George Ridding

George Ridding, by Leslie Ward, 1901.

George Ridding from the Illustrated Guide to the Church Congress, 1897

George Ridding (March 16, 1828 – August 30, 1904) was an English headmaster and bishop.

Life

He was born at Winchester College, of which his father, the Rev. Charles Ridding, vicar of Andover, was a fellow.

He was educated at Winchester College and at Balliol College, Oxford. He became a fellow of Exeter College and was a tutor from 1853 to 1863. In 1853 he married. Mary Louisa Moberly, who died within a year of her marriage. He was appointed second master of Winchester College in 1863, and on the retirement of his father-in-law, Dr Moberly, he succeeded to the headmastership. The gate between College Meads and Lavender Meads bears his name.

During the tenure of this office (1867–1884) he carried out successfully a series of radical reforms in the organization of the school, resulting in a great increase both in its reputation and numbers. In 1884 he became the first Bishop of Southwell, and brought his powers of organization and conspicuous tact and moderation to bear on the management of the new diocese. There is a statue of him in Southwell Minster.

He took an active share in its educational and social work, and was materially assisted in these respects by his second wife, Lady Laura Palmer, daughter of the 1st Earl of Selborne. He resigned his see a short time before his death.

References

• Church Quarterly Review (July 1905).
• J.V. Beckett, ‘Dr George Ridding: First Bishop of Southwell, 1884-1904’ in Transactions of the Thoroton Society of Nottinghamshire, Vol. 116 (2012)

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press