It’s said to be the 8th oldest inn surviving in England, and looking at the Mermaid’s iconic black and white façade, it’s not hard to believe.
The cellars of this most comfortable and welcoming of hostelries date from 1156, when it was built on what was then Rye’s most important street, originally named Middle Street, which led down to the Strand. It was made of wattle and daub and was a popular place to drink, then charging just one penny to stay the night. On June 23 1377 the French attacked Rye, setting it on fire. Only the stone buildings survived, and the Mermaid was reduced to smoking ruins.
Eventually the site was cleared and the current building rose in place of the old in 1420, but retaining the original cellars. On the ceiling of the Dr Syn lounge there are beams, where the particular style of carving proves that they come from about the time of that rebuilding. More work was done about 200 years later, giving us the building that we see today. A later connection to fire can be seen when looking up at the top of the arch leading out into Mermaid Street.
This is an early fire mark, placed there by the company insuring the hotel against fire in the 18th century. If a fire broke out, it was quite usual for a number of insurance companies to send out their fire crew, with its primitive wheeled water pump. It has often been claimed that if the burning building was insured by another company, then the crews attending would just leave it to burn. This is a fallacy. In fact, it was a strict and enforced rule that any crew would attempt to put out a fire, because an uncontrolled blaze could cause untold damage locally. The Mermaid mark is that of the Royal Exchange Insurance Company and would have originally been brightly painted.
During the 16th century, it seems that Roman Catholic priests, forced to leave parts of Europe during the Protestant Reformation, found shelter at the Mermaid. We can see this from a carving on the 16th century oak panelling in the Dr Syn lounge, a Christogram with the initials J (or I) H S, which is Latin, Jesus Hominum Salvator, Jesus Saviour of Mankind. Also in the Dr Syn lounge is another curious relic of the past. Attached to the beautiful fireplace is an iron implement with several gaps in its length. It swings out and was originally for hanging up baskets full of clay pipes, drying in front of the fire.
We do know that William Shakespeare was at the Mermaid on August 27 1597, with a group of actors known as The Lord Chamberlain’s Men, formed in 1594, and for whom he wrote most of his plays. In 1603, the new king, James I, became the patron, which led to them being known as The King’s Men. Only they were allowed to give Shakespeare’s plays. For their performance in Rye, they received the princely sum of 20 shillings – about £200 now. The records tell us that it was “Paid as a reward to my Lord Chamberlain’s Players at the assignment of Mr Maior XXs.” There are no surviving records of what was performed, but Love’s Labour’s Lost has been suggested.
The day after the performance, the landlord of the Mermaid, John Fowtrell, was formally elected mayor of Rye, succeeding Thomas Hamon. He was the landlord because his wife, Cicely, was the widow of the previous owner, William Disbury, who had willed it to her on his death. During the latter half of the 16th century, the Mermaid became the chosen venue for events organised by the Corporation of Rye. These included the Sessions Dinners, given at the time of the law sessions, a dinner for gentlemen freemen, a dinner for Mayoring Day and a herring feast – the herrings of Rye being acknowledged to be especially tasty.
One thing must be made clear. Despite suggestions to the contrary, the Mermaid was never a coaching inn, it was a smuggling inn, famous as a secondary gathering place for the Hawkhurst Gang during the first half of the 18th century. A contemporary report of them in the Mermaid said: “When the Hawkhurst Gang were at the height of their pride and insolence having seen them (after successfully running a cargo of goods on the seashore) seated at the windows of this house carousing and smoking their pipes, with their loaded pistols lying on the table before them; no magistrate daring to interfere with them.” In one of the bedrooms is a revolving bookcase, leading to a secret staircase, so useful for escape. It also houses a medieval lavatory, a great ‘convenience’ in case hiding was necessary.
