The Old Borough Arms on Strand Quay has a wonderful history. The building dates back to about the 16th century. It is constructed on part of the ancient town wall, next to the former 13th century Strand Gate which was located near what is now the Mermaid Street Café.
It was one of four original medieval gates and was demolished in the 18th century, with one other, as part of modernisation, leaving only Landgate standing, a reminder of the time. The fourth, Baddings Gate, was lost because of a cliff fall.
Initially the building was called Blue (Blew) Anchor but changed around 1728 to London Trader. In 1897 it was named the present Old Borough Arms. The building offers a glimpse into the past. The area and drinking place was a smugglers and seafarers haunt before becoming a guest house.
Underneath the Mermaid Street Café is still a part of the town wall within the current structure as with many other buildings in Rye. In the Great Depression the landlord supplemented the income by selling groceries from the tap room.
Visitors often ask which is the oldest pub in Rye, several claim to be but there is no certainty. However, it is said that The Old Bell Inn in the Mint dates back to 1390, though the Mermaid Inn boasts even older cellars from the 12th century. The third quoted is the Ypres Castle Inn at the Gun Garden, also around the 1390s. Because historic secret tunnels linked to the nearby Mermaid Inn, the smugglers were able to discretely move goods around.
The original stone of the Mermaid dates back to before all the inns above, believed to be 900 years old but the building itself we see today was rebuilt in 1420, after it was burnt by French raiders.
The Old Borough Arms on The Strand, is now a family run guest house with nine ensuite rooms and a flat at the top of the building. On the ground is the Mermaid Street Café which has a lovely ice cream window. In the summer no day passes without locals and visitors queuing.
The owners, Sarah Louise Warry and Ian Mark Mackie, focus on friendly service providing breakfast, lunches and dinner as well as being licensed for alcohol. It must be said that when they took over the building it was, especially inside, nothing like it is now.
Up the stairs one comes into two rooms to choose from, both comfortable and intimate. A corridor which still shows part of an old wall leads to the bedrooms.
Sarah said that it was really hard work to make it what they wanted but at the same time keep as much of the old whilst modernising it. Two balconies were added which are lovely to sit on in the spring and summer and especially, when at various festivals, events in The Strand are included. The downstairs Mermaid Street Café, not to be confused with The Mermaid Inn, has recently been refurbished to make more room. The café is excellent and cakes yummy.
Sarah (the history expert re the building) and Ian, as well as their staff, are welcoming and friendly. For more information and prices (reasonable for Rye) please go to: www.oldborougharms.co.uk or phone01797 222 128.
(Information gleaned from past edition of Rye Zine, old books Sarah lent me and of course from online history articles).
Image Credits: Heidi Foster .