Sir Matthew White Ridley, 2nd Baronet (28 October 1745 – 9 April 1813), was a

Northumbria Northumbria () was an early medieval Heptarchy, kingdom in what is now Northern England and Scottish Lowlands, South Scotland. The name derives from the Old English meaning "the people or province north of the Humber", as opposed to the Sout ...

n landowner and politician who sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

between 1768 and 1812.

Life

He was the son of Matthew Ridley (1716–1778), Governor of the Newcastle-upon-Tyne Company of Merchant Adventurers, four times Mayor of and five times Member of Parliament for Newcastle, and Elizabeth White (1721–1764), daughter of Matthew White, a prominent Newcastle merchant of

Blagdon Hall Blagdon Hall () is a privately owned English country house near Cramlington in Northumberland. It is a Grade I listed building. The house and estate have been in the ownership of the White Ridley family since 1698. The present Viscount Ridley i ...

Stannington, Northumberland Stannington is a village and civil parish in Northumberland, England. The population of the civil parish was 1,219 at the 2001 Census, increasing to 1,280 at the 2011 Census. Stannington is divided into three: Stannington North-East Quarter, S ...

, and sister of

Sir Matthew White, 1st Baronet ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as part o ...

, of

Blagdon Blagdon is a village and civil parish in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Somerset, within the unitary authority of North Somerset, in England. It is located in the Mendip Hills, a recognised Area of Outstanding Natural ...

. He succeeded to the baronetcy of Blagdon and to the estate at

on the death of his uncle in 1763. He followed his father as Governor of the Company of Merchant Adventurers. He was appointed Chief Magistrate for Newcastle on three occasions, and was elected

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

of the city three times, in 1774, 1782 and 1791. He served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Morpeth 1768–1774 and

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area ...

1774–1812. A monument to his memory stands in the nave of St Nicholas' Cathedral, Newcastle. Ridley is depicted in full length life size dressed in a Roman toga. The inscription gives details of his service to the community.

Family

Ridley married Sarah Colborne, daughter of Benjamin Colborne of Bath, in 1777; they had five sons and one daughter: * Sir Matthew White Ridley, 3rd Baronet (18 April 1778 – 14 July 1836) *

Nicholas Ridley-Colborne, 1st Baron Colborne Nicholas William Ridley-Colborne, 1st Baron Colborne (14 April 1779 – 3 May 1854), was a British politician. Background Born Nicholas Ridley, he was the younger son of Sir Matthew White Ridley, 2nd Baronet, and Sarah Colborne (d. 1806), daugh ...

(14 April 1779 – 3 May 1854) *Rev. Henry Colborne (14 May 1780 – 3 February 1832) married Mary Farrer, daughter of James William Farrer. They had three sons, and a daughter. *Henrietta Elizabeth (1781 – 10 October 1853) married twice. Firstly to the Hon. John Scott, son of

John Scott, 1st Earl of Eldon John Scott, 1st Earl of Eldon, (4 June 1751 – 13 January 1838) was a British barrister and politician. He served as Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain between 1801 and 1806 and again between 1807 and 1827. Early life Background Eldon ...

, on 22 August 1804. After his death she married secondly her brother's in-law, James William Farrer, son of James Farrer, on 6 July 1811. She had one son with Scott, and three sons and a daughter with Farrer. *Rev. Richard (28 July 1782 – 21 January 1845) married Catherine Lucy Johnson, daughter of Rev. Richard Popplewell Johnson, on 8 November 1810. They had no known issue. *Rev. Charles John (b. 5 September 1792) His third son, Henry, and grandson William Henry Ridley, were both Rectors of

Hambleden Hambleden is a small village and civil parish in southwest Buckinghamshire, England. The village is around west of Marlow, Buckinghamshire, Marlow, and around northeast of Henley-on-Thames in Oxfordshire. The civil parish also includes the vi ...

, Bucks. His great grandson, the 5th Baronet, was created

Viscount Ridley Viscount Ridley is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1900 for the Conservative politician Sir Matthew White Ridley, 5th Baronet, Home Secretary from 1895 to 1900. He was made Baron Wensleydale, of Blagdon and Bly ...

in 1900.

References

*
The Peerage website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ridley, Matthew 1745 births 1813 deaths People from Stannington, Northumberland Ridley, Matthew, 2nd Baronet Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies British MPs 1768–1774 British MPs 1774–1780 British MPs 1780–1784 British MPs 1784–1790 British MPs 1790–1796 British MPs 1796–1800 Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies UK MPs 1801–1802 UK MPs 1802–1806 UK MPs 1806–1807 UK MPs 1807–1812

Matthew Matthew may refer to: * Matthew (given name) * Matthew (surname) * ''Matthew'' (album), a 2000 album by rapper Kool Keith * Matthew (elm cultivar), a cultivar of the Chinese Elm ''Ulmus parvifolia'' Christianity * Matthew the Apostle, one of ...

Mayors of Newcastle upon Tyne