Glocester Ridley

Glocester Ridley (1702-1774). Engraving by John Hall (1739-1797), after James Scouler (1740-1812), 1781. Courtesy National Portrait Gallery.

Rev. Glocester Ridley (1702 - 3 November 1774) was an English poet, miscellaneous writer, and cleric.

Life

Ridley was born at sea in the Glocester East Indian, and consequently called "Glocester." He was a collateral descendant of Bishop Nicholas Ridley, and son of Matthew Ridley of Bencoolen, East Indies.

He was educated at Winchester College, becoming a scholar in 1718, when he was described as of St. Alban, Wood Street, London.

He enrolled at Trinity College, Oxford, on 14 October 1721, but was admitted a scholar of New College on 1 September 1722, becoming a fellow on 18 June 1724, before the usual 2 years of probation had been completed. He graduated with a B.C.L. on 29 April 1729.

While young he was fond of acting, and in 1728 he and four companions wrote the tragedy of The Fruitless Redress, each of them contributing an act. He afterwards composed the play of Jugurtha, but neither piece was produced on the public stage or printed. Theophilus Cibber, his contemporary at Winchester, is said to have called upon him at Poplar, and to have pressed him to adopt the stage as his profession. Verses and translations by him, apparently written while he was at college, are in Brit. Mus. Addit. MS. 28717.

Ridley was ordained in the English church, and was curate to William Berriman. He was afterwards Berriman's executor, and preached his funeral sermon. In 1733 he was appointed by his college to the small benefice of Weston Longueville, Norfolk, thereby vacating his fellowship in 1734. He was also chaplain to the East India Company at Poplar, where he chiefly resided, and lecturer at St. Ann's, Middlesex; and in 1751 he was presented by his college to the donative of Romford in Essex.

When the Duke of Bedford was made lord-lieutenant of Ireland in 1756, Ridley declined an offer of the first chaplaincy, although it was coupled with a promise of promotion in England. He remained without substantial preferment until May 1766, when he was appointed to the prebendal stall of Teignton Regis in Salisbury Cathedral by Archbishop Secker.

Ridley was known to many learned men, including Bishop Lowth and poet Christopher Pitt. To the latter he presented a set of verses on his poems and translations. With Spence, Pope's friend, he was especially intimate. Spence gave him Pope's cane, and made him his executor. Three letters from Ridley to Spence are in the appendix to Spence's Anecdotes (ed. 1858, pp. 320–7), and Ridley addressed to Spence his imitation of Horace's Ode 12, bk. iv. in Dodsley's Museum (i. 135–6). Duncombe's translation of the second book of the Epistles of Horace is dedicated to him.

In his old age he lost both his sons, James Ridley and Thomas Ridley, a writer in the service of the East India Company at Madras (where he was no sooner settled than he died of smallpox). He died on 3 November 1774, and was buried on 10 November in the cemetery at Poplar, the epitaph on his monument being written by Lowth. He left a widow and four daughters. His daughter Mary (died 1809), wife of Edward Evans (died 1807), captain in the 23rd foot, is said to have written several novels. Margaret Ridley, "the last survivor of his family," died at Hingham in 1837, aged 91.

Writing

Ridley wrote, in addition to many single sermons and three collected volumes of them (in 1736, 1742, and 1746 respectively): 1. ‘Jovi Eleutherio, or an Offering to Liberty’ [anon.], 1745; this subsequently (1748) appeared in Dodsley's ‘Collection of Poetry,’ iii. 44–58. 2. ‘De Syriacarum Novi Fœderis Versionum indole atque usu dissertatio,’ 1761, dedicated to Archbishop Secker; it is reprinted at the end of Semler's edition of J. J. Wetstein's ‘Libelli ad crisen atque interpretationem Novi Testamenti’ (Halæ, 1776), p. 247. Ridley had received four manuscripts from Mesopotamia, two of which contained ‘binas versiones Cyriacas Novi Fœderis tabularum,’ and although he was without a preceptor, and even lacked a knowledge of the letters, he applied himself to a study of the language and learnt it. The manuscripts were left by him to New College, Oxford, and they were printed at the expense of the delegates of the Clarendon Press in 1778, by the Rev. Joseph White, D.D. (Nichols, Illustrations of Lit. iv. 859). 3. ‘Life of Bishop Nicholas Ridley,’ 1763; the success of this volume enabled him to invest 800l. in the funds; the greater part of it was reprinted in ‘The Voice of the Church,’ 1840, vols. i. ii. 4. ‘A Review of Mr. Phillips's History of the Life of Reginald Pole,’ 1766. 5. ‘A Letter to the Author of the Confessional’ [anon.], 1768; this was followed in the same year by second and third letters, and all three, in which Archbishop Secker assisted, were bound up together with a general title. Francis Blackburne, the anonymous author of ‘The Confessional,’ subsequently replied to them, and so did ‘A Country Clergyman’ (said to be the Rev. T. Gwatkin). 6. ‘Melampus: a Poem in Four Books, with Notes, by the late Gloster Ridley,’ 1781.

