East Ruston is a village and a civil parish in the English county of Norfolk.

The village is located south-east of North Walsham and north-east of Norwich.

History East Ruston's name is of Anglo-Saxon origin and derives from the Old English for the eastern brushwood farm or settlement.

In the Domesday Book, East Ruston is listed as a settlement of 87 households in the hundred of Happing. In 1086, the village formed part of the East Anglian estates of Ralph Baynard.

In 1758, East Ruston post mill was built and remained in operation until it fell into dereliction after the Second World War. A further tower mill was built in 1868 and operated by Horace Turner. The machinery was removed from the mill in the 1960s with the building still standing.

During the Second World War, East Ruston was the location of British Army roadblocks and a reserve training area in preparation for resistance of a German invasion of England.

Geography According to the 2021 census, East Ruston has a population of 595 people which shows no deviation from the 595 people recorded in the 2011 census.

The closest railway station to East Ruston is Worstead which provides Bittern Line services to Sheringham and Norwich. The nearest airport is Norwich International Airport.

Church of St. Mary

East Ruston's parish church is dedicated to Saint Mary and dates from the Fourteenth Century, though it has been significantly re-modelled and restored in the Victorian era. St. Mary's is located outside of the village on the side of the B1159 and has been Grade II listed since 1955.

St. Mary's has been in the care of the Churches Conservation Trust since the 1980s. There are good examples of Nineteenth Century stained glass, particularly a depiction of the Presentation of Christ by A. L. Moore as well as a font that was recut in the 1880s.

Amenities The public house is called the Butchers Arms.The Butchers Arms Retrieved 28 March 2009. East Ruston is the home to the noted East Ruston Old Vicarage garden which is open to the public.

Notable residents Richard Porson- (1759–1808) classicist, born in East Ruston.

In popular culture East Ruston is named as Abe Slaney's hiding place in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes story, The Adventure of the Dancing Men. Conan Doyle, A. (1903). The Adventure of the Dancing Men.

Governance East Ruston is part of the electoral ward of Happisburgh for local elections and is part of the district of North Norfolk.

The village's national constituency is North Norfolk, which has been represented by the Liberal Democrat Steff Aquarone MP since 2024.

War memorial East Ruston War Memorial is a short stone plinth topped with a Celtic cross in St. Mary's Churchyard. It lists the following names for the First World War: +RankNameUnitDate of deathBurial/Commemoration2Lt.Walter J. Brumbley MC3rd Bn., Norfolk Regiment27 Mar. 1918Pozieres MemorialSt1CReginald BristowHMS Bacchante21 Feb. 1919St. Mary's ChurchyardPte.Frederick J. Hilling4th Bn., Bedfordshire Regiment16 Jan. 1918Mont-Huon CemeteryPte.Frederick G. Rump6th Bn., The Buffs9 Aug. 1918Franvillers CemeteryPte.George W. Riches12th Bn., Cornwall Light Infantry24 Jan. 1917Bray Military CemeteryPte.Leslie W. Pointer1/9th Bn., Durham Light Infantry5 Nov. 1916Thiepval MemorialPte.John Helsdon1st Bn., Essex Regiment12 Oct. 1916Thiepval MemorialPte.Clarence H. Pratt8th Bn., Royal Fusiliers7 Oct. 1916Beaulencourt CemeteryPte.John R. Hemp1st Bn., Norfolk Regiment15 Jan. 1916Carnoy Military CemeteryPte.James Riches1st Bn., Norfolk Regt.9 Oct. 1917Tyne CotPte.Walter J. Cutting1/5th Bn., Norfolk Regt.19 Apr. 1917Gaza War CemeteryPte.Edmund W. Eaton8th Bn., Norfolk Regt.1 Jul. 1916Thiepval MemorialPte.Charles E. Larkins9th Bn., Norfolk Regt.15 Sep. 1916Guillemont Road Cem.Spr.R. Percy Taylor128th Coy., Royal Engineers1 Sep. 1917Lijssenthoek CemeterySpr.William H. Ward209th Coy., R.E.3 Jul. 1916Thiepval Memorial2hd.Robert SpantonH.M. Drifter Young Fred21 Jan. 1917St. Mary's ChurchyardDhd.A. William ShepherdH.M. Trawler Tugela26 Jun. 1916Chatham Naval MemorialTmr.Cecil V. GrimmerHMS Attentive III26 Mar. 1917St. Mary's Churchyard And, the following for the Second World War: +RankNameUnitDate of deathBurialSgt.Matthew SculferNo. 21 Squadron RAF11 Jun. 1940Boulleville CemeterySgt.Jack DixonNo. 153 Squadron RAF6 Mar. 1945Olsany CemeteryPte.Robert F. PestellRoyal Army Ordnance Corps27 Jul. 1943Kanchanaburi War Cemetery

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