Rudyard Kipling (1865–1936)
Rudyard Kipling was a short-story writer, poet and novelist. It was not until he was in his thirties that he settled with his wife and children in Sussex, which he grew to love. His poem ‘Sussex’ (1902) has become the unofficial anthem of the county.
Where Kipling lived
Born in India in 1865, Kipling was sent to school in Westward Ho!, Devon, where his literary ability was encouraged by his headmaster. Working as a journalist in India, Kipling began writing poems and stories in his spare time. By the time he returned to England in 1889 he was already famous. Following his marriage to the American Caroline Balestier in 1892, they lived in Vermont, USA, before they came to Sussex in 1897.
The Kiplings initially settled in Rottingdean, first at North End House – the holiday home of Rudyard’s aunt and uncle – and later at The Elms on the village green. A reconstruction of his study can be seen at the Grange, run by the Rottingdean Preservation Society. Disturbed by tourists who travelled from Brighton to spot the author, the family looked for a new home in the countryside. In 1902 the Kiplings made their final move to Bateman’s at Burwash.
Bateman’s was built in 1634 using local sandstone from a nearby quarry, tiles baked from Wealden clay and wood from Sussex oak. Kipling bought the house, surrounding buildings and watermill, and 33 acres of land for £9,300. He loved it, even though it had no bathroom, no running water upstairs and no electricity.
Bateman's is now owned by the National Trust and is open to the public. Most of the rooms, including his study, are as Kipling left them.
In 1907 Kipling became the first English writer to receive the Nobel Prize for Literature. Kipling carried on writing until his death in 1936. His autobiography 'Something of Myself' was published posthumously in 1937.
Sussex in Kipling's books
It was the surrounding countryside and discovery of ancient artefacts in the grounds at Bateman’s that inspired the adventures of Dan and Una in ‘Puck of Pook’s Hill’ (1906) and ‘Rewards and Fairies’ (1910). In these books Dan and Una meet Puck, who uses magic to introduce the children to a series of figures from the past who tell their stories closely connected with Sussex. The hill of the title can be seen from the lawn at Bateman’s.
‘Traffic and Discoveries’ (1908) also tells stories about Sussex, including a journey through the county in a steam-car like Kipling’s own locomobile. ‘Below the Mill Dam’ is set at a mill on the river Dudwell, like the watermill at Bateman’s.
Get books by and about Kipling
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Books by Rudyard Kipling
Books about Rudyard Kipling
Find other books by Kipling – including his famous Indian stories in ‘Kim’ and ‘The Jungle Books’ – or biographies about Kipling himself on our
E-library online catalogue.
