East Ruston

East Ruston
The Butchers Arms, East Ruston
East Ruston Location within Norfolk
Area	5.15 sq mi (13.3 km2)
Population	595 (2021 census, including Brumstead
•  Density	116/sq mi (45/km2)
OS grid reference	TG344278
•  London	136 miles (219 km)
Civil parish	East Ruston CP
District	North Norfolk
Shire county	Norfolk
Region	East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	NORWICH
Postcode district	NR12
Dialling code	01692
Police	Norfolk
Fire	Norfolk
Ambulance	East of England
UK Parliament	North Norfolk
List of places UK England Norfolk 52°47′49″N1°28′35″E / 52.79682°N 1.476420°E / 52.79682; 1.476420

East Ruston is a village and a civil parish in the English county of Norfolk.

The village is located 4.1 miles (6.6 km) south-east of North Walsham and 14 miles (23 km) north-east of Norwich.

History

East Ruston's name is of Anglo-Saxon origin and derives from the Old English for the eastern brushwood farm or settlement. ^[1]

In the Domesday Book, East Ruston is listed as a settlement of 87 households in the hundred of Happing. In 1086, the village formed part of the East Anglian estates of Ralph Baynard. ^[2]

In 1758, East Ruston post mill was built and remained in operation until it fell into dereliction after the Second World War. ^[3] A further tower mill was built in 1868 and operated by Horace Turner. The machinery was removed from the mill in the 1960s with the building still standing. ^[4]

During the Second World War, East Ruston was the location of British Army roadblocks and a reserve training area in preparation for resistance of a German invasion of England. ^[5]

Geography

According to the 2021 census, East Ruston has a population of 595 people which shows no deviation from the 595 people recorded in the 2011 census. ^[6]

The closest railway station to East Ruston is Worstead which provides Bittern Line services to Sheringham and Norwich. The nearest airport is Norwich International Airport.

Church of St. Mary

Main article: St Mary's Church, East Ruston

East Ruston's parish church is dedicated to Saint Mary and dates from the Fourteenth Century, though it has been significantly re-modelled and restored in the Victorian era. St. Mary's is located outside of the village on the side of the B1159 and has been Grade II listed since 1955. ^[7]

St. Mary's has been in the care of the Churches Conservation Trust since the 1980s. There are good examples of Nineteenth Century stained glass, particularly a depiction of the Presentation of Christ by A. L. Moore as well as a font that was recut in the 1880s. ^[8]

Amenities

The public house is called the Butchers Arms. ^[9] East Ruston is the home to the noted East Ruston Old Vicarage garden which is open to the public.

Notable Residents

• Richard Porson- (1759–1808) classicist, born in East Ruston.

In popular culture

East Ruston is named as Abe Slaney's hiding place in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes story, The Adventure of the Dancing Men . ^[10]

Governance

East Ruston is part of the electoral ward of Happisburgh for local elections and is part of the district of North Norfolk.

The village's national constituency is North Norfolk, which has been represented by the Liberal Democrat Steff Aquarone MP since 2024.

War memorial

East Ruston War Memorial is a short stone plinth topped with a Celtic cross in St. Mary's Churchyard. ^[11] It lists the following names for the First World War: ^{[12] [13]}

