Lamb House

Lamb House is a red-brick Georgian house on West Street at the top of Rye, best known as the home of Henry James, who leased it in 1897, bought it in 1899 and wrote The Wings of the Dove, The Ambassadors and The Golden Bowl here, and later of E.F. Benson, who lived here from 1919 to 1940 and turned the town into Tilling for his Mapp and Lucia novels. King George I sheltered here in 1726, and the house passed to the National Trust in 1950. Inside, the Green Parlour has been restored around James's secretaire. Behind the walls is one of the largest gardens in the old town, laid out by James's friend Alfred Parsons with roses, lilies and herbaceous borders, a Victorian vegetable garden and the graves of James's pets. Reviewers praise the friendly, knowledgeable volunteers and single out the garden as the highlight. There is no parking on site, so use the town car parks or walk up from the station, and the house has entrance steps and two flights of stairs.