Frederick Edward Ridgeway Vanity Fair 26 February 1903

Frederick Edward Ridgeway (18484 May 1921) was an Anglican bishop from 1901 until his death 20 years later. Frederick Edward Ridgeway was educated at

Tonbridge School Tonbridge School is a public school (English fee-charging boarding and day school for boys aged 13–18) in Tonbridge, Kent, England, founded in 1553 by Sir Andrew Judde (sometimes spelt Judd). It is a member of the Eton Group and has clo ...

and

Clare College, Cambridge Clare College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. The college was founded in 1326 as University Hall, making it the second-oldest surviving college of the Unive ...

; he was younger brother of

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''* ...

, sometime

Bishop of Chichester The Bishop of Chichester is the Ordinary (officer), ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Chichester in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers the counties of East Sussex, East and West Sussex. The Episcopal see, see is based in t ...

Ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

in 1872, he was incumbent of the Church of St Mary the Virgin,

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

from 1878, and was additionally Dean of the Diocese of Glasgow and Galloway from 1888 until 1890.

Suffragan bishop

In 1890 he became Vicar of St Peter's,

Kensington Kensington is an area of London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, around west of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up by Kensingt ...

, where he served until, in October 1900, he moved to become Rector of St Botolph-without-Bishopsgate in preparation for his appointment to the

episcopate A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of dioceses. The role ...

as the first suffragan

Bishop of Kensington The Bishop of Kensington is an episcopal title used by an area bishop of the Church of England Diocese of London, in the Province of Canterbury, England. The Bishop of Kensington is responsible for a part of Greater London, including Kensington, ...

the next year. He was consecrated a bishop on 17 February 1901, at St Margaret's, Westminster, by

Frederick Temple Frederick Temple (30 November 1821 – 23 December 1902) was an English academic, teacher and Clergy, churchman, who served as Bishop of Exeter (1869–1885), Bishop of London (1885–1896) and Archbishop of Canterbury (1896–1902). Early ...

Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the Primus inter pares, ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the bishop of the diocese of Canterbury. The first archbishop ...

. Though initially the care of the West End remained with

Alfred Barry Alfred Barry (15 January 18261 April 1910) was the third Anglican Bishop of Sydney, Bishop of Sydney serving 1884–1889. Over the course of his career, Barry served as headmaster of independent schools, Principal (university), Principal of Ki ...

, when he retired in February 1903, the Bishop of Kensington was given those responsibilities.

Diocesan bishop

From 1911 to 1921 he was

Bishop of Salisbury The Bishop of Salisbury is the Ordinary (officer), ordinary of the Church of England's Diocese of Salisbury in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers much of the counties of Wiltshire and Dorset. The Episcopal see, see is in the Salisbur ...

. He took legal possession of the See by the

confirmation In Christian denominations that practice infant baptism, confirmation is seen as the sealing of the covenant (religion), covenant created in baptism. Those being confirmed are known as confirmands. The ceremony typically involves laying on o ...

of his

election An election is a formal group decision-making process whereby a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold Public administration, public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative d ...

on 17 October 1911 at

St Mary-le-Bow The Church of St Mary-le-Bow () is a Church of England parish church in the City of London, England. Located on Cheapside, one of the city's oldest thoroughfares, the church was founded in 1080, by Lanfranc, Archbishop of Canterbury. Rebuilt seve ...

by Alfred Cripps,

Vicar-General A vicar general (previously, archdeacon) is the principal deputy of the bishop or archbishop of a diocese or an archdiocese for the exercise of administrative authority and possesses the title of local ordinary. As vicar of the bishop, the vicar ...

of the

Province of Canterbury The Province of Canterbury, or less formally the Southern Province, is one of two ecclesiastical provinces which constitute the Church of England. The other is the Province of York (which consists of 12 dioceses). Overview The Province consi ...

. He was enthroned at

Salisbury Cathedral Salisbury Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is an Church of England, Anglican cathedral in the city of Salisbury, England. The cathedral is regarded as one of the leading examples of Early English architecture, ...

in November 1911 and served until his death in London on 4 May 1921. Ridgeway was a strong supporter of British involvement in the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, and his views were clearly expressed in a sermon delivered on 9 August 1914, justifying Britain's declaration of war against Germany. ‘It was on our side a just war, it was with us a righteous war, and if it was carried out in the spirit of our Christianity it was a holy war .... It was an unprovoked war. It was an unselfish war. Make no mistake about it. There never was a more unselfish war. Nothing for England to gain: terribly much for England to lose ... nothing to be ashamed of, England stepped out reluctantly but bravely and unflinchingly into the struggle. It was a war for Righteousness. It was a solemn protest against violated pledges and ruthlessly broken undertakings.’. Ridgeway encouraged clergy to volunteer as army and navy chaplains, to provide support for the tens of thousands of soldiers in camps on

Salisbury Plain Salisbury Plain is a chalk plateau in southern England covering . It is part of a system of chalk downlands throughout eastern and southern England formed by the rocks of the Chalk Group and largely lies within the county of Wiltshire, but st ...

and to work in

Sherborne Castle Sherborne Castle (sometimes called Sherborne New Castle) is a 16th-century Tudor mansion southeast of Sherborne Sherborne is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in north west Dorset, in South West England. It is sited ...

, Lytchett Manor and other great houses which had been transformed ‘into the most perfect and luxurious hospitals’. Ridgeway's handwritten letters were notorious because they were hard to decipher. He attempted to write to every family which had suffered bereavement during the War. One woman noted, ‘We have had such a beautiful letter from the Bishop, though we can’t read it’.Church Times obituary, 13.5.1921 His older brother,

, was Bishop of Chichester (1908-1919).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ridgeway, Frederick Edward 1848 births People educated at Tonbridge School Alumni of Clare College, Cambridge Bishops of Kensington Bishops of Guildford 20th-century Church of England bishops 1921 deaths