The Ridding

The Ridding is a Victorian country house located in the village of Bentham, North Yorkshire, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building. It was built in Scottish Baronial style for B. H. Bent by E. G. Paley in 1857–60, the only building designed in this style by Paley. It is built of squared rubble with sandstone ashlar dressings and a slate roof. The frontage has three bays in two storeys and incorporates a short two-stage tower at the left.

1. History

The house was built in 1857–60 for Baldwin Harry Bent. It was later owned by Joseph Teale, a medical doctor, whose only daughter Alice Catherine married Robert Garnett in 1880, who was a Justice of the Peace for Lancashire and the North Riding. Alice died in 1900 and Robert remarried. He died in 1921 leaving a son Richard Everard Garnett.

1. See also

Listed buildings in Bentham, North Yorkshire List of non-ecclesiastical works by E. G. Paley

1. References

Nearby Places View Menu

St John the Baptist's Church, Low Bentham

St John the Baptist's Church is the parish church of Low Bentham, a settlement in North Yorkshire, in England. A church in Bentham was recorded in the Domesday Book. It is believed to have been destroyed during a Scottish raid in the early 14th century. The oldest parts of the current church, the tower and the chancel arch, date from the 1340 rebuild. The church was restored in 1822, and then largely rebuilt by Richard Norman Shaw between 1876 and 1878. A porch and new main door were added in 1891. The church was Grade II* listed in 1958. In 2023, a kitchen and toilets were installed, and the pews were replaced by chairs. The church is built of stone with a slate roof. It consists of a nave with a clerestory, north and south aisles, a north porch, a chancel with a north vestry and a south chapel, and a west tower. The tower is in Perpendicular style, with three stages, diagonal buttresses, and a west doorway above which is a three light window. The two-light bell openings have trefoil heads with mouchettes in the spandrels, and hood moulds, and at the top is an embattled parapet with four crocketed pinnacles. One 15th century window survives in the south wall of the chancel, and two in the south chapel. In the south chapel wall is a sundial dating from about 1800. The font was designed by William Lethaby and dates from about 1890. The pulpit is by Shaw, and there is a king post roof dating from his restoration. The reredos was designed by Shaw and carved by Thomas Earp. The walls have majolica tiles manufactured by Maw & Co, and there are several windows with stained glass by Heaton, Butler and Bayne. A south aisle window incorporates a stone crucifix which probably dates from the 13th century. The building contains a coffin slab dating from about 1340; the Kirkbeck Stone dating from the 17th century; and a 15th-century bell hanging in the porch. The church reputedly has the heaviest peal of six bells in Yorkshire, and together weigh 7,500 pounds (3,400 kg). The old organ, which is no longer playable, was built by William Hill of London as a "house organ" for Walker Joy, a prosperous oil merchant in Leeds; his brother designed a hydraulic engine to pump the bellows, making it the first ever to be blown by mechanical power. The organ is due to be removed. The churchyard contains a memorial to Robert Poole, a gravedigger, consisting of a sculptured shovel leaning against a tree trunk.

Church Historic Site

Bentham Grammar School

Bentham Grammar School was an independent school in Bentham, North Yorkshire, England. The school, which was founded in 1726, closed in 2002 owing to dwindling pupil numbers.

Landmark School

1.5 km

Bentham Quaker Meeting House

Bentham Quaker Meeting House is a historic building in Low Bentham, a village in North Yorkshire in England. The first Quaker meetings in Low Bentham were held in a barn in 1686, then moved to a purpose-built meeting house in 1720. This closed in 1750, but in 1768 a new building at Calf Cop was acquired. This proved to be too small, and it was demolished and replaced with the current building in 1798. In 1886, the Low Bentham meeting was merged with the High Bentham meeting, although the Calf Cop building was retained for occasional worship. In 1975, the High Bentham meeting house was sold. The area's regular meetings returned to the Calf Cop building, which was restored to the designs of Michael Sykes, using the proceeds of the sale of the High Bentham Building. The building is constructed of stone, with a stone slate roof with timber gutters, and a stone chimneystack. It has a rectangular plan, with a porch on the east side, with access to a cross-passage. South of the passage is the main meeting room, and north is the former women's meeting room, since divided into smaller rooms. The passage also has a staircase, providing access to the gallery of the main meeting room. The porch has a datestone reading "1718", which is believed to have come from the predecessor building. The north and south walls are gabled and blank, while the east and west walls have sash windows: smaller original windows, and larger ones probably dating from the 19th century. Inside, there is an elders' stand with original panelling, and other early features include the staircase, and the balustrade of the balcony. In the meeting room are two 18th century oak chairs, along with benches, and a heavily altered 18th century table. The meeting house has been grade II listed since 1958.

Church Historic Site

Wennington, Lancashire

Wennington is a civil parish in the City of Lancaster district in Lancashire, England. The 2001 Census recorded the parish's population as 102, and the 2011 Census recorded it as 178. The village is on the B6480, near the River Wenning and the Yorkshire border. It is administered by Wennington Parish Council. Wennington Hall is to the north.

Landmark Neighbourhood