Ridley Hall is an 18th-century country house, now a residential and conference centre, at

Bardon Mill Bardon Mill is a small village in Northumberland, within the vicinity of the ancient Hadrian's Wall. It is located around from Hexham, from Carlisle, and from Newcastle upon Tyne. Nearby landmarks include Allen Banks & Staward Gorge, Sycamo ...

Northumberland Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey. It is bordered by land on ...

. It is a

Grade II listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

History

A 16th-century house on the site was owned by the Ridley family of Willimoteswick.''A History of Northumberland'' Pt 2 Vol 3 p 337 (1840) John Hodgson. Google Books It was acquired by the Lowes family in the late 17th century and was replaced in 1743 with a new Georgian mansion. The death in 1795 of John Lowes (

High Sheriff of Northumberland This is a list of the High Sheriffs of the English county of Northumberland. The High Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the High Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries ...

in 1790) was followed by that of his son William Cornforth Lowes in 1810 and of his brother in 1812, and in 1818 the house was sold to Thomas Bates of

Halton Castle, Northumberland Halton Castle is a pele tower and grade I listed building situated close to Hadrian's Wall to the north of the village of Corbridge in Northumberland, England. The tower was first recorded in 1382 and it is still present today. It has four stor ...

. History of Ridley Hall
In 1830 John Davidson (High Sheriff in 1839), a cousin and beneficiary of the will of William Cornforth Lowes, purchased the house and made substantial improvements to the property. He married Susan Jessup, a daughter of the 9th

Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne is a title in the Peerage of Scotland and the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was first created as Earl of Kinghorne in the Peerage of Scotland in 1606 for Patrick Lyon. In 1677, the designation of the earldom c ...

, who on her death bequeathed the estate to the art collector

John Bowes John Bowes may refer to: *John George Bowes (c. 1812–1864), Canadian politician *John Bowes (art collector) (1811–1885), English art collector and thoroughbred racehorse owner **John Bowes (steamship), ''John Bowes'' (steamship), 1852 steam coll ...

, a son of her brother

John Bowes, 10th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne John Bowes, 10th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne (14 April 1769 – 3 July 1820) was a Scottish nobleman and peer. He was the eldest son of John Bowes, 9th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne and Mary Bowes, Countess of Strathmore and Kinghorne. H ...

. The house was rebuilt with a new main block in a neo-Tudor style in 1891 by architect Horatio Adamson for Frances Bowes-Lyon. The 18th-century west wing became the domestic service wing. The Bowes-Lyon family were not often resident, and in the 20th century the house was sold to the Rev E A Evans and was converted to St Nicolas's preparatory school. In 1961 it joined forces with Hillbrow Preparatory School from nearby

Haltwhistle Haltwhistle is a market town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, east of Brampton. It had a population of 3,811 at the 2011 Census. Stone-built houses are a feature of Haltwhistle. It is one of two settlements in Great Britain which c ...

and the Rev E A Evans retired. It was renamed Hillbrow-St Nicolas's for a short while. In 1967 lack of numbers forced the closure of the school. The building was then leased by Northern Counties College of Long Benton, Newcastle upon Tyne and converted into a

teacher training college A normal school or normal college is an institution created to Teacher education, train teachers by educating them in the norms of pedagogy and curriculum. In the 19th century in the United States, instruction in normal schools was at the high s ...

for first year students.

Present

The house is now the boarding wing of

Haydon Bridge High School Haydon Bridge High School is a mixed secondary day school located in Haydon Bridge in the English county of Northumberland. The current headteacher is Michael Smith, who took over in January 2021. It is a foundation school administered by North ...

, one of a few state boarding schools. Students who live in or beyond Otterburn stay at Ridley Hall during term-time, with most returning home at weekends. During weekends and school holidays, the hall is open for weddings and conferences, but it is not open to the general public. Ridley Hall is set on a thirty-three acre estate comprising woodland, playing fields and lawned gardens. The estate borders the Allen Banks, a Victorian garden in a gorge of the River Allen owned by the

National Trust The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...

. In January 2017 it was advertised for sale with 24 acres for £1.65m.

References

{{reflist Grade II listed buildings in Northumberland Country houses in Northumberland Houses completed in 1743 Halls of residence in the United Kingdom 1743 establishments in England