John Rudyard (frequently seen as Rudyerd) (1650-c. 1718) was contracted to build the second

Eddystone Lighthouse The Eddystone Lighthouse is a lighthouse that is located on the dangerous Eddystone Rocks, south of Rame Head in Cornwall, England. The rocks are submerged below the surface of the sea and are composed of Precambrian gneiss. View at 1:50000 ...

, following the destruction of the original building in the

Great Storm of 1703 The great storm of 1703 was a destructive extratropical cyclone that struck central and southern England on 26 November 1703. High winds caused 2,000 chimney stacks to collapse in London and damaged the New Forest, which lost 4,000 oaks. Ships wer ...

. He was neither an architect nor professional engineer, but a silk merchant and a property developer. Rudyard owned a silk-merchanting shop on

Ludgate Hill Ludgate Hill is a street and surrounding area, on a small hill in the City of London. The street passes through the former site of Ludgate, a city gate that was demolished – along with a gaol attached to it – in 1760. The area include ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, and had substantial interests in a variety of properties. A full biographical account of Rudyard's family background and career is contained in the second edition (2005) of Mike Palmer's account of the Eddystone Lighthouse. John Rudyard, which is the correct original spelling of the family name, was born in the village of Leek, Staffordshire, and baptised on 22 April 1650. The name is spelt Rudyerd in the Leek baptismal register. He was a son of the 2nd wife of Anthony Rudyard of Delacres Abbey, Staffordshire, earlier known as

Dieulacres Abbey Dieulacres Abbey was a Cistercian monastery established by Ranulf, Earl of Chester at Poulton in Cheshire. It moved to the present site at Abbey Green near Leek, Staffordshire in 1214, possibly in part as a result from raids at the former site ...

. The Rudyard family at this time were wealthy landowners. They also owned a well-respected silk trading business, which employed many people of the local area. John Rudyard was brought into the family trade by starting his training in London at the age of 16, working for the next seven years, until 1673, for a Master named Robert Morris, engaged in the importing of furs, cottons and silks, and in tailoring. On completion of his apprenticeship with the

Skinners Company The Worshipful Company of Skinners (known as The Skinners' Company) is one of the Livery Companies of the City of London. It was originally an association of those engaged in the trade of skins and furs. It was granted Royal Charter in 132 ...

, he married a woman named Sarah Jackman on 14 December 1674, at St Andrew's Church, Holborn, London. John and Sarah ran a shop on Ludgate Hill, provided for them by Thomas Jackman, Sarah's father. They had a daughter, named Sarah, in 1677. Records during the late 17th century show that John Rudyard was in a variety of legal partnerships with Thomas Jackman, relating to properties in and around London. In a document of contract between John Lovett and John Rudyard, Citizen and Skinner of London, dated 19 June 1706, it is stated that Rudyard was to have sole management and building of the proposed new Eddystone Lighthouse, and that he was to receive £250 pa from the dues for his lifetime, and that of his wife Sarah. Rudyard surrendered all claims in a document dated 17 November 1709. John Lovett died on 24 April 1710, and it is clear that many financial problems in connection with the building of the lighthouse remained unresolved at this time. The evidence is that John Rudyard was still alive in 1716, since he was named as a lease owner of a syndicate headed by Robert Harcourt Weston, who purchased the Lovett Eddystone lease at auction in that year for £8000. It is probable that Rudyard died on 20 November 1718, and his widow the following year, and that both were buried in St Andrew's Church, Holborn. The account of John Rudyard as a poverty-stricken Cornish youth is a fiction, which has been uncritically repeated in many reference books.

References

Parish Register Collection of the Latter Day Saints (IGI)
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. Wikipedia {{DEFAULTSORT:Rudyard, John Lighthouse builders 1650 births 1710s deaths Year of death uncertain