Saltdean Seafront
James Gray: Four photographs of Rottingdean and Saltdean, taken during an afternoon walk during 1928. [See also jgc_32_036 on this page and jgc_32_034 on the Sheep Walk page] Additional Information: View east along the cliff edge. jgc_32_037
James Gray: View looking east. jgc_32_165
2019: Known as Rottingdean Gap, this area has been substantially altered by the completion of the Undercliff Walk (1930-1933), the Rottingdean Terraces (1934) and the building of St Margaret’s Flats (1938) and Highcliff Court (1967). (Photographer: Ron Fitton)
James Gray: The cliffs beyond Rottingdean village. jgc_32_168
2019: A great deal of development has occurred in the last century and there are practically no gaps in the ribbon development along the coast road between Rustington in the west and Seaford in the east. The red arrow indicates the approximate position of the coastguard cottages. (Photographer: Google aerial view)
James Gray: This photograph dates from 1926/7 when just a few houses had been built. The others following [jgc_32_ 192 to 198] were taken in 1938/9 and show Butlin’s Ocean Hotel under construction and the recently opened Saltdean Lido, the open air swimming pool, soon to be taken over by the National Fire Service during the 1939-45 war. jgc_32_191
James Gray: On these two photographs [see also jgc_32_182 below] dating from 1927, can be seen one or two more houses than those shown on the bottom photograph [probably jgc_32_171] on the previous page. Progress was slow in the early days and building did not gather momentum until about 1931. jgc_32_181
James Gray: At the period of this photograph, 1920, the only houses along this stretch of coastal road, were the coastguard cottages. To the west the nearest houses were those of Rottingdean village, while to the east, just over the brow of the hill in the distance, were the coastguard cottages at Telscombe. jgc_32_170
2019: See caption for jgc_32_168 above. (Photographer: Google aerial view)
James Gray: This photograph is of a year or two later, and clearly shows the seven coastguard cottages which stood for years completely isolated, at the top of the cliffs. About this time, 1923, the South Coast Land and Resort Company bought a vast area of this land from Steyning Beard of Rottingdean and prepared to lay it out as a building estate. The notice board behind the cottages probably announces this fact. Additional Information: Cliffs looking towards Peacehaven. jgc_32_171
James Gray: Three more of the many photographs taken of Saltdean during the days of its early development. Another view of the pillars and statues which adorned the miniature Saltdean seafront, prior to the building of the Undercliff Walk. jgc_32_175
2019: Saltdean seafront today. The original seafront was cut off from the sea (other than by steps) following the completion of the Undercliff Walk in 1935. A more modern café has replaced the one shown in the original photograph. What happened to the original pillars and statues remains a mystery. (Photographer: Ron Fitton)
James Gray: A very clear view of the old coastguard cottages. The year of this photograph is unknown. People living in these cottages must have felt very isolated, with the nearest houses those in Rottingdean Village. jgc_32_177
2019: The coastguard cottages were originally built in 1834 to combat smuggling through the Saltdean Gap. They were demolished in 1937 to make way for two blocks of flats, Curzon and Teynham. (Photographer: Ron Fitton)
James Gray: This large photograph dates from about 1930 while the next one [see jgc_32_179 on the Marine Drive (Saltdean) page] was obviously taken a few years later when the road widening was being completed. jgc_32_178
2019: More road widening and the development of the seafront during the 1930s makes it impossible to get as close to the cliff edge as the original photographer did. (Photographer: Ron Fitton)
James Gray: Four photographs of Rottingdean and Saltdean, taken during an afternoon walk during 1928. [See also jgc_32_037 on this page and jgc_32_034 on the Sheep Walk page] Additional Information: Two women walking on the cliff top. jgc_32_036
James Gray: This close up view of the old narrow promenade dates from the early 1930s. The pillars and the statues on them came from the Wembley Exhibition when it closed in 1925, though they were not erected here for a year of two. They were removed and the promenade widened when Brighton Corporation took over the responsibility of this area from the Saltdean Estate Company. jgc_32_180
2019: See also jgc_32_168, 171 and 177 above. (Photographer: Ron Fitton)
James Gray: The narrow promenade, with the original pillars about 1930. jgc_32_201
James Gray: [See caption for jgc_32_181 above.] jgc_32_182
James Gray: These two photographs [1929-1930] above date from the late 1920s, or possibly 1930. There are few more houses shown than in those on the previous page. jgc_32_183 and jgc_32_184
James Gray: Taken about 1934 when the sea wall was under construction. jgc_32_185
James Gray: This view is of the late 1930s and shows the recently built roadside café, which replaced the original café built in 1925. jgc_32_186
James Gray: Four more photographs of the same area, dating from the mid-1930s, when the coast road was being widened and the Undercliff Walk being extended to the Borough boundary at Saltdean. jgc_32_187, 188, 189 and 190
James Gray: Saltdean Lido under construction. jgc_32_192
James Gray: Four postcard views [see also jgc_32_195 and 196] of Saltdean Lido and Butlin’s Ocean Hotel, which also show the piecemeal way in which this suburb of Brighton was developing. Remembering that this Lido was derelict for some years after 1945, I should think that all four were taken in 1938/39, just before the start of the Second World War. jgc_32_197 and jgc_32_198