Elizabeth Rutledge LLB

Obituary

It is with great sadness that we announce the death on 6 January 2025 of Elizabeth Rutledge, a prominent member of the Norfolk Record Society Council for over thirty years. Elizabeth read jurisprudence at Bristol University before taking the diploma in archive administration at Liverpool University under the direction of the redoubtable medievalist Dorothea Oschinsky, whose high standards of scholarship and forensic approach to historical evidence she shared. While working at the Norfolk and Norwich Record Office (Now the Norfolk Record Office), she met and married Paul Rutledge, later deputy county archivist and early modern editor for the Society. Her archival career ended with the arrival of a young family, but she soon became involved in a variety of educational activities and academic projects, including the University of East Anglia (UEA)-based Norwich Survey, which led to her co-authorship of Men of Property: An Analysis of the Norwich Enrolled Deeds 1285-1311 (1983). Recognising her palaeographical skills and expertise in legal history, as well as her remarkable efficiency, Hassell Smith, then chair of the Norfolk Record Society, recruited her to the team working on the Bacon Papers project.  She proved a mainstay of the entire enterprise, being largely responsible, along with Barry Taylor, for producing the texts of volumes IV, V and VI. Although she formally withdrew from the project in 2019, she continued to act as a consultant, offering characteristically trenchant and insightful comments on the final drafts of volume VII.

As well as running courses for The Workers’ Educational Association (WEA) and the Extramural Department of Cambridge University, Elizabeth taught palaeography and Latin for many years at UEA, providing grateful students with the necessary skills for postgraduate research.  With her encouragement, some of them went on to publish the results of their research with the Norfolk Record Society, as did the members of an extramural class that she taught at Wensum Lodge. The Norwich Landgable Assessment 1568-70 (1999), for which she wrote the Introduction, is the product of work by a local history group and testifies to her qualities as a teacher.

In her capacity as medieval editor of the Society (2000-23) Elizabeth was extremely supportive of young and inexperienced scholars, unobtrusively correcting errors, completing footnotes, removing syntactical horrors and even, on occasion, compiling indices for the alphabetically challenged. But she took no prisoners and could be less patient with those of us who should have known better.  She and Paul also played a supportive and helpful role in the day-to-day running of the Norfolk Record Society, representing it at countless local history fairs and other events, where they cheerfully pitched in to sell volumes and recruit new members. 

Following Paul’s death, Elizabeth returned to her native Devon, but remained an active member of Council, regularly attending meetings via Zoom and contributing vigorously to discussions. At the time of her death, she was bringing to completion a two-volume edition of the Castle Acre Cartulary, originally begun by the late Christopher Harper-Bill. Despite her advancing illness, she continued to work on the text so that it would be in a fit state for the Society to publish.

Over the years, Elizabeth produced a range of academic articles and chapters in books on regional history, while also contributing the historical sections for several volumes of East Anglian Archaeology.  Her knowledge of the economic and social history of medieval Norwich, and of the city’s records, was unrivalled and she was unfailingly generous in sharing this expertise. Being unfashionably modest about her achievements, Elizabeth did not always gain the wider recognition that she deserved, although she was awarded an honorary research fellowship of the School of History at UEA.  Those of us who had the privilege of working with her will fondly remember a dedicated scholar, outstanding editor and kind friend for whom nothing was ever too much.

The Council of the Norfolk Record Society extends its sincere condolences to her family.