Here Lies… Trunky Thomas

Like many churchyards, St Margaret’s in Rottingdean is peaceful and still, as befits a place of rest. Yet behind its headstones and epitaphs lies a clamour of lives: stories echoing down through generations.

In this new short film, Mike Laslett, Honorary Archivist at The Grange, leads me through St Margaret’s churchyard to the grave of Thomas “Trunky” Thomas — farmer, bathing-machine proprietor and, perhaps, much more. In five minutes, one headstone opens onto a larger history of Rottingdean: the people who lived here, the names still remembered, and the knowledge held by those who have spent years caring for the village’s past.

Here Lies… With Mike Laslett — Trunky Thomas (5 minutes)

The film grew naturally from the relationship developing around LightKeep. Mike has already helped identify local people whose memories could become part of the archive, and our conversations at The Grange have continually revealed how closely family stories, photographs, buildings and burial places are connected — a growing tapestry of lives passing through one English village.

Although this churchyard tour is not itself a LightKeep portrait, it belongs to the same wider act of preservation. It shows what collaboration can produce: local knowledge met with careful filmmaking, made available to the community rather than left unheard.

This is the first film in what we hope can become a series of short churchyard stories with Mike and Rottingdean Heritage.