Recognition

The degree of D.D. was conferred upon Ridley by diploma by the University of Oxford on 25 February 1767.

On the title-page of Melampus is a medallion portrait of the author, painted by James Scouler, and engraved by John Hall. Prefixed is Ridley's poem of ‘Psyche,’ which had previously appeared in Dodsley's ‘Museum’ (iii. 80–97) and in Dodsley's ‘Collection of Poetry’ (iii. 33–43). The publication was effected by George Steevens for the benefit of Ridley's widow and family.

Robert Dodsley included 2 of Ridley's poems in his Collection of Poems in Six Volumes; by several hands.

Some of Ridley's poems, including those on the death of George I and the accession of George II from the Oxford set of verses on those events, appear in Nichols's Collection of Poems (viii. 74–82, 112–34).

Publications

Poetry

• Jovi Eleutherio: or, An offering to liberty. London: R. Dodsley, 1745.
• Melampus, or the religious grove: A poem, in four books. London: J. Dodsley, 1781. Canto I: Fear, Canto II: Trust, Canto III: Love, Canto IV: Joy

Non-fiction

• The Christian Passover: Four sermons. London: John Clarke, 1736, 1742; Dublin: S. Powell, 1770.
• Eight Sermons on the Divinity and Operations of the Holy Ghost. London: John Clarke / Richard Manby, 1742.
• Constitution in Church and State: Three sermons preached on occasion of the present rebellion. London: John Clarke, 1746.
• A Sermon Preached before the ... Trustees for establishing the colony of Georgia. London: John Clarke, 1746.
• God's Threatnings against Sinful Nations. A sermon. London: John Clarke, 1750.
• The Good Christian Never Dies: A sermon. London: John Clarke, 1750.
• The Blessing of Religion to Civil Societies: A sermon. London: John Gleed, Norwich, 1753.
• The Difference and Respective Use of the Moral, Civil, and Ceremonial Law: A sermon. London: J. Gleed, Norwich, 1753.
• The Lord's Prayer Considered: A sermon. London: John Clarke, 1755.
• A Sermon Preached before the Sons of the Clergy. London: J. Whiston / B. White, 1757.
• A Sermon Preached in the Parish-church of Christ-Church, London. London: J. Oliver, for B. Dod, 1758.

De Syriacarum novi foederis versionum indole atque usu dissertatio. 1761.

• The Life of Dr. Nicholas Ridley. J. Whiston / B. White / R. & J. Dodsley, 1763.
• A Sermon Preached before the ... governors of the City of London Lying-in Hospital for married women. London: C. Say, for the charity, 1764.
• A Review of Mr. Phillips's History of the Life of Pole. London: J. Whiston / B. White / J. Dodsley, 1766.
• A Letter to the Author of 'The Confessional'. London: J. Whiston / B. White / J. Dodsley, 1768.
• A Second Letter to the Author of 'The Confessional' [with Thomas Secker, archbishop of Canterbury]. London: J. Whiston / B. White / J. Dodsley, 1768.
• A Third Letter to the Author of 'The Confessional'. London: J. Whiston / B. White / J. Dodsley, 1768.
• Three Letters to the Author of 'The Confessional' [with Thomas Secker). London: London: J. Whiston & B. White / J. Dodsley, 1768.

Anthologized

Select Collection of Poems, Volume 8 (edited by John Nichols). 1784.

Except where noted, bibliographical information courtesy WorldCat.

See also

• List of British poets

References

•  Courtney, William Prideaux (1896) "Ridley, Glocester" in Lee, Sidney Dictionary of National Biography 48 London: Smith, Elder, pp. 282-283 . Wikipedia, Web, Oct. 12, 2016.

External links

Poems

• Gloscester Ridley at the Eighteenth-Century Poetry Archive (2 poem)
• Rev. Glocester Ridley (1702-1744) info & 3 poems at English Poetry, 1579-1830

Books

• Glocester Ridley at Amazon.com

About

This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain, the Dictionary of National Biography (edited by Leslie Stephen). London: Smith, Elder, 1885-1900. Original article is at: Ridley, Glocester