Picture by By Simon Carey, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=14413117

Name

The name is Old English for valley of the people associated with Rōta (a male personal name). Rota was probably the leader of a band of Saxons who invaded the region in 450–500 AD and replaced the existing Romano-British inhabitants. The first recorded mention is in the Domesday Book (Rotingeden, 1086). Other variations to be found in ancient charters include Ruttingedene (1272), Rottyngden (1315) and Rottendeane (1673).

Rottingdean is in a dry valley whose sides in the upper reaches are quite steep, and this valley comes right down to the English Channel coast. The name was contrasted unflatteringly with Goodwood (another place in Sussex) in a national 1970s advertising campaign for a wood preserver.

History of Rottingdean

Rottingdean has about 3,200 inhabitants. For most of its history it was a farming community, but from the late 18th century it attracted leisured visitors wanting a genteel alternative to raffish Brighton, among them some names famous in English cultural life. Some, in the late 19th century, notably the painter Sir Edward Burne-Jones and his nephew Rudyard Kipling, made it their home. Kipling’s old house adjacent to Kipling Gardens is still standing, and the former house of the painter Sir William Nicholson is currently open to the public as a library and museum. When farming collapsed in the 1920s, much of the farmland became available for building, and Rottingdean increased significantly in population, but especially in the area known as Saltdean. A large number of smallholdings appeared in the detached part of the parish called Woodingdean.

In the summer of 1377 French pirates raided Rottingdean. The raiders probably intended to pillage the nearby Lewes priory. The raiders were detected as they landed, and a portion of the village’s inhabitants retreated into the church’s Saxon-built tower. The pirates were unable to take the tower and set it on fire; over a hundred people are thought to have died in the blaze. The next day the pirates were met by a force led by the Lewes Prior. During the action, two knights, Sir John Fallisle, Thomas Chinie and the prior were captured. The pirates were, however, driven to depart, with the three men later being ransomed.

Rottingdean is also notable for the black wooden windmill on the hill on its western side. Nicholson made a woodcut that was used as the logo of the publisher William Heinemann; this is often said to have been a depiction of Rottingdean mill, but a glance at both will show that this is untrue. The Rottingdean Preservation Society and its earlier incarnations have been responsible for maintaining the windmill since 1923. It was successful in getting a Heritage Lottery Fund Grant of £41,800 which together with funding from the society has ensured that the windmill remains a remarkable Grade 1 listed attraction in the 21st century. The hill on which it stands, Beacon Hill, is a local nature reserve. The village was once a centre for fox hunting, especially in the second half of the 19th century.

Rottingdean Cricket Club was founded in 1758 and is still situated inside the village on Falmer Road. The 1st team play in the Sussex County League, Division 3, and is currently captained by Jack Cox.

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