Flushing Inn Monks Way

This is a group of timber-framed houses dating back to the 15th century, largely refaced in the 18th century. They stand on Market Street in Rye. Originally, the houses comprised a hall and two wings. Numbers 3 and 4 now incorporate the hall and part of the west wing, while Number 5 contains the east wing and an original extension to the south. The ground floor of Numbers 3 and 5 is brickwork, painted in the 18th century, while the first floors of Numbers 3 and 5 have sash windows, although those in Number 4 are casement windows that have been enlarged. Number 3 has two small bay windows on the ground floor. Number 4 features an obtusely pointed doorway with carved spandrels. An 18th-century dentilled eaves cornice runs along the top. The ground floor of Number 4 was underbuilt, and numbers 3 and 4 each have one dormer window. The building has a tiled roof and mediaeval cellars are located below Numbers 3 and 4.

The interior of the hall within Number 4 retains a 15th-century ceiling, an open 16th-century fireplace and a mural painting dating from 1536-1537, along with the original roof of the upper storey. Behind the hall is a 16th-century addition. Number 5 includes a small building, dating to around 1500, with an overhanging upper storey on the west side, an arched doorway with carved spandrels and large, open fireplaces.

Historically, Number 4 was an inn, known as the Flushing, in the first half of the 18th century. It was owned by John Breads, who committed murder in 1742 and was subsequently hanged; associated items from his execution are preserved in Rye’s Town Hall. The surrounding buildings of Durrant House (Numbers 3 to 7), the Town Hall and La Rochelle in East Street form a group.