Ethel Rudkin (189321 September 1985) was an English writer, historian, archaeologist and folklorist from Lincolnshire. She pioneered the collection of folk material, particularly from Lincolnshire, and her collections are now part of several public institutions, including the North Lincolnshire Museum.
Biography
Ethel Hutchinson was born in 1893 in Willoughton, Lincolnshire. Her parents were Richard and Ethel Hutchinson; her mother's family were originally from Suffolk. As a young woman she was employed both as a governess and a groom by the same family.
In 1917 she married George Rudkin from Folkingham, and according to her obituary in Folklore had "a blissful but tragically brief marriage until his early death in 1918". George had served as a commissioned officer in the Machine Gun Corps during the First World War and died in the influenza epidemic. He was also awarded the Military Cross. The North Lincolnshire Museum holds a handbag containing her wedding flowers and letters from him. After George's death she returned to Willoughton to live and care for her parents.
In later life, Lucy Arliss moved in with Rudkin, assisted her on archaeological digs and they lived together for the rest of Arliss' life. In 1972 she and Arliss moved to a cottage in Toynton All Saints, near Spilsby. Arliss died a few years later. Throughout her life, friends knew Rudkin by the nickname 'Peter'.
Career
Rudkin was interested in the traditions and folklore of Lincolnshire and began to collect stories and objects that reflected those interests, against the wishes of her parents. It was during this time in the 1920s and 1930s that much of her collecting took place. In 1927 she assisted C. W. Phillips to revise ancient monuments for ordnance survey maps. In 1931 she joined The Folklore Society, where her work on Lincolnshire was encouraged, in particular by Margaret Murray. In 1936, Rudkin published her book Lincolnshire Folklore, with an introduction by Murray. In the same year, her seminal essay Black Dogs was published in the journal of the Folklore Society. Other articles included calendar customs, witches and stone-lore. During the 1930s she was also active in the Lincolnshire Local History Society, who were hoping to establish a county museum. In 1931–32 she excavated a medieval building close to Willoughton.
Folk music was an additional interest of Rudkin's and she collaborated with Robert Pacey on A Lincolnshire Songbook. In later life she recorded traditional songs she had learnt as a child. In addition, she also collected Plough Plays, building an archive which became one of the finest in England. As well as the plays themselves, Rudkin spoke to the performers and made her own notes based on those discussions. In 1952 she published a copy of The Later Bassingham Plough Play, which she worked on from a manuscript held in the North Lincolnshire Museum.
By the 1970s, Rudkin was increasingly interested in the south Lincolnshire fens. By the time of their move to Toynton All Saints, Rudkin had such a large collection of objects that she had to rent a windmill to store them. She also began excavating at Eresby manor during this time, as well as the brickworks at East Keal. She also made a study of pottery and pottery kilns from Toynton All Saints and Bolingbroke.
In 1977 a weekend celebration was held in Horncastle to celebrate Rudkin's life and her contributions to the history of Lincolnshire and the study of folklore in the county. Hosting researchers was an important part of her life and many students worked with her over the years. One such student was the archaeologist Hilary Healey.
Rudkin died on 21 September 1985, aged 92.
Awards
1984 – the Coote Lake Medal, jointly awarded with Dr Hilda Davidson
Rudkin refused the MBE in 1976
Publications
Books
Lincolnshire Folklore (E P Publishing, 1974) Notes on the History of Toynton All Saints and Toynton St Peter (Old Chapel Lane Books)
Articles
'An account of the Haxey hood game 1932' Folklore (1932) 'Roman sites north of Lincoln: notes on several known and unknown' Lincolnshire Magazine (1932) 'Collecteana' Folklore (1933) 'Lincolnshire Folklore Witches & Devils' Folklore (1934) 'The Black Dog' Folklore (1938) 'Will O'the Wisp' Folklore (1938) 'Willoughton, Lincolnshire' Folklore (1939) 'Folklore of Lincolnshire, especially the low-lying areas of Lindsey' Folklore (1955) 'The Medieval Salt Industry in the Lindsey Marshland' Lincolnshire Architectural and Archaeological Society Reports and Papers (1960)