Rank	Name	Unit	Date of Death	Burial/Commemoration
2Lt.	Walter J. Brumbley MC [a]	3rd Bn., Norfolk Regiment	27 Mar. 1918	Pozieres Memorial
St1C	Reginald Bristow	HMS Bacchante	21 Feb. 1919	St. Mary's Churchyard
Pte.	Frederick J. Hilling	4th Bn., Bedfordshire Regiment	16 Jan. 1918	Mont-Huon Cemetery
Pte.	Frederick G. Rump	6th Bn., The Buffs	9 Aug. 1918	Franvillers Cemetery
Pte.	George W. Riches	12th Bn., Cornwall Light Infantry	24 Jan. 1917	Bray Military Cemetery
Pte.	Leslie W. Pointer	1/9th Bn., Durham Light Infantry	5 Nov. 1916	Thiepval Memorial
Pte.	John Helsdon	1st Bn., Essex Regiment	12 Oct. 1916	Thiepval Memorial
Pte.	Clarence H. Pratt	8th Bn., Royal Fusiliers	7 Oct. 1916	Beaulencourt Cemetery
Pte.	John R. Hemp	1st Bn., Norfolk Regiment	15 Jan. 1916	Carnoy Military Cemetery
Pte.	James Riches	1st Bn., Norfolk Regt.	9 Oct. 1917	Tyne Cot
Pte.	Walter J. Cutting	1/5th Bn., Norfolk Regt.	19 Apr. 1917	Gaza War Cemetery
Pte.	Edmund W. Eaton	8th Bn., Norfolk Regt.	1 Jul. 1916	Thiepval Memorial
Pte.	Charles E. Larkins	9th Bn., Norfolk Regt.	15 Sep. 1916	Guillemont Road Cem.
Spr.	R. Percy Taylor	128th Coy., Royal Engineers	1 Sep. 1917	Lijssenthoek Cemetery
Spr.	William H. Ward	209th Coy., R.E.	3 Jul. 1916	Thiepval Memorial
2hd.	Robert Spanton	H.M. Drifter Young Fred	21 Jan. 1917	St. Mary's Churchyard
Dhd.	A. William Shepherd	H.M. Trawler Tugela	26 Jun. 1916	Chatham Naval Memorial
Tmr.	Cecil V. Grimmer	HMS Attentive III	26 Mar. 1917	St. Mary's Churchyard

And, the following for the Second World War:

Rank	Name	Unit	Date of Death	Burial
Sgt.	Matthew Sculfer	No. 21 Squadron RAF	11 Jun. 1940	Boulleville Cemetery
Sgt.	Jack Dixon	No. 153 Squadron RAF	6 Mar. 1945	Olsany Cemetery
Pte.	Robert F. Pestell	Royal Army Ordnance Corps	27 Jul. 1943	Kanchanaburi War Cemetery

Footnotes

References

1. "Key to English Place-names". kepn.nottingham.ac.uk. Retrieved 14 January 2025.
2. "[East] Ruston | Domesday Book". opendomesday.org. Retrieved 14 January 2025.
3. "Norfolk Mills - East Ruston post windmill". norfolkmills.co.uk. Retrieved 14 January 2025.
4. "Norfolk Mills - East Ruston tower windmill". norfolkmills.co.uk. Retrieved 14 January 2025.
5. "East-Ruston - Norfolk Heritage Explorer". www.heritage.norfolk.gov.uk. Retrieved 14 January 2025.
6. "East Ruston (Parish, United Kingdom) - Population Statistics, Charts, Map and Location". www.citypopulation.de. Retrieved 14 January 2025.
7. "Church of St. Mary, East Ruston - 1169839 | Historic England". historicengland.org.uk. Retrieved 14 January 2025.
8. "The Norfolk Churches Site". www.norfolkchurches.co.uk. Retrieved 14 January 2025.
9. The Butchers Arms Retrieved 28 March 2009.
10. Conan Doyle, A. (1903). The Adventure of the Dancing Men. ISBN   0-486-29558-3
11. "East Ruston War Memorial, East Ruston - 1442619 | Historic England". historicengland.org.uk. Retrieved 14 January 2025.
12. "Roll of Honour - Norfolk - East Ruston". www.roll-of-honour.com. Retrieved 14 January 2025.
13. "Geograph:: Earlham to Erpingham :: War Memorials in Norfolk". www.geograph.org.uk. Retrieved 14 January 2025.

Notes

1. Brumbley was awarded the Military Cross for an action in March 1918 when he personally led a raiding party into enemy lines.

External links

Media related to East Ruston at Wikimedia Commons