Names on the buses

 652 Sir William Nicholson

Connections with Brighton and Hove : Born in 1872, he moved to Rottingdean in 1912, living in the vicarage which he renamed The Grange. Nicholson was an artist who knew the village well, having visited Rudyard Kipling there before the author moved to Burwash. He called himself The Painter of the Downs but was plagued by sightseers and eventually left because of them as Kipling had before. Nicholson was a celebrated society portrait painter who also for a short time lived at North End House in the village. He made his reputation for posters and woodcuts but made most of his money through portraits. A dandy, he wore eccentric clothes including spotted shirts, yellow waistcoats and pale-coloured gloves. During his time at Rottingdean, he produced many paintings of the Downs and the nearby sea. He also made the woodcut of Rottingdean windmill which provided the logo for the publishers Heinemann. Nicholson, who died in 1949, sold The Grange to Sir George Lewis, who commissioned extensions by Lutyens to the house. It is now open to the public as a museum and library.

652 - Scania Omnidekka carried name since March 2005 on Metro 49. Metro 49 branding removed September 2012. Bus Sold in December 2020.