# East Rudham

East Rudham is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk.
The village is located 14 miles (23 km) north-east of King's Lynn and 28 miles (45 km) north-west of Norwich.

## History

East Rudham's name is of Anglo-Saxon origin and derives from the Old English for 'Rudda's' homestead or village.
Several Iron Age and Roman artefacts have been found close to East Rudham, and there is further evidence to suggest a small Roman settlement was based on the modern village.
In the Domesday Book, East and West Rudham are recorded together as a settlement of 67 households in the hundred of Brothercross. In 1086, the village was divided between the East Anglian estates of Alan of Brittany, William de Warenne and Peter de Valognes.
East Rudham Railway Station opened in 1880 as a stop on the Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway between South Lynn and Melton Constable. The station closed in 1959.
During the Second World War, a starfish site was created on nearby Coxford Heath designed to draw Luftwaffe bombers away from King's Lynn.

## Geography

According to the 2021 census, East Rudham has a population of 553 people which shows an increase from the 541 people listed in the 2011 census.
East Rudham is located on the A148, between King's Lynn and Cromer.

## St. Mary's Church

East Rudham's parish church is dedicated to Saint Mary and was rebuilt in the mid-Nineteenth Century in the Perpendicular style after the tower collapsed into the nave. St. Mary's is located on Fakenham Road and has been Grade II listed since 1953.
St. Mary's boasts a font dating from 1852 as well as a brass plaque and a churchtower clock which commemorate the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria.

## Governance

East Rudham is part of the electoral ward of Bircham with Rudhams for local elections and is part of the district of King's Lynn and West Norfolk.
The village's national constituency is North West Norfolk which has been represented by the Conservative's James Wild MP since 2010.

## War Memorial

East and West Rudham's War Memorial takes the form of an obelisk topped with a wheel cross, located beside the A148. It lists the following names from East Rudham for the First World War:
| Rank | Name | Unit | Date of Death | Burial/Commemoration |
| Cpl. | H. Walter Wake | 5th Bn., Norfolk Regiment | 28 Aug. 1915 | Helles Memorial |
| LCpl. | Bertie R. Huggins | 9th Bn., Norfolk Regt. | 29 Apr. 1917 | St. Patrick's Cemetery |
| Dvr. | Claude Whitby | Att. 20 Bde., Royal Horse Artillery | 16 Nov. 1918 | Hadra War Cemetery |
| Gnr. | Alfred Vertigen | 331 Bde., Royal Field Artillery | 25 Mar. 1918 | Abbeville Cemetery |
| Gnr. | William E. Hammond | 64 Siege Bty., Royal Garrison Artillery | 25 Jun. 1917 | Faubourg Cemetery |
| Gnr. | Frank Green | 290 Siege Bty., R.G.A. | 4 Oct. 1918 | Raillencourt Cemetery |
| Pte. | Albert E. Overland | 1st Bn., East Surrey Regiment | 8 Oct. 1917 | Lijssenthoek Cemetery |
| Pte. | Frederick W. Billing | 13th Bn., Essex Regiment | 28 Apr. 1917 | Arras Memorial |
| Pte. | Herbert Gregory | 13th Bn., Royal Fusiliers | 29 Apr. 1917 | Chili Trench Cemetery |
| Pte. | Robert W. Nicholls | 7th Bn., Leicestershire Regiment | 13 Jul. 1918 | Seda-Torcy Cemetery |
| Pte. | James E. Daniels | 1st Bn., Norfolk Regiment | 10 Apr. 1916 | Faubourg Cemetery |
| Pte. | Charles E. Butcher | 5th Bn., Norfolk Regt. | 19 Apr. 1917 | Gaza War Cemetery |
| Pte. | Cecil E. Strangleman | 5th Bn., Norfolk Regt. | 19 Apr. 1917 | Gaza War Cemetery |
| Pte. | Ernest A. Bobbitt | 1st Bn., Northamptonshire Regiment | 24 Oct. 1918 | Vadencourt Cemetery |
| Pte. | Albert L. Dawson | 6th Bn., Northamptonshire Regt. | 19 Oct. 1917 | Dozinghem Cemetery |
| Pte. | Edric J. Couzens | 1st Bn., Worcestershire Regiment | 8 Jul. 1916 | Gordon Dump Cemetery |
The memorial also lists the following names for the Second World War:
| Rank | Name | Unit | Date of Death | Burial |
| Lt. | Henry R. Newton | Royal Norfolk Regiment | 21 Apr. 1944 | Cassino War Cemetery |
| Rev. | Henry T. Wagg MiD | Army Chaplain's Department | 19 Jul. 1944 | Hermanville War Cemetery |
| Cpl. | Charles H. Riches | 1st Bn., Coldstream Guards | 22 May 1940 | Wilsele Churchyard |
| LAC | Norman F. Kirk | Royal Air Force | 26 May 1942 | East Rudham Cemetery |
| LCpl. | Gordon L. Norman | 5th Bn., Royal Norfolk Regiment | 29 Jul. 1943 | Kanchanaburi War Cemetery |
| Gnr. | George W. Twite | 1 Light Regt., Royal Artillery | 6 Dec. 1941 | Alamein Memorial |
| Pte. | Cecil E. Strangleman | 2nd Bn., Essex Regiment | 3 Nov. 1944 | Bergen op Zoom Cemetery |
| Pte. | D. Thomas Woodard | 2nd Bn., Royal Norfolk Regiment | 14 Apr. 1944 | Kohima War Cemetery |