James Gray: The house of Rudyard Kipling, with the pond in front of it. jgc_32_012
2018: The author and poet Rudyard Kipling, author of The Jungle Book, lived in The Elms between 1897 and 1902. The Grade II listed 18th century building has been painted white and has roof extensions. There is now a war memorial on The Green, placed there in 1920. ( Photographer: Ron Fitton)
James Gray: The church and lych gate. jgc_32_016
2018: St Margaret’s Church in Rottingdean is the parish church for the village, and is a Grade II* listed building. The biggest change over the years is in the vehicles parked by the lych gate. The rather dashing Victoria horse-drawn carriage of 1906 and its smart coachman has been replaced by a wall of parked cars and vans. (Photographer: Ron Fitton)
James Gray: Photograph taken in 1897 showing Rudyard Kipling’s house. Fortunately this part of the village has not changed much, apart from improvement in the road surface. jgc_32_017
2019: Unlike some of the other large houses in Rottingdean, The Elms remains in private hands. The house’s original large garden, surrounded by a flint wall, was saved from development and opened to the public as Kipling Gardens in 1986. Today it is maintained by an enthusiastic band of volunteers. (Photographer: Ron Fitton)
James Gray: Photograph taken in 1897 showing Rudyard Kipling’s house. Fortunately this part of the village has not changed much, apart from improvement in the road surface. jgc_32_018
2019: The 1887 photograph shows the original roofline of The Elms, now altered to increase the size of the attic rooms. (Photographer: Ron Fitton)
James Gray: All I can say of these pictures is that they are recent printings from old wax paper negatives taken about the year 1860. There are no other buildings that would help to provide a more exact date.
jgc_32_019
2019: Parts of this ancient church date from the 13th century but in 1856 there was a major restoration of the whole building by Sir George Gilbert Scott. Perhaps these pictures of about 1860 were taken to record its newly refurbished state. (Photographer: Ron Fitton)
James Gray: See caption for jgc_32_019 above. jgc_32_020
2019: In the early 20th century Rottingdean received a proposal from the developers of the Forest Lawn Memorial Park, a private cemetery in Glendale, California, USA. They wanted to buy St Margaret’s, dismantle it stone by stone, ship it to the United States and rebuild it in the Memorial Park. The sale was, fortunately, refused. A replica was built at Forest Lawn instead. (Photographer: Ron Fitton)
James Gray: Two postcard views of Rottingdean Church, both dating from before the 1914-18 War. jgc_32_023 and jgc_32_024
James Gray: Rottingdean Church, from the road in 1900. It is little changed in 1956 though the clock has moved from the tower to the west wall over the entrance door, and a low flint wall replaces the gate on the right. The trees on either side of the lych gate are now much taller. jgc_32_025
James Gray: No comment. Additional information: Note old men of the village. jgc_32_021
2019: The ancient churchyard of St Margaret’s has been extended since these early photographs, first in 1883 and 1905 with land donated by William Nevill, 1st Marquess of Abergavenny and again in 1920. Some of the more recent notable interments in the churchyard include the architect and Brighton councillor Nimrod Ping, who designed the Lewes Road Sainsbury’s (see jgc_ 25_058), members of the famous Copper family of folksingers and musicians and the blues guitarist Gary Moore. The clock was moved at some point from the tower to its present position. (Photographer: Ron Fitton)
James Gray: Kipling’s home, The Elms. jgc_32_029
2019: The village war memorial seen here, which now stands on The Green between the pond and The Elms, commemorates the 37 residents of Rottingdean who were killed or posted missing in World War I and the 29 lost in World War II. (Photographer: Ron Fitton)
James Gray: Sir Edward Burne-Jones’ house. jgc_32_132
2019: In 1880 Burne-Jones bought Prospect House and then Aubrey House next door. He converted them into one building. In the 1980s they became separate houses again. Prospect Cottage, the southernmost (closest to the camera), has a plaque to Burne-Jones and in 2019 was being let as a holiday home. Nowadays The Green, like most open spaces, has to be protected by bollards to prevent people parking on it. (Photographer: Ron Fitton)
James Gray: Rottingdean church and pond, said to have been taken in 1900. A good view of Rudyard Kipling’s house and a glimpse of the farm buildings, now Tudor Close. jgc_32_136
