Riseholme (fictional village) Poppy, Duchess of Sheffield, at nearby Sheffield Castle (which Benson located at "Sheffield Bottom"—unconnected to the Yorkshire Sheffield). It was revealed in "Mapp and Lucia" that Lucia's great rival in Tilling, Elizabeth Mapp ("Miss Mapp", 1922) had once visited Riseholme and stayed at the Ambermere Arms. She also hijacked Lucia's "au reservoir" (for "au revoir") and presented it to Tilling society as her own. Cynthia and Tony Revell (1984) "Mr Benson remembered in Rye, and the world of Tilling" cited Sir Steven Runciman (1903–2000), a Cambridge historian who knew Benson well, and Benson's manservant Charlie Tomalin (d.1981) for the assertion
Thomas Tilling Wolsey, formed a limited company, Thomas Tilling Ltd, in 1897. In addition to bus work, the company hired carriages to individuals and to a range of public utilities. The company put three Milnes-Daimler motor buses into service in 1904. These were open top double-deckers with 16 inside seats and 18 "outside" on the upper deck. These were the first double-decker motorbuses built for public service in London. By 1905, Tilling had 20 motor buses but still owned 7,000 horses, kept in 500 stables. The horses worked the company's 250 horse buses were hired to companies and individuals for hauling goods