Dumb Woman's Lane (sometimes Dumbwomans Lane) is a street located in the civil parish of Udimore, near Winchelsea in East Sussex, England. The street has achieved a level of notoriety because of its unusual name. While the etymology remains unconfirmed, sources attribute it to a mute woman (the word dumb meaning "mute" rather than "stupid") residing on or near the lane, likely in the 18th century. The street is also known as the residence of the comedian Spike Milligan from 1988 until his death in 2002.
 Street sign of Dumb Woman's Lane | |
  | |
| Location | Udimore |
|---|---|
| Postal code | TN31 |
| Coordinates | 50°56′26″N 0°41′58″E / 50.9406°N 0.6995°E |
Description
editDumb Woman's Lane provides access between the B2089 Udimore Road, which runs from Rye to Winchelsea, via a junction with both Winchelsea Lane and Float Lane. A single-lane highway, the road is narrow and has a hair-pin bend. There are fewer than ten residences located along it.[1]
History
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The street's history and etymology are not confirmed. Sources for the street describe two theories. The first is that the source of the name is a mute woman who sold traditional medicines and once lived on the lane. The second is that the lane is named after a woman who witnessed the activities of smuggling gangs in the area and had her tongue removed to prevent her from informing authorities.[2][3][4]
The author Alex Preston wrote about 18th century smuggling in the area in his 2022 historical fiction novel Winchelsea. In the novel's afterword, he covers the true history of the region's smuggling. According to Preston, the lane was named after a local publican's wife who had her tongue removed for reporting the activities of the Hawkhurst smuggling gang in the 1740s.[5]
The Irish comedian Spike Milligan lived in a house on the lane from 1988 until his death in 2002. Milligan was acquainted with the singer Paul McCartney who, knowing he lived there, wrote a poem about Dumb Woman's Lane which he recited on a visit. Following his death, Milligan was buried in the nearby St Thomas' Church.[1][2][6][7][8]
Dumb Woman's Lane has achieved a level of notoriety because of its controversial name, which has been reported as affecting house prices.[9] The lane is often visited for people to have their photograph taken with the signposts, which are also occasionally stolen.[1]
References
edit- ^ a b c Gladwin, Anna (29 May 2021). "Dumb Woman's Lane near Rye and what people who live there think about its name". Sussex Live. Archived from the original on 18 May 2022. Retrieved 17 January 2024.
- ^ a b Hasson, Andrew (24 June 2023). "What is the smallest town in the whole of the UK?". The Argus. Archived from the original on 29 June 2023. Retrieved 17 January 2024.
- ^ Ivatts, Mags (30 April 2020). "What's in a name?". Rye News. Retrieved 17 January 2024.
- ^ "Winchelsea, terrible tempests and Romney's laughing frogs". Sussex World. 3 February 2017. Retrieved 17 January 2024.
The last smuggler killed in England in a fight with coastguards was reputedly Thomas Monk of Winchelsea who was killed on April Fool's Day 1838. Legend has it that Dumb Woman's Lane near the town's train station is so-named because smugglers caught out in daylight with their contraband saw a woman looking at them out of a window. Alarmed lest she identify them, they decided to cut out her tongue to ensure her silence. The comedian Spike Milligan once lived in the same lane.
- ^ Preston, Alex (3 February 2022). Winchelsea. Canongate Books. ISBN 9781838854850.
- ^ McGinness, Mark (July 2009). "THE BRITISH NOTEWORTHY". Quadrant Magazine. 53 (7/8): 119–121. ISSN 0033-5002.
Milligan died at home in Dumb Woman's Lane, Udimore, near Rye, Sussex, and his headstone, after a long tussle with the diocese, was inscribed as he had wished (but in Gaelic): 'I told you I was ill'.
- ^ Watts, Alex (21 February 2022). "Spike Milligan: Goon but not forgotten – Rye residents remember comic's antics 20 years after his death". Sussex Express. Archived from the original on 17 March 2022. Retrieved 17 January 2024.
- ^ Paul McCartney; Paul Muldoon (2023). The Lyrics: 1956 to the Present. Liveright. ISBN 9781324094685.
- ^ Smith, Sophie (30 September 2017). "'Dumb Womans Lane' and 'Titty Ho': The streets where it's four times harder for owners to sell their homes". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 17 January 2024. Retrieved 17 January 2024.
External links
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Media related to Dumb Woman's Lane at Wikimedia Commons- "A poem by Paul McCartney entitled 'The Poet of Dumbwomans Lane'". Bonhams. 2008. Archived from the original on 20 July 2024.
