Ruston Parva is a hamlet in the East Riding of Yorkshire, 8 miles SW of Bridlington. Nothing is known of the appearance of the medieval chapel on this site. The present building is in a field above the village, and ican only be reached by traversing private land. It was constructed by a local builder around 1832 in late Georgian yellow brick on a plinth of several courses of worked medieval stone. (Pevsner and Neave, 666) Inside, there is a restored Romanesque cylindrical font.

In 1086, according to the DB, nine carucates belonged to the Archbishop of York and three remained with the king. In the 13th century the king’s land was held by the Percy family. The ‘Ruston’ name derives from some connection with a family of Rudstons. A moated site at the S end of the village may be that of the manor house (VCH II, 322). Ruston Parva was a chapelry of Lowthorpe in 1312 (VCH II, 320).

Font: Foliage patterns are not often found in the Wolds, but this is a competent and conventional one, perhaps by a sculptor who had seen work from beyond the local area.

Note: This Ruston Parva is not to be confused with the larger village of Rudston, 4 miles to the NE.