So much so that they have published a leaflet of 50 interesting people buried in the churchyard - something I think St Remigius Church in Hethersett could copy.
I love hunting round churchyards - just reading names and inscriptions on gravestones. They reveal so much history and so many interesting people. I also love researching these people when I get back home. You can uncover some remarkable stories about people you have never heard of.
So here are a few stories from Rottingdean Parish Church.
Firstly somebody who certainly is known by anyone interested in rock music. Over the years I have visited a number of graves of musicians and composers including Anton Dvorak and Bedrich Smetana in Prague, Tchaikowsky in St Petersburg, Benjamin Britten and Peter Pears in Aldeburgh in Suffolk, my own personal hero Harry Chapin in Huntingdon, New York, and now Gary Moore in Rottingdean.
Anne visited the cemetary a couple of years ago with a friend and told me "a famous musician" is buried there "somebody called Moore." So I looked it up and indeed Gary Moore is buried there (see photograph published in yesterday's blog). Just why he came to be buried in Rottingdean appears to be a mystery. He came from Northern Ireland and died in Spain, aged just 58. To date I haven't been able to establish his connections with the Sussex town, but I will keep on trying and I assume it has something to do with his family as there are articles on the internet about the unkempt nature of his grave. It has been tidied up but it is still a tad scruffy.
I wrote recently about always having a song running through my head when I'm out. Today it was Moore's version of the superb Parisienne Walkways with that wailing guitar note that Moore seems to hold onto forever. One of my favourite pieces of rock music.
Moore was an astonishing blues and rock guitarist and world famous.
Not quite so well known in the music world but buried close to Moore is Jimmy Noon MBE who was one half of an accordion duo who apparently were famous in the 1930s. They were known as the Capaldi Brothers. Noon was also a popular Redcoat at Butlin's Ocean Hotel in Saltdean where he played the organ to the age of 84.
Also on the music front we came across the graves of members of the folk singing Copper Family in a part of the graveyard known as Copper Corner. These include Bob Copper whose fame travelled the world and who immortalised village life at the beginning of the 20th century in his book "A Life for All Seasons."
Moving away from music, there are many fascinating tales - none more so than that surrounding John Norris. For many decades Rottingdean schoolchildren knew this as the "Pirate's Grave." Problem is that Norris wasn't a pirate at all. He has a skull and crossbones on his gravestone giving rise to the pirate legend. But in the second half of the 18th century it was traditional to show symbols of death. Hence the skull and crossbones. This trend was reversed by the Victorians who used more hopeful symbols such as angels and flowers.
I know you shouldn't laugh at people's names but I couldn't help having a sly chuckle over Nimrod Ping. He was well known around the Brighton area as a local architect, politician and gay activist. His inscription states "Architect, musician and troublemaker. Arrived late, left too early." There's plenty of information on Mr Ping on the internet. I suppose if he left something of a smell it would be a Ping Pong.
Other interesting people buried in St Margaret's include artist Edward Burne-Jones who I mentioned yesterday and who was the uncle of Rudyard Kipling, author Enid Bagnold who wrote National Velvet (I remember Elizabeth Taylor in the film). Edward Ridsdale who was Chief Assayer of the Royal Mint in the Tower of London and whose daughter married three times prime minister Stanley Baldwin. Baldwin was a cousin of Kipling (not a lot of people know that) and the PM regularly visited Rottingdean.
Robert Page died at the age of 14 after being hit by a football, Thomas Avery Brooker died after being struck by lightning at Brighton Races and William Saxby was Master of the Hunt from 1834 to 1869 when Rottingdean was renowned as a centre for fox hunting.
There are a number of servicemen buried in the churchyard including eight who died in the First World War and five who died in the Second World War. One of the latter is Lieutenant Pigeon and I can't help wondering whether this has any connection with the novelty pop group of the same name who had a number one hit with the instrumental Mouldy Old Dough? Now that's a song I don't want going round my head all day.
Back to St Margaret's. I mentioned Enid Bagnold in passing. Her husband Sir Roderick Jones is also buried there. He was chairman of the Reuters News Agency and their garden inspired Bagnold's play The Chalk Garden which became a hit in both London's West End and on Broadway. Enid's brother Major Ralph Bagnold is also buried in St Margaret's. Many others buried there were teachers, and shopkeepers including Kipling's Headmaster Cormell Price.
One of the most interesting characters is the Rev Dr Hooker who is commemorated within the church. Sadly on this visit the church wasn't open so a return visit looks necessary. Anyway the illustrious Dr Hooker (1762-1838) is described as a priest, musician, schoolmaster, smuggler, country gentleman and Master of the Hunt.
Dr Hooker was an excellent horseman and acted as lookout for a gang of smugglers. For many years smuggling was rife in Rottingdean. From the mid 17th century for 200 years gangs ran contraband cargoes including brandy, gin, tea, coffee, spices, lace and more using caves dug into the cliffs which led to tunnels connecting the cellars of houses and inns along the High Street.
Finally two people not mentioned in the leaflet are Robert Metcalfe MBE and Elvi Rhodes.
The understated gravestone to Elvi Rhodes just refers to her as: Elvi Rhodes writer 1916-2015 found joy in words, her faith, family, friends, community and the natural world.
Elvi Rhodes wrote numerous novels - most of which were historical in nature and there is a fine website which she set-up 20 years ago and which explains her love of writing and much more about her life. Her son Tony is also buried in the cemetery and much of the headstone is dedicated to his memory.
Robert Metcalfe was a much loved retired teacher who led Duke of Edinburgh schemes and had a love of sport. His pupils described him as a "delight" and "a man for all seasons."
I hope you have enjoyed my quick run through some of the characters buried in Rottingdean.
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Today's Steward Stroll was just under seven miles in Eastbourne, taking in some of the parks and less known areas in the old town which were new to us despite numerous past visits to this seaside Town. The photo gallery today comes from this walk. Apologies that many of the photographs are over exposed but I didn't realise I had my camera on the wrong setting.