RIDLEY HALL HISTORICAL TOUR GUIDE 1. THE LODGE Background In the last third of the 19th century most men ordained in the Church of England were graduates of Oxford or Cambridge. They were required to pass a Diocesan examination before ordination, but very few had any sort of vocational training between leaving University and being ordained. Some went to study privately with a clergyman for the examination, but many were thrown totally on their own resources. The foundation of Ridley in 1881 stemmed from the perception that there needed to be a more formalised system of training for those entering ministry. Ridley Hall, in Cambridge, and Wycliffe Hall, in Oxford, were founded at the same time to provide training and formation for evangelical candidates. Initial Building Work By August 1877 two acres of meadow land had been purchased and fundraising had begun. It was calculated that £30,000 would be needed to establish the Hall. Ridley’s main architect was Mr Charles Luck, of Carlton Chambers, Regent St, London. The College owns a small portrait of him (currently in the reception display case). Mr Luck designed the buildings from the lodge round to the dining room block, which were built between 1879 and 1882. They were faced with Chylton red bricks, with Ancaster stone window and door dressings. The Lodge was designed to be the Principal’s house. By 1882 the total spent on the building and furnishing of the Hall totalled £25,000. The money had been raised mostly through subscription. The lecture hall, tower and entrance archway, and dining room block were paid for by individual major benefactors (see relevant sections). The Hall was opened on 20 January 1881 under Revd Handley Moule with an initial body of 8 students. By 1882 there were 20 sets of rooms available (9 on ‘A’, 5 on ‘B’ and 6 on ‘C’), although by 1883 there were 22 men at the College, two being obliged to live in lodgings. There was no chapel until 1892. The chapel was also a gift, from a former student.
First Principal Revd Handley Moule came from a clerical family in Dorset. He graduated from Trinity College, Cambridge in 1864 and was ordained in 1867. He was Principal of Ridley Hall 1881-99, then became Norrisian Professor of Divinity at Cambridge for a brief period before becoming Bishop of Durham in 1901. Two of his six brothers were missionaries in China, and his great-nephew was CFD ‘Charlie’ Moule, theologian and Lady Margaret Professor of Divinity at Cambridge, who also had close links with Ridley. 1