Tilling (Sussex) Tilling (Sussex) Tilling is a fictional coastal town, based on Rye, East Sussex, in the "Mapp and Lucia" novels of Edward Frederic Benson (1867–1940). Tilling takes its name from the River Tillingham which flows through Rye. Benson himself moved to Rye in 1918, where he lived in Lamb House, former home of the novelist Henry James. Benson was mayor of Rye 1934-7 and was elected Speaker of the Cinque Ports in 1936. Tilling first appeared in "Miss Mapp" (1922) and subsequently in "The Male Impersonator" and "Desirable Residences" (short stories of 1929), "Mapp and Lucia" (1931), set between June 1930
Tilling-Stevens Somerset, and body by Dodson. The first six entered service in 1923. Further orders followed from Halifax Corporation and in 1924 the general manager of the Teesside Railless Traction Board designed a trolleybus chassis which was built by Tilling-Stevens. This chassis (designated "PERC1") could use a petrol engine to drive the dynamo and power the traction motor as well as being able to take overhead power. The company subsequently purchased the rights to the Teesside design after receiving enquiries from abroad but domestic production ceased after 1927. Following the initial split from Thomas Tilling, the company produced one further new