John Rudyard (frequently seen as Rudyerd) (1650-c. 1718) was contracted to build the second Eddystone Lighthouse, following the destruction of the original building in the Great Storm of 1703. He was neither an architect nor professional engineer, but a silk merchant and a property developer. Rudyard owned a silk-merchanting shop on Ludgate Hill in London, and had substantial interests in a variety of properties. A full biographical account of Rudyard's family background and career is contained in the second edition (2005) of Mike Palmer's account of the Eddystone Lighthouse.
John Rudyard, which is the correct original spelling of the family name, was born in the village of Leek, Staffordshire, and baptised on 22 April 1650. The name is spelt Rudyerd in the Leek baptismal register. He was a son of the 2nd wife of Anthony Rudyard of Delacres Abbey, Staffordshire, earlier known as Dieulacres Abbey. The Rudyard family at this time were wealthy landowners. They also owned a well-respected silk trading business, which employed many people of the local area. John Rudyard was brought into the family trade by starting his training in London at the age of 16, working for the next seven years, until 1673, for a Master named Robert Morris, engaged in the importing of furs, cottons and silks, and in tailoring. On completion of his apprenticeship with the Skinners Company, he married a woman named Sarah Jackman on 14 December 1674, at St Andrew's Church, Holborn, London. John and Sarah ran a shop on Ludgate Hill, provided for them by Thomas Jackman, Sarah's father. They had a daughter, named Sarah, in 1677. Records during the late 17th century show that John Rudyard was in a variety of legal partnerships with Thomas Jackman, relating to properties in and around London. In a document of contract between John Lovett and John Rudyard, Citizen and Skinner of London, dated 19 June 1706, it is stated that Rudyard was to have sole management and building of the proposed new Eddystone Lighthouse, and that he was to receive £250 pa from the dues for his lifetime, and that of his wife Sarah. Rudyard surrendered all claims in a document dated 17 November 1709. John Lovett died on 24 April 1710, and it is clear that many financial problems in connection with the building of the lighthouse remained unresolved at this time.
The evidence is that John Rudyard was still alive in 1716, since he was named as a lease owner of a syndicate headed by Robert Harcourt Weston, who purchased the Lovett Eddystone lease at auction in that year for £8000. It is probable that Rudyard died on 20 November 1718, and his widow the following year, and that both were buried in St Andrew's Church, Holborn.
The account of John Rudyard as a poverty-stricken Cornish youth is a fiction, which has been uncritically repeated in many reference books. [1]
John Smeaton was a British civil engineer responsible for the design of bridges, canals, harbours and lighthouses. He was also a capable mechanical engineer and an eminent physicist. Smeaton was the first self-proclaimed "civil engineer", and is often regarded as the "father of civil engineering". He pioneered the use of hydraulic lime in concrete, using pebbles and powdered brick as aggregate. Smeaton was associated with the Lunar Society.
The Eddystone Lighthouse is a lighthouse that is located on the dangerous Eddystone Rocks, 9 statute miles (14 km) south of Rame Head in Cornwall, England. The rocks are submerged below the surface of the sea and are composed of Precambrian gneiss.
Leek is a market town and civil parish in the county of Staffordshire, England, on the River Churnet. It is situated about 10 miles (16 km) north east of Stoke-on-Trent. It is an ancient borough and was granted its royal charter in 1214.
Rudyard is a lakeside village in the county of Staffordshire, England, west of Leek and on the shore of Rudyard Lake. Population details as taken at the 2011 census can be found under Horton.
Ludgate Hill is a hill in the City of London, near the old Ludgate, a gate to the City that was taken down, with its attached gaol, in 1760. It is the site of St. Paul's Cathedral, traditionally said to have been the site of a Roman temple of the goddess Diana. It is one of the three ancient hills of London, the others being Tower Hill and Cornhill. The highest point is just north of St. Paul's, at 17.6 metres (58 ft) above sea level.
The history of lighthouses refers to the development of the use of towers, buildings, or other types of structure, as an aid to navigation for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways.
Rudyard Lake is a reservoir in Rudyard, Staffordshire, located north-west of the town of Leek, Staffordshire. It was constructed in the late 18th century to feed the Caldon Canal. During the 19th century, it was a popular destination for daytrippers taking advantage of easy access using the newly constructed North Staffordshire Railway. The lake is still used for many water activities such as boating, canoeing, fishing and also for walks and recreational steam train trips.
Henry Hall was a British lighthouse keeper who worked on the Eddystone Lighthouse, in the English county of Devon, some 9 statute miles southwest of Rame Head, Cornwall, UK.
Alfred Baldwin was an English businessman and Conservative Party Member of Parliament (MP). He was the father of Stanley Baldwin, the Conservative Prime Minister.
Events from the year 1709 in Great Britain.
Dieulacres Abbey was a Cistercian monastery established by Ranulf, Earl of Chester at Poulton in Cheshire. It moved to the present site at Abbey Green near Leek, Staffordshire in 1214, possibly in part as a result from raids at the former site by the Welsh.
Sir James Nicholas Douglass, was an English civil engineer, a prolific lighthouse builder and designer, most famous for the design and construction of the fourth Eddystone Lighthouse, for which he was knighted.
Rudyard may refer to:
The Churnet Valley line was one of the three original routes planned and built by the North Staffordshire Railway. Authorised in 1846, the line opened in 1849 and ran from North Rode in Cheshire to Uttoxeter in East Staffordshire. The line was closed in several stages between 1964 and 1988 but part of the central section passed into the hands of a preservation society and today operates as the Churnet Valley Railway.
Hulton Abbey is a scheduled monument in the United Kingdom, a former monastery located in what is now Abbey Hulton, a suburb of Stoke-on-Trent. A daughter house of the Cistercian Combermere Abbey, the abbey was founded by Henry de Audley in the early 13th century. Throughout its life, the abbey was relatively small and poor, with one of the lowest incomes of all Staffordshire religious houses. The abbey was dissolved by Henry VIII in 1538, with its land and assets being sold.
Sir Thomas Wardle was a British businessman, known for his innovations in silk dyeing and printing on silk. He collaborated with the designer William Morris, who visited his dyeworks in Leek, Staffordshire to learn how to use natural dyes. He was knighted by Queen Victoria for his services to the silk industry.
Rushton is a civil parish in Staffordshire, England. The village within the civil parish, usually known as Rushton Spencer, is about 4 miles (6.4 km) north of Leek and 7 miles (11 km) south of Macclesfield, on the A523 road which runs between these towns.
Leekfrith is a civil parish in the Staffordshire Moorlands, in Staffordshire, England, north of the town of Leek. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 363.
Tittesworth is a civil parish in the Staffordshire Moorlands, in Staffordshire, England. It extends from the edge of the town of Leek in the south-west to Blackshaw Moor in the north-east. In the east is the village of Thorncliffe. To the west is the civil parish of Leekfrith, where the boundary is the River Churnet.To the east is the civil parish of Onecote. Tittesworth Brook runs westwards through the area from Thorncliffe, and flows into the Churnet.
The Ashes near Endon in Staffordshire is a building of historical significance and is Grade II* listed on the English Heritage Register. It was built in the 17th Century probably by Sir John Bellot and was the home of many notable residents for the next three centuries. Today the barns of the property are venues for weddings and other special events.