Lamb House

Lamb House stands in the ancient town of Rye, East Sussex, a fine 18th-century brick building owned by the National Trust. Built in 1722 by wine merchant James Lamb, it has long drawn writers to its quiet rooms. Henry James lived here from 1897 until 1914, while E. F. Benson and Rumer Godden also made it their home. The house has a detached Garden Room added in 1743, once used for summer writing by James and Benson. A German bomb destroyed the Garden Room in 1940, but the main house remains intact. The house matters because it has shaped books and stories for centuries. Benson renamed it ‘Mallards’ in his Mapp and Lucia novels, and Joan Aiken later used it as the setting for The Haunting of Lamb House. James’s possessions still sit inside, and the walled garden designed by Alfred Parsons opens to visitors. The garden walls and paths show how James arranged his outdoor space for quiet thought. Even the roof and stonework have been carefully repaired to keep the house standing. Inside, visitors find rooms where James and Benson worked, furnished with their belongings. The first floor, once private, now opens to the public for the first time. Outside, the walled garden offers a sheltered place to walk among flowers and paths. The street outside keeps the look of an old English town, with no modern signs to spoil the view. The house and garden together give a clear sense of how writers once lived and wrote here.