayment of the English Channel, and almost entirely surrounded by the sea. Over the subsequent centuries, the coastline has moved further away due to a combination of natural silting up from storm damage, changes in the flow of the River Rother, and tidal changes, along with deliberate land reclamation from the sea. Rye’s historical association with the sea has included providing ships for the service of the Crown in time of war, and being involved in smuggling.
Located on Mermaid Street, which was once the town's main road, the current building dates from 1420 and has 16th-century additions in the Tudor style, but cellars built in 1156 survive. As mentioned in the commentary attached to the photo of The Old Bell the Mermaid Inn has a strong connection with the notorious Hawkhurst Gang of smugglers, who used it in the 1730s and 1740s as one of their strongholds. Some of the smugglers, their mistresses and other characters are reported to haunt the inn, in fact the events in one room have been described as "one of the most well-organised ghostly scenarios anywhere”.
The inn has rooms for overnight guests but there is no way my wife would stay there!