Rottingdean

Village in Brighton, England

Rottingdean is a village in the city of Brighton and Hove, on the south coast of England. It borders the villages of Saltdean, Ovingdean and Woodingdean, and has a historic centre, often the subject of picture postcards.

The name Rottingdean is normally interpreted as the valley of the people associated with Rōta (a male personal name). The name was contrasted unflatteringly with Goodwood (another place in Sussex) in a national 1970s advertising campaign for wood preserver.

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 parish became part of county borough of Brighton in 1928. In 1996 it regained an independent parish council, the only one in what is now the city of Brighton and Hove. Within the parish lies the deserted hamlet of Balsdean. The adjacent village of Woodingdean was formerly (until 1933) part of Rottingdean parish. Also formerly in the parish were most of the district of what is now Saltdean; Roedean School, an independent school for girls; and the Blind Veterans UK Centre, a rehabilitation centre for blinded ex Service personnel.

The first settled inhabitants of Rottingdean were the Neolithic people, arriving around 2500 BC. From information in the Domesday Book of 1086 it can be estimated that Rottingdean had a total population of between 50 and 100 at that time. Earlier, his forces had sacked and burnt the port of Rye, the French even taking the church's bronze bells. The raiders landed at Rottingdean, probably intending to pillage the nearby Lewes priory.

The Elms is most famous for being lived in by Rudyard Kipling who rented the property between 1897 and 1902. The Elms was built around 1750, situated on The Green facing the village pond. From 1785 to 1859 it was owned by the Ingram family.

Originally built as a vicarage and extended by the vicar Thomas Hooker in the early 19th century as a school, In the 1920s, Lutyens restored the property for London solicitor Sir George Lewis, with Gertrude Jeckyll influencing the garden design. Developer Charles Neville occupied it for some time. It now houses an Art Gallery and Museum which are managed by Rottingdean Heritage volunteers, as well as the local library and Tourist Information Hub which are the responsibility of Brighton and Hove Council. An almost exact replica of the church was constructed at the Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale, California in 1941.

Originally a sixteenth century cottage, its grounds were the site of the village stocks and whipping post.

Dr Thomas Hooker also started a school for the village children some time before 1818. In the 1840s a Lewes banker, George Molineux, let a house near the coast at Rottingdean for use as a National School. The school was funded from voluntary subscriptions and the payment of a fee of 1d. per week for each pupil. In 1859, Lord Abergavenny and James Ingram donated a piece of land for the construction of a purpose built schoolroom at the bottom of Neville Road, opening in 1860. In 1874 a separate infants school was built on the opposite side of the road.

Rottingdean Cricket Club was founded in 1758. The original cricket pitch was at Balsdean, moving to Beacon Hill in the early 19th century but is now situated on the Falmer Road. The 1st team play in the Sussex County League, Division 3, and is currently captained by Jack Cox.

The board game Cluedo, launched in 1949, had its origins in Rottingdean. Travelling entertainers Anthony and Elva Pratt hosted murder mystery games at the Tudor Close Hotel in Rottingdean, played out by guests and local actors. Called Murder at Tudor Close, they took the idea to Waddingtons, who marketed it as Cluedo. Victorian Rottingdean is the setting for the mystery novel Death at Rottingdean. Rottingdean plays an important role in the final act of C. J. Sansom's alternate history novel Dominion. A shop in Rottingdean was the inspiration for the Local Shop in the comedy series The League of Gentlemen.