Rudry

Alternative Name: Rhydri
Morphology: possibly from “rhydd”, or “rhudd””rhwd” or from yr+yw+tref
Phonetic: r-hudd-ree

Another place name that has many conflicting explanations and many spellings over the years. It appears as Rutheri in 1254, Rudri and Rudry in 1307, Rothered in 1314, Reddery in 1476, Rudre in 1550, y Rydri c1566, Riddrie in 1583, Ruddrisse parish in 1670, Ruddry in 1707 Mynidd Ruddry in 1747 and Ruddry again in 1833. One suggestion is that it comes from the Welsh word "rhydd" meaning free, here referring to the river Rhymney flowing through the area. Another possible meaning is "rhudd" meaning red (as is "rhuddem" meaning red gem – a ruby) or "rhwd" meaning rust, possibly referring to the colour of sediment in the river and surrounding land. In a book published in 1833 by Samuel Lewis called "A Topographical Dictionary of Wales", the name was shown as Ruddry / Yr-Yw-Dre and the explanation given was that it meant "the farmsteads in the yew trees" as "yw" is the plural form of "ywen", the yew tree. It was also noted by Samuel Lewis that there was a mineral spring located in the area "which is said to be highly efficacious in curing diseases of the eye and is much resorted to for that purpose.