These were added to the south aisle, but this fell out of use after 1377 when the church and surrounding buildings were sacked by French invaders who had landed on the coast nearby.

[3] The church remained structurally unaltered until a major restoration in 1856 by Sir George Gilbert Scott.

[5] Sir Edward Burne-Jones, who designed many of the stained-glass windows in the church, lived at a house on the village green for 18 years until his death in 1898.

[5][6] In the early 20th century, a proposal was received from the developers of the Forest Lawn Memorial Park, a private cemetery in Glendale, California.

A price was offered, but the sale was refused, so in the 1940s a series of drawings were made, and an exact replica was built instead.

[2] The entrance is at the west end, opposite the village green, and reached through a lychgate dating from 1897 in memory of Revd Arthur Thomas, vicar of the church for 47 years until his death in 1895.

On top of the steeply pitched roof at the west end is a small cross,[2] and a large clock is embedded in the wall below this.

[13] The parish covers the whole of Rottingdean—reaching to the boundaries of Ovingdean and Saltdean—the coast road as far as Roedean, and surrounding areas of downland.

The churchyard includes the graves of Scottish novelist William Black, G. H. Elliott the Music Hall singer[14] and the world renowned blues guitarist Gary Moore (died 2011).