One house with two addresses, and one of the oldest buildings in Rye goes under the hammer – and, of Rye’s many attractive streets, perhaps the most picturesque is Mermaid Street, a cobbled lane lined with a mix of medieval timber-framed inns and elegant Georgian houses.
Oak Corner (shown above) sits encompassed by an abundance of history with the grade two listed building being one of the oldest in Rye dating back to the 1400s. Originally two cottages joined into one, this period property boasts two addresses of the two streets it faces on to – Mermaid Street and Traders Passage. Luckily for the new owners, however, it forms just one address on the land registry, so you won’t be billed on council tax for both!
Just a few doors up from this residence sits the famous Mermaid Inn and, giving its name to the street, this is another of the oldest buildings in the town and this fascinating building has a long and turbulent history, laced with sieges, ghosts, fugitives, and secret passages.
Like most of Rye, the Mermaid Inn was burned by the French in 1377 and only the cellar survived and this is also the reason why Oak Corner was rebuilt in the 1400s. The inn itself was featured in an episode of the “Most Haunted” TV series, and has played host to a long list of famous guests – and guests of centuries past loved this charming inn so much they decided to stick around, giving the Mermaid the reputation of being one of the most haunted inns in the UK.
The owners of Oak Corner previously bought a building plot through Connect UK Auctions on which they are currently building their forever home and, from buyer to seller, the client was enthralled with the auction process and chose to instruct the auction company on the sale of this rare gem – Connect UK Auctions are thrilled to offer Oak Corner, due to go under the hammer on September 15.
Image Credits: Connect UK Auctions .