Lamb House facts for kids
Lamb House is a very old and important house in Rye, England. It was built in the 1700s. Today, it belongs to the National Trust. The National Trust is a group that protects special places in England.
Lamb House is like a museum that shows how writers lived. Many famous writers have lived there. These include Henry James, who lived there from 1897 to 1914, and later E. F. Benson.
Contents
History of Lamb House
Lamb House was built in 1722. A rich wine merchant and local leader named James Lamb built it. A wine merchant sells wine, and a local leader helps run the town.
A Royal Visitor
In the winter of 1726, something exciting happened. King George I had to stay at Lamb House. His ship got stuck near Camber Sands. James Lamb let the King use his bedroom. That same night, Mrs. Lamb had a baby boy! They named the baby George, and the King became his godfather.
The Garden Room
In 1743, a special room was added to the house. It was called the Garden Room. This room had a big window looking out onto the street. It was first used for parties and big meals. Later, both Henry James and E. F. Benson used this room to write their books, especially in the summer. Sadly, the Garden Room was destroyed by a German bomb in 1940 during World War II.
Lamb House in Books
E. F. Benson loved the house and its garden. He wrote about them in his popular books called Mapp and Lucia. In his books, he called Lamb House "Mallards."
Lamb House is also the main setting for a book by Joan Aiken. Her book, The Haunting of Lamb House (1993), tells three ghost stories. These stories are about people who lived in the house at different times, including James and Benson. It's interesting because both James and Benson also wrote their own ghost stories!
Other Famous Residents
Many other interesting people have lived at Lamb House. These include the writer Rumer Godden and the author A. C. Benson. Other residents were the writer and politician H. Montgomery Hyde, the artist Sir Brian Batsford, and the actor Dominic Rowan.
Lamb House and the National Trust
In 1950, Henry James's nephew's wife gave Lamb House to the National Trust. This means the house is now protected for everyone to enjoy.
What You Can See Today
When you visit, you can see some of Henry James's own things. There is also a large garden with walls around it. Henry James asked a designer named Alfred Parsons to create this garden. Both the house and the garden are open for people to visit.
Taking Care of the House
In 2006, Lamb House had a lot of work done on its outside. This included fixing parts of the stone and the copper roof. They also added special wires to stop seagulls from nesting on the roof. This helps keep the drains clear. The work took three months, from April to June.
Since 2018, people can explore even more of the house. The first floor, which was not open before, is now available for visitors to see.
Filming at Lamb House
In the summer of 2014, Lamb House was used for a TV show. It became the fictional "Mallards" from E. F. Benson's books. The BBC TV made a show called Mapp and Lucia. For the filming, they even built a temporary copy of the old Garden Room. The TV show was shown on BBC1 in December 2014.
See also
In Spanish: Lamb House para niños
