East Ruston

Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Use British English Template:Infobox UK place East Ruston is a village and a civil parish in the English county of Norfolk.

The village is located Template:Convert south-east of North Walsham and Template:Convert 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 1758, East Ruston post mill was built and remained in operation until it fell into dereliction after the Second World War.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

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

Template:Main 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Amenities

The public house is called the Butchers Arms.<ref>The Butchers Arms Retrieved 28 March 2009.</ref> 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.<ref> Conan Doyle, A. (1903). The Adventure of the Dancing Men. Template:ISBN</ref>

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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It lists the following names for the First World War:<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Rank	Name	Unit	Date of death	Burial/Commemoration
2Lt.	Walter J. Brumbley MCTemplate:Efn	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