Rudston
Encyclopedia
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East Riding of Yorkshire
The East Riding of Yorkshire, or simply East Yorkshire, is a local government district with unitary authority status, and a ceremonial county of England. For ceremonial purposes the county also includes the city of Kingston upon Hull, which is a separate unitary authority...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It is situated between Driffield
Driffield
Driffield, also known as Great Driffield, is a market town and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The civil parish is formed by the town of Driffield and the village of Little Driffield....
and Bridlington
Bridlington
Bridlington is a seaside resort, minor sea fishing port and civil parish on the Holderness Coast of the North Sea, in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It has a static population of over 33,000, which rises considerably during the tourist season...
approximately 6 miles (9.7 km) to the west of Bridlington, and lies on the B1253 road.
According to the 2001 UK census
United Kingdom Census 2001
A nationwide census, known as Census 2001, was conducted in the United Kingdom on Sunday, 29 April 2001. This was the 20th UK Census and recorded a resident population of 58,789,194....
, Rudston parish had a population of 390.
Here stands the Rudston Monolith
Rudston Monolith
The Rudston Monolith at over is the tallest megalith in the United Kingdom. It is situated in the churchyard in the village of Rudston in the East Riding of Yorkshire....
; at over 25 feet (7.6 metres) tall, it is the tallest standing stone
Standing stone
Standing stones, orthostats, liths, or more commonly megaliths are solitary stones set vertically in the ground and come in many different varieties....
in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, and gave the village its name. The author Winifred Holtby
Winifred Holtby
Winifred Holtby was an English novelist and journalist, best known for her novel South Riding.-Life and writings:...
was born in Rudston and is buried in the church graveyard.
The Parish church also contains the gigantic organ, originally of four manuals, given by Sir Alexander McDonald of the Isles. Now a 3 manual instrument, it stands at the West end of the church in the original case.
Rudston Roman villa
Roman villa
A Roman villa is a villa that was built or lived in during the Roman republic and the Roman Empire. A villa was originally a Roman country house built for the upper class...
, noted for its mosaics, was first excavated in 1839. It was subsequently re-excavated in the 1930s, 1960s and 1970s.
The place-name 'Rudston' is first attested in the Domesday Book
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
of 1086, and means 'rood
Rood
A rood is a cross or crucifix, especially a large one in a church; a large sculpture or sometimes painting of the crucifixion of Jesus.Rood is an archaic word for pole, from Old English rōd "pole", specifically "cross", from Proto-Germanic *rodo, cognate to Old Saxon rōda, Old High German ruoda...
'
or 'cross' stone, referring to the monolith.