Place Name
First mentioned during the reign of Edward II, when Walter de Castello and William the Smith, atte Russchete, paid 5s for land called Russcheteslond in Brodefeldas sometime around 1320. It comes from the Old English word ryscett meaning a bed of rushes, which being close to the River Ravensbourne is no surprise as the ground would have been marshy with small rivulets running across it. By the turn of the 16thCentury the Middle English word green was added to the name hence Rishotetes Grene, as it appears in the will of Richard Howchenson, in 1500. And a few years later, in 1544, as Rushet Green featuring in the will of Isabella Fleming. By the 17thCentury it took the form of Rushy Gree and Rush Green around 1762. In the 16thCentury there was a Rushy Green Place, the Lewisham seat of Roger Fitz, Esquire of Tavistock.
