Ethel Rudkin

Ethel Rudkin (189321 September 1985) was an English local historian, archaeologist, folklorist and archivist 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.

Early and personal life Ethel Hutchinson was born in 1893 in Willoughton, Lincolnshire to parents Richard and Ethel Hutchinson. Her maternal family were originally from Suffolk. As a young woman, she was employed both as a governess and a groom by the same family. the couple had "a blissful but tragically brief marriage until his early death in 1918". He was also awarded the Military Cross. After George's death, she returned to Willoughton to live with and care for her parents. In 1931–32 she excavated a medieval building close to Willoughton.

Folk music was an additional interest of Rudkin's; she collaborated with Robert Pacey on A Lincolnshire Songbook. In later life, she recorded traditional songs she had learned 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.

By the 1970s, Rudkin was increasingly interested in the south Lincolnshire fens.

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.

Rudkin died on 21 September 1985, aged 92. This Festschrift, which honoured Rudkin's interests and scholarship, was edited by Naomi Field and Andrew White. By 1958, the folklorist Theo Brown was referring to Rudkin's "famous article" in her own research. One interesting aspect for folklorists today is that Rudkin did not just record malevolent appearances of the dog, but also times when people reported the dog was protecting them from other apparitions. She was the first researcher to empirically categorise "black dog" sightings.

The academic study of the Harry Potter series has also drawn on Rudkin's work on the Black Dog motif.

Rudkin's research is referenced in a wide variety of research papers, including: on the Green Man; landscape history as cultural practice; and portents of death.

Legacy

Rudkin's papers and archives are held by Lincolnshire Archives, and include her archaeological notebooks, notes on her collections, photographs, diaries and correspondence. Holdings at North Lincolnshire Museum consist of archaeological and historical objects she collected, these include: a Neolithic jade axe from Wroot; witch balls; and a hobby-horse from a plough jag team. They also include fifty-five plough pebbles from the Scunthorpe area. A gad whip owned by Rudkin is in the Caistor Heritage Trust collection. Many of the large objects collected by Rudkin are at the Museum of Lincolnshire Life, which began to be acquired in 1966 by curator Brian Loughborough. 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" in Folklore (1932) "Roman sites north of Lincoln: notes on several known and unknown" in Lincolnshire Magazine (1932) 'Collecteana' Folklore (1933) "Lincolnshire Folklore Witches & Devils" in Folklore (1934) 'The Black Dog' Folklore (1938) "Will O'the Wisp" in Folklore (1938) "Willoughton, Lincolnshire" in Folklore (1939) "Folklore of Lincolnshire, especially the low-lying areas of Lindsey" in Folklore (1955) "The Medieval Salt Industry in the Lindsey Marshland" in Lincolnshire Architectural and Archaeological Society Reports and Papers (1960)

Awards

Rudkin refused the MBE in 1976 1984 – the Coote Lake Medal, jointly awarded with Dr Hilda Davidson