Rye was E.M Benson’s inspiration for the fictional town of Tilling and fortunately, for those responsible for the BBC’s recent production, much of the town remains untouched or was easy enough for set dressers to disguise.
“I’m just pinching myself every day, that we are here in Rye in Benson’s Lamb house and garden, but also that I’ve not only had the opportunity to play this character but adapt the scripts as well!” Writer and actor Steve Pemberton told the BBC.
Filming took place in and around Rye during the summer of 2014 [6] as well as Kent and East Sussex Railway Station in Tenterden. Locations used included:
Church Square
St Mary’s Church
Rye Castle,
Rye’s Rectory
Camber Sands
Anna Chancellor, who played Lucia, said of the filming: “It’s extraordinary to actually film within the tiny little world that Benson wrote about. Everything that obsessed him is all here for us. It’s like being in a ready-made studio. And it’s so pretty.”
Miranda Richardson, who played Mapp agreed: “It was delightful to be able to walk around and say, ‘Oh my goodness, that’s where that is’. Benson must have meant this!”
Read more about the locations used