Saltdean is a coastal village in the city of

Brighton and Hove Brighton and Hove ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority area, ceremonially in East Sussex, England. There are multiple villages alongside the seaside resorts of Brighton and Hove in the district. It is administe ...

, with part (known as East Saltdean) outside the city boundary in

Lewes Lewes () is the county town of East Sussex, England. The town is the administrative centre of the wider Lewes (district), district of the same name. It lies on the River Ouse, Sussex, River Ouse at the point where the river cuts through the Sou ...

district. Saltdean is approximately east of central

Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...

, west of Newhaven, and south of

. It is bordered by farmland and the

South Downs National Park The South Downs National Park is England's newest national parks of England and Wales, national park, designated on 31 March 2010. The park, covering an area of in southern England, stretches for from Winchester in the west to Eastbourne in t ...

History

Saltdean was open farmland, originally a part of the village of Rottingdean, and almost uninhabited until 1924 when land was sold off for speculative housing and property development. Some of this was promoted by entrepreneur Charles W. Neville, who had set up a company to develop the site (he also eventually built nearby towns

Peacehaven Peacehaven is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Lewes (district), Lewes district of East Sussex, England. It is above the chalk cliffs of the South Downs about east of Brighton city centre, on the A259 road. It is the ...

and parts of Rottingdean). Saltdean has a mainly shingle beach, fronted by a promenade, the Undercliff Walk, which can be reached directly from the cliff top, by steps from the coast road, or by a subway tunnel from the nearby Lido. The Undercliff Walk continues to Brighton, ending by the Palace Pier. The buildings nearest the beach are the most architecturally varied, and include some influenced by international trends of the inter-war years, e.g.

Bauhaus The Staatliches Bauhaus (), commonly known as the , was a German art school operational from 1919 to 1933 that combined Decorative arts, crafts and the fine arts.Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 4th edn., ...

and

Cubism Cubism is an early-20th-century avant-garde art movement which began in Paris. It revolutionized painting and the visual arts, and sparked artistic innovations in music, ballet, literature, and architecture. Cubist subjects are analyzed, broke ...

, and there are some which are Spanish influenced. The best known building is the

grade II* listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

Saltdean Lido community centre, which includes a public library and iconic open air swimming-pool, designed by architect R. W. H. Jones. He also designed other buildings in the area, including the former Grand Ocean Hotel, built using

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French (), is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design that first Art Deco in Paris, appeared in Paris in the 1910s just before World War I and flourished in the United States and Europe during the 1920 ...

'ocean liner' architecture. Saltdean is a prosperous village suburb of the city of Brighton and Hove, although its eastern side is administratively part of the neighbouring

Lewes District Council Lewes () is the county town of East Sussex, England. The town is the administrative centre of the wider district of the same name. It lies on the River Ouse at the point where the river cuts through the South Downs. A traditional market town ...

Geography

Saltdean is situated by the sea in a 'Dean' (Saxon/Old English for 'dry valley'), with the surrounding hills of the South Downs National Park forming a large central dip and valley where the oval shaped Saltdean Park and Lido are located, looking out over the adjacent sea. Tree lined roads and avenues radiate out in wide oval curves from the park in order to follow the contours of the local topography. The plan of the village was designed from inception to vary considerably from neighbouring Peacehaven's more grid-like system.

Transport

Bus company

Brighton & Hove Brighton and Hove ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority area, ceremonially in East Sussex, England. There are multiple villages alongside the seaside resorts of Brighton and Hove in the district. It is administe ...

provides frequent buses through Saltdean, operating route 27 that links Saltdean to Withdean via Brighton city centre and Brighton station. Saltdean is also served by other Brighton & Hove routes 12 and 14 (as well as their variants) that run along the A259 to destinations including

, Seaford and

Eastbourne Eastbourne () is a town and seaside resort in East Sussex, on the south coast of England, east of Brighton and south of London. It is also a non-metropolitan district, local government district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, bor ...

. The Big Lemon bus company provides route 47 that links Saltdean to

Hangleton Hangleton is a suburb of Brighton and Hove, in the ceremonial county of East Sussex, England. The area was developed in the 1930s after it was incorporated into the Borough of Hove, but has ancient origins: St Helen's Church, Hangleton, its par ...

. Saltdean is directly connected to the

A259 The A259 is a road on the south coast of England passing through Hampshire, West Sussex, East Sussex, and Kent, and is the longest Zone 2 A road in Great Britain. The main part of the road connects Brighton, Peacehaven, Eastbourne, Hastings, ...

road, which runs south of the village.

Education

The only school in Saltdean is Saltdean Primary School. There is also a library located in the Lido Community building.

Sport and leisure

Saltdean has a

non-League football Non-League football describes association football, football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is ...

club Saltdean United F.C. who play at Hill Park. Saltdean also has four hard tennis courts, an outdoor Bowls green, a basketball court, and a skateboard park all located within Saltdean Park. A sea swimming group meets weekly on the beach and holds traditional Boxing Day and New Year's Day swims. Saltdean also has their own Surf Life Saving club, Saltdean Swim & Surf Club, who meet throughout the year.

Notable people

Historic figures

* Alfred Lynch (1931–2003), actor *

John Nathan-Turner John Turner (12 August 1947 – 1 May 2002), known professionally as John Nathan-Turner, was an English television producer. He was the ninth producer of the long-running BBC science fiction series ''Doctor Who'' and the final producer of the ...

(1947–2002), TV producer * Manning O'Brine (c.1913-c.1977), writer *

George Robey Sir George Edward Wade, Commander of the Order of the British Empire, CBE (20 September 1869 – 29 November 1954),James Harding (music writer), Harding, James"Robey, George" ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University P ...

(1869–1954), music hall comedian * Pat Coombs (1926-2002) actress

Living people

Glenn Fabry Glenn Fabry (; born 24 March 1961) is a British comics artist known for his detailed, realistic work in both ink and painted colour. Career Glenn Fabry's career began in 1985, drawing ''Sláine (comics), Slaine'' for ''2000 AD (comics), 2000 A ...

, comics artist * John Avon, illustrator * Dennis Burnett, footballer * Celeste, singer-songwriter

References

External links

Parish Church of St Nicholas
{{authority control Villages in East Sussex Areas of Brighton and Hove Populated coastal places in East Sussex Beaches of East Sussex Unparished areas in East Sussex