Life

Born on 27 June 1763, he was son of Edward Rudge, a merchant and alderman of Salisbury

Salisbury

Salisbury is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England and the only city in the county. It is the second largest settlement in the county...

, who possessed a large portion of the abbey estate at Evesham

Evesham

Evesham is a market town and a civil parish in the Local Authority District of Wychavon in the county of Worcestershire, England with a population of 22,000. It is located roughly equidistant between Worcester, Cheltenham and Stratford-upon-Avon...

.

He matriculated from Queen's College, Oxford, on 11 Oct. 1781, but took no degree. His attention was early turned to botany, through the influence of his uncle, Samuel Rudge (d. 1817), a retired barrister, who formed an herbarium

Herbarium

In botany, a herbarium – sometimes known by the Anglicized term herbar – is a collection of preserved plant specimens. These specimens may be whole plants or plant parts: these will usually be in a dried form, mounted on a sheet, but depending upon the material may also be kept in...

, which passed to his nephew. His uncle's encouragement and the purchase of a fine series of plants from Guiana

Guiana

The Guiana Shield is one of the three cratons of the South American Plate. It is a 1.7 billion year old Precambrian geological formation in northeast South America that forms a portion of the northern coast. The higher elevations on the shield are called the Guiana Highlands, which is where the...

, collected by M. Martin, led Rudge to study the flora of that country, and to publish between 1805 and 1807 Plantarum Guianæ rariorum icones et descriptiones hactenus ineditæ, fol. London.

Between 1811 and 1834 he conducted a series of excavations in those portions of the Evesham Abbey

Evesham Abbey

Evesham Abbey was founded by Saint Egwin at Evesham in England between 700 and 710 A.D. following a vision of the Virgin Mary by Eof.According to the monastic history, Evesham came through the Norman Conquest unusually well, because of a quick approach by Abbot Æthelwig to William the Conqueror...

 estate under his control, and communicated the results to the Society of Antiquaries of London

Society of Antiquaries of London

The Society of Antiquaries of London is a learned society "charged by its Royal Charter of 1751 with 'the encouragement, advancement and furtherance of the study and knowledge of the antiquities and history of this and other countries'." It is based at Burlington House, Piccadilly, London , and is...

, who figured the ruins and relics discovered in their Vetusta Monumenta

Vetusta Monumenta

Vetusta Monumenta is the title of a published series of illustrated antiquarian papers on ancient buildings, sites, and artefacts, mostly those of Britain, published at irregular intervals between 1718 and 1906 by the Society of Antiquaries of London...

, accompanied by a memoir from Rudge's son. ln 1842 he erected an octagon tower on the battlefield of Evesham, commemorative of Simon de Montfort

Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester

Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester, 1st Earl of Chester , sometimes referred to as Simon V de Montfort to distinguish him from other Simon de Montforts, was an Anglo-Norman nobleman. He led the barons' rebellion against King Henry III of England during the Second Barons' War of 1263-4, and...

, earl of Leicester.

Rudge was at an early period elected a fellow of the Society of Antiquaries, to the Linnean Society in 1802, and to the Royal Society

Royal Society

The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, is a learned society for science, and is possibly the oldest such society in existence. Founded in November 1660, it was granted a Royal Charter by King Charles II as the "Royal Society of London"...

 in 1805. In 1829 he was appointed High Sheriff of Worcestershire

High Sheriff of Worcestershire

This is a list of Sheriff and since 1998 High Sheriffs of Worcestershire.The Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of the responsibilities associated with the post have been...

.

He died at the Abbey Manor House, Evesham, on 3 Sept. 1846. He married twice. A genus of the botanical order Rubiaceae was named Rudgea

Rudgea

Rudgea is a genus of plant in family Rubiaceae.Species include:* Rudgea crassifolia, Zappi & E.Lucas* Rudgea microcarpa, Standl.* Rudgea obesiflora, Standl.* Rudgea stenophylla, Standl....

in his honour by Richard Anthony Salisbury

Richard Anthony Salisbury

Richard Anthony Salisbury FRS was a British botanist. While he is remembered as a valuable worker in horticultural and botanical sciences, several bitter disputes caused him to be ostracised by his contemporaries.-Life:...

 in 1806 (Trans. of Linn. Soc. viii. 326).

Besides the work above named, Rudge was author of some seven botanical papers in the Royal and Linnean societies' publications, and of several papers in Archæologia. One of these was a 'Description of Seven New Species of Plants from New Holland'.

His son, Edward John Rudge

Edward John Rudge

Edward John Rudge, M.A. was an English barrister and antiquary.The son of Edward Rudge, botanist and antiquary, he attended Caius College, Cambridge, and was barrister-at-law, fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London, and author of Some Account of the History and Antiquities of Evesham,...

, M.A. (1792–1861), of Caius College, Cambridge, and barrister-at-law, was a fellow of the Society of Antiquaries, and author of Some Account of the History and Antiquities of Evesham, 1820, and Illustrated and Historical Account of Buckden Palace, 1839.

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