Out & About - To Rottingdean and beyond

Rottingdean, four miles from Brighton, was once its eastern boundary. Its name comes from the Saxon meaning the valley of Rota's people.
St Margaret's church was built by the Normans over an existing stone church, whose foundations are included within the present building. It was partially rebuilt over the years following firstly a gale which destroyed the Norman tower and secondly the sacking by French raiders in the 14th century. It was last restored in 1856.

The village was once the home of the painter Sir Edward Burne-Jones. His wife's nephew, Rudyard Kipling, also lived here from 1897 to 1902. The three houses which comprised Burne-Jones' North End House are now separated again and are not open to the public.
Kipling's old home, The Elms, is privately owned and not open to the public; however, the separate adjacent gardens are open every day, with free entry.

Rottingdean's museum, run by the Rottingdean Preservation Society at The Grange (free entry), is well worth a visit. The Grange, built in 1792 as the vicarage to St Margaret's Church, was built on the site of a much earlier building. It was re-named The Grange by the painter Sir William Nicholson, who lived there from 1908 to 1914.