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 Chrysler. Tilling-Stevens factory was situated in St Peter's St, Maidstone. The factory buildings, built in the 1920s in the Daylight style, survive as of 2012. They were Listed as Grade II in July 2011. It is described as "one few buildings of this style not to have undergone significant alteration from the original". The Tilling-Stevens petrol-electric bus is interesting as an early example of a hybrid vehicle, although without any direct engine propulsion or battery storage. As the petrol engine ran continuously and its chassis weight with a large, heavy motor/dynamo pair was much higher than a mechanical gearbox, it