Why the Flushing Inn?
There are two theories on how the Flushing came by it's unusual name:
The first - and most likely - is that the street outside the Flushing, known now as
Market Street, was originally known as "The Butchery". The old English name for a
butcher was a "flesher" so it may be that it was originally known as Fleshers
Inn and over time became corrupted to Flushing Inn.
The second theory is that in 1572, many people came over from the Low Countries and settled in what is known to this day as Rye Foreign, especially the area around Vlissingen (Port of Holland) so it is possible that the name came from this connection.
The Flushing Inn has a very long history, dating from c. 1200 - 1250. In that time there have been many owners, and the Inn has had its share of dastardly deeds! We thought you would be interested in a potted history of the Inn, with a little emphasis on Rye's "cause celebre" the so-called "Murder by Mistake" that happened in 1742! We also bring you right up to date, with information on ourselves, the current owners; the Mann/Flynn family have now owned the Flushing Inn for over 40 years!