Ridley Hall is a theological college located on the corner of Sidgwick Avenue and Ridley Hall Road in Cambridge (United Kingdom), which trains men and women intending to take Holy Orders as deacon or priest of the Church of England, and members of the laity working with children and young people as lay pioneers and within a pastoral capacity such as lay chaplaincy. It is a registered charity.
History Ridley Hall was founded in 1881 and named in memory of Nicholas Ridley, a leading Anglican theologian and martyr of the sixteenth century. The college's first principal was the theologian Handley Moule, later Bishop of Durham."Handley Carr Glyn Moule" in Samuel Macauley Jackson, ed., The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge, Volume 8 (New York and London: Funk and Wagnalls, 1910), p. 30 It was founded under the same Deed of Trust as its sister college Wycliffe Hall, Oxford and to this day both colleges have the ability to nominate two members to the Hall Council of the other.
Present day Ridley Hall offers several Common Award qualifications, validated by Durham University. Although not a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, the school has ties with the university's Faculty of Divinity. Some students who are also in a constituent college of the university can be awarded qualifications by Cambridge. Ridley Hall forms part of the Cambridge Theological Federation, along with Westcott House, Westminster College, the Institute for Orthodox Christian Studies, and others.
Ridley Hall's teaching leans towards an evangelical theology. It is one of three Church of England theological colleges that self-identify as "Open Evangelical", the others being Trinity College in Bristol, and Cranmer Hall in Durham.FAQs - What does "Open Evangelical" actually mean? at Ridley Hall website. Retrieved on September 9, 2006.Kings, 2003. "Canal, River and Rapids: Contemporary Evangelicalism in the Church of England" by Graham Kings, published in the journal Anvil Vol 20 No 3, September 2003, pp 167–184. Retrieved on September 9, 2006.
In November 2023 it was announced that Isabelle Hamley would be the next principal, after it was announced that Michael Volland would be leaving to become the next Bishop of Birmingham. Hamley took up this role in April 2024.
The college publishes an academic journal, Anvil.
Notable staff and alumni
Jonathan Bailey Richard Bauckham Jeremy Begbie Edward Armstrong Bennett Andrew Briggs Arthur Buxton"Buxton, Arthur", in Crockford's Clerical Directory (1930), p. 190 Christopher John Cocksworth Timothy Dudley-Smith Dick Lucas Michael Nazir-Ali Mike Ovey Gavin Peacock John Sentamu David Sheppard John Stott Michael Volland John Waine David Watson David Wenham Andrew White Rob Wickham
List of principals Thus far, all the principals have been ordained Anglican clergy. 1881–1899 (res.): Handley Moule 1889–1907 (res.): Thomas Drury 1907–1927 (res.): Arthur Tait 1927–1945 (res.): Paul Gibson 1945–1950 (res.): Falkner Allison 1951–1963 (res.): Cyril Bowles 1963–1971 (res.): Michael Hennell 1971–1972 (res.): Francis Palmer 1973–1978 (res.): Keith Sutton 1978–1991 (res.): Hugo de Waal 1992–2001 (res.): Graham Cray 2001–2008 (res.): Christopher Cocksworth 2009–2016 (res.): Andrew Norman 2016–2024 (res.): Michael Volland 2024–present : Isabelle Hamley
See also Listed buildings in Cambridge (west)
References
External links
Ridley Hall website Cambridge Theological Federation website