Rudyard
Encyclopedia
Rudyard is a lakeside village
in the county
of Staffordshire
, England, west of Leek
and on the shore of Rudyard Lake
.
Rudyard was served by a railway station which was opened by the North Staffordshire Railway
on 22 July 1850.
The Rudyard Lake
was built in 1797 by the engineer
John Rennie, for the Trent and Mersey Canal
company, to provide water for the Caldon Canal
. The Rudyard Lake Steam Railway
operates steam trains along a one and a half mile track along the eastern side of the lake. The western shore is part of the Staffordshire Way
, a long distance footpath.
The lakeside resort developed after the construction of the North Staffordshire Railway
in 1845. On one particular day in 1877, more than 20,000 people came to watch Captain Webb
- the first man to swim the English Channel
- swim the reservoir. The parents of Rudyard Kipling
, John Lockwood Kipling
and Alice Macdonald
first met at Rudyard and named their son after the village. The lake is also home to Rudyard Lake Sailing Club and the Rudyard Lake Steam Railway
.
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...
in the county
County
A county is a jurisdiction of local government in certain modern nations. Historically in mainland Europe, the original French term, comté, and its equivalents in other languages denoted a jurisdiction under the sovereignty of a count A county is a jurisdiction of local government in certain...
of Staffordshire
Staffordshire
Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...
, England, west of Leek
Leek, Staffordshire
Leek is a market town in the county of Staffordshire, England, on the River Churnet. It is an ancient borough and was granted its royal charter in 1214.It is the administrative centre for the Staffordshire Moorlands District Council...
and on the shore of Rudyard Lake
Rudyard Lake
Rudyard Lake is a reservoir in Rudyard, Staffordshire constructed by the engineer John Rennie, for the Trent and Mersey Canal company in 1797/98 to feed the Caldon Canal....
.
Rudyard was served by a railway station which was opened by the North Staffordshire Railway
North Staffordshire Railway
The North Staffordshire Railway was a British railway company formed in 1845 to promote a number of lines in the Staffordshire Potteries and surrounding areas in Staffordshire, Cheshire, Derbyshire and Shropshire....
on 22 July 1850.
Rudyard Lake
The Rudyard Lake
Rudyard Lake
Rudyard Lake is a reservoir in Rudyard, Staffordshire constructed by the engineer John Rennie, for the Trent and Mersey Canal company in 1797/98 to feed the Caldon Canal....
was built in 1797 by the engineer
Engineer
An engineer is a professional practitioner of engineering, concerned with applying scientific knowledge, mathematics and ingenuity to develop solutions for technical problems. Engineers design materials, structures, machines and systems while considering the limitations imposed by practicality,...
John Rennie, for the Trent and Mersey Canal
Trent and Mersey Canal
The Trent and Mersey Canal is a in the East Midlands, West Midlands, and North West of England. It is a "narrow canal" for the vast majority of its length, but at the extremities—east of Burton upon Trent and west of Middlewich—it is a wide canal....
company, to provide water for the Caldon Canal
Caldon Canal
The Caldon Canal , opened in 1779, runs 18 miles from Etruria, in Stoke-on-Trent where it leaves the Trent and Mersey Canal at the summit level, to Froghall, Staffordshire...
. The Rudyard Lake Steam Railway
Rudyard Lake Steam Railway
The Rudyard Lake Steam Railway is a minimum gauge railway and the third railway of any gauge to run along the side of Rudyard Lake in Staffordshire. The railway runs for on the track bed of an old standard gauge North Staffordshire Railway line. After the NSR line closed down, a small narrow gauge...
operates steam trains along a one and a half mile track along the eastern side of the lake. The western shore is part of the Staffordshire Way
Staffordshire Way
The Staffordshire Way is a long distance walk in Staffordshire, England. The path links with the Cheshire Gritstone Trail, the Heart of England Way and the North Worcestershire Path.- The route :...
, a long distance footpath.
The lakeside resort developed after the construction of the North Staffordshire Railway
North Staffordshire Railway
The North Staffordshire Railway was a British railway company formed in 1845 to promote a number of lines in the Staffordshire Potteries and surrounding areas in Staffordshire, Cheshire, Derbyshire and Shropshire....
in 1845. On one particular day in 1877, more than 20,000 people came to watch Captain Webb
Matthew Webb
Captain Matthew Webb was the first recorded person to swim the English Channel without the use of artificial aids. On 25 August 1875 he swam from Dover to Calais in less than 22 hours.-Early life and career:...
- the first man to swim the English Channel
English Channel
The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
- swim the reservoir. The parents of Rudyard Kipling
Rudyard Kipling
Joseph Rudyard Kipling was an English poet, short-story writer, and novelist chiefly remembered for his celebration of British imperialism, tales and poems of British soldiers in India, and his tales for children. Kipling received the 1907 Nobel Prize for Literature...
, John Lockwood Kipling
John Lockwood Kipling
John Lockwood Kipling, C.I.E. was an English art teacher, illustrator, museum curator, and father of author Rudyard Kipling.-Biography:...
and Alice Macdonald
MacDonald sisters
The MacDonald sisters were four British sisters, notable for their marriages to well-known people of the Victorian era. Alice, Georgiana, Agnes and Louisa were four of the seven daughters and 11 children of Reverend George Browne MacDonald , a Methodist minister, and Hannah Jones .- Biographies...
first met at Rudyard and named their son after the village. The lake is also home to Rudyard Lake Sailing Club and the Rudyard Lake Steam Railway
Rudyard Lake Steam Railway
The Rudyard Lake Steam Railway is a minimum gauge railway and the third railway of any gauge to run along the side of Rudyard Lake in Staffordshire. The railway runs for on the track bed of an old standard gauge North Staffordshire Railway line. After the NSR line closed down, a small narrow gauge...
.