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 for converting conventional petrol buses for either battery-electric or petrol-electric propulsion, patent GB190820210. Percival Harry Frost-Smith was Managing Director of Tilling-Stevens Ltd in 1915/1916 and he obtained several patents for improvements to motor vehicles between 1908 and 1918. These included: Francis Edwin Brown was a son of David Brown, of David Brown Ltd. The petrol-electric transmission was fitted to chassis built by J & E Hall, of Dartford who used the trade name "Hallford" so these were known as "Hallford-Stevens". Transmissions were also supplied to Dennis Bros, of Guildford these vehicles were named "Dennis-Stevens". An arrangement was agreed with a