2019: The lych gate shown in the original photograph was then practically new. It was erected in 1897 in memory of the Rev Arthur Thomas, vicar for forty-seven years. Tree growth now obscures most of The Elms, Kipling’s house. (Photographer: Ron Fitton)
James Gray: The pond and The Grange. Period unknown, but likely to be early in the present century. jgc_32_138
2019: This photograph shows the buildings to the east of The Green and the railings edging the pond. There is a lot more vegetation around the pond now. It is maintained by local volunteers. (Photographer: Ron Fitton)
James Gray: The pond and The Grange. Viewed in the opposite direction to that on the previous page. [Above.] Doubtless the two photographs were taken at the same time. jgc_32_139
2019: The pond and surrounding railings are now hidden by parked cars and, from this angle, The Grange is obscured by the mature tree. (Photographer: Ron Fitton)
James Gray: The location of these photographs [jgc_32_140 on the Falmer Road (Rottingdean) page and jgc_32_141] is easily recognisable, but the period is unknown. Most probably both date from the 1900s. A similar view but in winter, with the pond frozen hard enough for skating. jgc_32_141
2019: A view of the pond on a mild spring day in 2019. Kipling’s house The Elms is in the far distance and Norton House is on the right. There is a great deal more vegetation in and around the pond nowadays. The James Gray image shows Norton House in the centre with The Grange on the extreme right. (Photographer: Ron Fitton)
James Gray: No comment. Additional Information: The horse bus would make a circular tour of the … jgc_32_142
2019: By 2019 the village pond is sporting lots more plant life and the road an increase in traffic. Kipling’s house The Elms still faces the pond but is much more visible, it and its surroundings having been denuded of a vast amount of greenery. Note the War Memorial between the pond and The Elms. See also jgc_32_153. (Photographer: Ron Fitton)
James Gray: Dated by the photographer as June 1935. jgc_32_144
2019: The building beyond the pond is Norton House, an early 19th century building, now Grade II listed.The parish church of Rottingdean, St Margaret of Antioch, can be seen to the left and rear of Norton House in both images. (Photographer: Ron Fitton)
James Gray: Three photographs (jgc_32_146, 147 and 148) of the dried up bed of this well-known pond, during the prolonged and serious drought of 1976. The pond, fed from a local drainage system, had never completely dried up within living memory. The photographs were taken on 13 August of that year. jgc_32_146
2019: This photo and the two following (jgc_32_147 and 148) are three views of Rottingdean pond taken in April 2019. Since the drought of 1976, the pond has never dried up again and is nowadays regularly maintained. The Plough Inn seen at the rear of the pond in both jgc_32_146 and 148 dates from the 1840s although it was rebuilt at the turn of the twentieth century and refaced in 1937. (Photographer: Ron Fitton)
James Gray: See caption for jgc_32_ 146 above. jgc_32_147
2019: The white building on the far side of the road is The Grange. This building dates from around 1740 and served as a vicarage until 1908. Its present name was given to it by the artist William Nicholson, who lived in the house from 1912 to 1914. In the 1920s Edward Lutyens restored the property for solicitor Sir George Lewis. Developer Charles Neville occupied the house for some time subsequently. In 1953 Brighton Corporation purchased The Grange and it now houses Rottingdean Library, a Rottingdean history room, a Kipling museum and an art gallery. See also jgc_32_146 and 148. (Photographer: Ron Fitton)
James Gray: No comment. jgc_32_153
2019: The Elms and the pond in June 2019. Unlike some of the other larger houses in Rottingdean, Kipling’s former residence remains in private hands. The house’s original large garden surrounded by a flint wall was saved from development and was opened to the public as Kipling Gardens in 1986 and remains to this day, maintained by an enthusiastic band of volunteers.
James Gray: The dress of the two pedestrians, and the appearance of the car, suggest a period of about 1914. Additional Information: At Rottingdean near Brighton, showing Rudyard Kipling’s House. jgc_32_143
2019: The village pond in 2019. There is now lots more plant life and traffic too. Kipling’s House, The Elms, is prominent in the background. (Photographer: Ron Fitton)