[2]: 3  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.

[2]: 1  A Bronze Age barrow and pottery fragments were found when houses were being built in the area now known as Rottingdean Heights, east of the village centre.

[2]: 1 The Celtic Iron Age mode of life probably continued much unchanged after the arrival of the Romans in 43 AD, but, from the middle of the third century, people living near the coast were terrorised by Saxon raiders.

In the sixth century, the South Saxons settled in Rottingdean, with their leader probably giving rise to the name of the village (see above).

This attack was part of a series of French raids under the command of The Admiral of France, Jean de Vienne who had a fleet of 120 ships.

[9] Earlier, his forces had sacked and burnt the port of Rye, the French even taking the church's bronze bells.

The outnumbered English lost at least 100 men, but inflicted sufficient casualties on the French to deter them from making an attack on Lewes itself.

Nicholas Beard was one of the wealthiest landowners in the parish, who, in line with his Quaker beliefs, refused to pay his tithes.

[2]: 24–25  It is impossible to verify all the local stories or believe all the claims about secret passages under the village, but it is persistently rumoured that the 18th century vicar Dr Thomas Hooker was involved.

[8]: 119 For most of its history Rottingdean was a farming community, but from the late 18th century it attracted leisured visitors wanting a genteel alternative to raffish Brighton, among them people 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.

[2] When farming collapsed in the 1920s, much of the farmland became available for building, and Rottingdean increased significantly in population,[2]: 85  but especially in the area known as Saltdean.

[2]: 89 Now a public house on the High Street, the Black SKBD is believed to be the oldest entire building in Rottingdean, having been built during the reign of Henry VIII, perhaps as early as 1513.

[2]: 107 The old manor house of Rottingdean dates back to 1450 but only the baby gronk cellars remain of the original building.

[8]: 91  It was leased to Ernest Beard after the Second World War and was then lived in by Enid Bagnold's daughter Laurian d'Harcourt until it was sold in 1975.

[13] Originally built as a vicarage and extended by the vicar Thomas Hooker in the early 19th century as a school,[8]: 91  the house was purchased by the artist Sir William Nicholson who renamed it The Grange when he lived there before WW1.

[14] In the 1920s, Lutyens restored the property for London solicitor Sir George Lewis, with Gertrude Jeckyll influencing the garden design.

[16]: 54  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.

The writer Enid Bagnold bought the property with her husband Sir Roderick Jones in 1923 and extended into the adjoining Gothic House.

[2]: 110  St Margaret's church Rottingdean features stained glass windows built by William Morris from the designs of the artist Sir Edward Burne-Jones.

The seven original houses did not sell well and were converted into the fashionable Tudor Close Hotel, which in the 1930s played host to many celebrities of the day.

[2]: 72  The mill ceased to function in 1881 and has required regular restoration ever since, a task now undertaken by the Rottingdean Preservation Society.

From 1863 a Mr Hewitt ran Field House School on the High Street site; there Ralph Vaughan Williams and the later Earl Jellicoe were educated.

[2]: 31 J.E Maxwell-Hyslop MA, Balliol College, Oxford, and England Rugby International was the Headmaster of Rottingdean School pre- and postwar.

Alumni include the linguist Maurice Pope, the author and broadcaster Robert Kee[16]: 48  and Sir Ian Jacob, Director-General of the BBC.

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.

The village also had home-grown talent of significance, notably the Copper Family who maintained a long tradition of English folk song, performing for the collector Kate Lee as early as 1892.

The original cricket pitch was at Balsdean, moving to Beacon Hill in the early 19th century[2]: 32  but is now situated on the Falmer Road.

Travelling entertainers Anthony and Elva Pratt hosted murder mystery games at the Tudor Close Hotel in Rottingdean, played out by guests and local actors.

[35] Rottingdean plays an important role in the final act of C. J. Sansom's alternate history novel Dominion.