I had the joy of visiting Rye the other day. It’s a lovely town near the coast in East Sussex, the sort of place that makes the English Tourist Board wring its hands with glee. But I was on a mission. I wanted to see Rumer Godden’s house, the place where she wrote In This House of Brede and The Diddakoi. So up the steep cobbled street we walked until we reached this imposing building.
This is Lamb House, owned by the National Trust, which Rumer Godden rented from 1967 or 1968 (the guide book gives both dates!) to 1973. According to Godden herself, it is “the ‘big’ house in Rye, built in seventeen hundred and twenty-two by a local man, James Lamb, taking in what used to be three smaller houses on the same site. James Lamb was ambitious and Lamb House is elegant with its brick mellowed to a soft red, its beautifully proportioned Georgian windows and fine canopied front door.”
It also has a fine garden, which Rumer Godden loved. Here’s a view from the first floor across the road to the garden beyond.
And here’s Rumer Godden’s beloved rose garden.
And the view from the other side of the garden.
I was delighted to see the final typescript of The Diddakoi, which won the Whitbread Children’s Award in 1972. If you’ve not read any Rumer Godden, it’s a great place to start. (Alternatively, if you’re looking for a book that would appeal to both teenagers and adults, I’d recommend The Dark Horse which, like all Godden’s books is beautifully written.)
Another book, which I hadn’t come across before, is A Kindle of Kittens, which is set in Rye as you can see from the front cover. This beautifully illustrated book is now sadly out of print but can be found (often at extortionate prices) in the usual places. (And isn’t it good to learn that the collective noun for kittens is a kindle?)
I suppose I should mention that Rumer Godden wasn’t the only writer to have lived at Lamb House. The most famous inhabitant was Henry James, whose widow gave the house to the National Trust. Other residents include E.F. & A.C. Benson (brothers of the remarkable R.H. Benson) and the artist Brian Batsford. But it’s Henry James who attracts most visitors. By many he is venerated, as this sign on the wall attests.
Godden wrote with wry (sorry!) amusement in A House with Four Rooms about James and the other Lamb House authors, wondering “if anyone has succeeded in editing the twenty-six volumes of autobiography [A.C. Benson] left.” She also took her turn as a guide when the house was opened to visitors:
“Is it true Rumer Godden lives here” one lady asked me, and when I said “Yes,” “Do you see much of her?”
“Far too much,” I answered truthfully.
So let me finish with two obvious recommendations: 1) Rye is a great place to visit 2) Rumer Godden is a great author to read. It’s as simple as that.