By about 1770 the Mermaid was being used as a private house. In 1847 a merchant named Charles Poile bought it as his home. The surname is a French one, which means bristle, so perhaps they were originally makers of brushes. In 1913 the Mermaid was bought as a club by Mary Aldington, making it a place that became popular with artists. The great Dame Ellen Terry would come over from her equally antique home of Smallhythe Place near Tenterden and Edward Benson would bring his brother Arthur. Other visitors included Lord Alfred Douglas, the beloved Bosie of Oscar Wilde, and the poet Rupert Brooke. Described as the “handsomest man in England”, Brooke died on a French hospital ship in the Aegean whilst serving in the first world war.
Canadian officers were billeted at the Mermaid during the second world war, with one of those officers, ML Wilson, being so taken with the place that after the war he bought it. The Mermaid didn’t escape bomb damage during that war, and in one of the corridors that is an interesting photograph that shows damage assessors at work. One curious thing emerges from the photograph. Tiles on the roof have been smashed, but just a few feet below, the old leaded glass windows are untouched.
The present at the Mermaid is just as interesting as the past. The energetic and engaging owner, Judith Blincow, kindly gave me much of her time during what was a very busy period for her. I was able to look through the visitors books, sitting in front of a beautiful open fire, and hear Judith’s fascinating stories about some of her guests. The signature of Johnny Depp led to how the story was spread that he was buying the house opposite the Mermaid. Judith and her business partner were in the bar and a guest asked why Johnny was staying at the Mermaid. As a joke her partner said that he was buying the house opposite. Unknown to them, a writer from the Daily Mail was sitting quietly in a corner of the bar, heard the conversation and wrote an article, saying that Johnny was buying a house in Mermaid Street. For the record, Johnny does not own, and never has owned, a house in that iconic street.
There are so many fascinating stories, they would fill a book. Television chef Ainslie Harriott showed Judith a different sort of ability, when he fixed a non-functioning entertainment screen in her car. Meanwhile, it was Judith who was the saviour when the late great actor, Sir Donald Sinden, came to speak to the Tilling Society. Arriving in pouring rain, he got out of his car and went into the hotel. Returning, he found it had locked itself and he couldn’t get in. Whilst Sir Donald was speaking, Judith worked with the rescue service, got one door open, climbed in, managed to get another door open and the car was then moved from where it was blocking the street.
Looking at the books, we can trace a remarkable cavalcade of guests. One page has the signature of Group Captain Peter Townsend, famous beau of Princess Margaret in the 1950s, whilst below is that of American president Dwight Eisenhower, who gives his home address as the White House, Washington.
Another page bears the signature of Mia Farrow Sinatra, who was married to the celebrated singer for just two years between 1966 – 68. Star Trek’s Mr Sulu, otherwise known as George Takei, wrote a delightful message to Judith, saying that he had been beamed back in time during his stay at the Mermaid in 2011. Judy Garland was a guest, as was Pierce Brosnan. Very recently Mary Berry has visited, while Tom Baker, a popular Doctor Who, travels back in time to the Mermaid. Royalty has, of course, visited. Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother when she became lord warden of the Cinque Ports, Prince Edward and, about 60 years ago, the Crown Prince and Princess of Ethiopia.
So comfortable is the Mermaid that some previous guests seem reluctant to leave. Doors have been known to swing open without living intervention. Duels have been seen, with a spectral corpse thrown down a secret passage (which is still there, opening into the bar). Figures have been noticed moving behind the curtains in an empty room, whilst others have been seen walking around rooms already occupied by the living. In one room a rocking chair has been observed rocking, while unoccupied, while orbs of light, often thought to be indicative of spiritual activity, have been seen floating around. Several white ladies have been observed, and not the delicious post-prandial cocktail! A figure with a dog has been reported. People have then confirmed that they have touched something that felt like a dog. One poor man had the feeling that he had been kicked in the back, whilst others have found that clothes left on a chair overnight were soaking wet the next morning. In one room a family group has been observed walking through the wall. No wonder that there are some rooms that the chambermaids will only service in pairs.
The Mermaid was the first hotel to be awarded The Queen’s Award for Industry by Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in 1973, and clearly Judith and her team have built on that, making the Mermaid a haven of warmth, comfort and good eating through hard work and good service.
A big thank you to Judith for her warm welcome on a cold day.
Image Credits: Kt bruce , Michael Montagu , Mermaid Inn .