Ridley Hall is a

theological college A seminary, school of theology, theological college, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called seminarians) in scripture and Christian theology, theology, generally to prepare them for ordinatio ...

located on the corner of

Sidgwick Avenue Sidgwick Avenue is a road located in western Cambridge, England.Sidgwick Avenue Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

(

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), which trains men and women intending to take

Holy Orders In certain Christian denominations, holy orders are the ordination, ordained ministries of bishop, priest (presbyter), and deacon, and the sacrament or rite by which candidates are ordained to those orders. Churches recognizing these orders inclu ...

as deacon or priest of the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

, and members of the laity working with children and young people as lay pioneers and within a pastoral capacity such as lay chaplaincy.

History

Ridley Hall was founded in 1881 and named in memory of Nicholas Ridley, a leading Anglican theologian and

martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', 'witness' Word stem, stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an external party. In ...

of the sixteenth century. The college's first principal was the theologian Handley Moule, later

Bishop of Durham The bishop of Durham is head of the diocese of Durham in the province of York. The diocese is one of the oldest in England and its bishop is a member of the House of Lords. Paul Butler (bishop), Paul Butler was the most recent bishop of Durham u ...

. 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 Durham University (legally the University of Durham) is a collegiate university, collegiate public university, public research university in Durham, England, founded by an Act of Parliament (UK), Act of Parliament in 1832 and incorporated by r ...

. Although not a constituent college of the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

, 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 An open evangelical attempts to uphold Evangelicalism, evangelical doctrines, morality, and spirituality, while also being Inclusive theology, inclusive of others. It is a term which is commonly used in the United Kingdom in reference to both indivi ...

", the others being Trinity College in Bristol, and Cranmer Hall in Durham. In November 2023 it was announced that the Revd Prebendary Dr Isabelle Hamley would be the next principal, after it was announced that Michael Volland would be leaving to become the next Bishop of Birmingham. Isabelle took up this role in April 2024. It publishes an academic journal, ''Anvil''.

Notable staff and alumni

Jonathan Bailey Jonathan Stuart Bailey (born 25 April 1988) is an English actor known for his dramatic, comedic, and musical roles on List of Jonathan Bailey performances, stage and screen. List of awards and nominations received by Jonathan Bailey, His accola ...

* 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 Timothy Dudley-Smith (26 December 1926 – 12 August 2024) was a bishop of the Church of England and a noted hymnwriter. He wrote around 400 hymns, including "Tell Out, My Soul". Early life and education Dudley-Smith was born on 26 December 19 ...

* Dick Lucas * Michael Nazir-Ali * Mike Ovey * Gavin Peacock * John Sentamu * David Sheppard * John Stott * John Waine * David Watson * David Wenham * Rob Wickham * Andrew White

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 : The Revd Prebendary Dr Isabelle Hamley

References

External links