Bibliography - Henry E. Blyth
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Rottingdean: The Story of a Village, by S. M. Moens and Henry E. Blyth, published 1952 (Brighton: John Beal & Son) accessible at: & West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries

This excellent little volume deserves the support of all who are interested in the story and preservation of our Sussex villages. Hitherto, most guides and booklets dealing with Rottingdean have rather tended to exaggerate the importance and influence of Burne-Jones and Kipling on the story of this interesting village. It is, of course, essential that due reference to these two worthies should be made, but in this book Col. Moens has, I think, preserved a fair balance. He has dealt fully with the life of the place, its interesting houses, and their former and present inhabitants. The casual reader, if not well acquainted with the village, might perhaps think that the author has given over emphasis to the Beard family, but it is true that for a very long time this family dominated Rottingdean. A good deal of space is given to sport in the village, which is only what those of us who know him would expect from such a sportsman as Col. Moens. He is fully conversant with his subject, having been associated with the village for over 65 years. The book is profusely illustrated, and is well worth its cost on that count alone. Those of us who knew Brighton and Rottingdean over 50 years ago will note with interest the story and picture of the ill-fated "Daddy-Long-Legs." I still remember my one and only "voyage" on this contraption. In his peroration at the end of his book Col. Moens makes a spirited appeal for the preservation of the amenities of the village. I hope the present generation will honour this, but many of us fear that this warning has come rather late, in view of large modern buildings erected on its sea front.

Smugglers Village: The Story of Rottingdean, by Henry Blyth, published 1963 (pamphlet, 72 pp., Rottingdean: H. E. Blyth Ltd.) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 12328] & The Keep [LIB/503479] & West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries