Venue Type & Location
Overview
The remains of Egerton grandeur lie in peaceful farm country in the Cheshire plain, with the fortifications of Beeston Castle and the Peckforton Hills rising to the W. The surviving entrance gateway faces S.
Formerly a fine stone and timber residence on the quadrangular plan with an imposing gateway. Only the red sandstone gatehouse with the Egerton coat of arms above the archway remains, now incorporated into farm buildings, still arranged on a quadrangular plan.
Performance History
Although family records have not yet been found for performance at Ridley, the Egerton family is known from other sources to have patronized entertainers in the 16th and early 17th c.
Current Status
History of the Venue
mid-15th c. The seat of the Ridley family passed to Sir William Stanley who rebuilt it as a fine residence.
1495 Estate confiscated by the Crown when Stanley was attainted.
1514 Estate granted to Sir Ralph Egerton who made further additions (extent unknown).
1643 Assault by royalist forces during the Civil War.
ca. 1650 Estate dissipated by gambling (Notitia Cestriensis 218 n. 13).
late 17th c. Sold to Orlando Bridgeman.
ca. 1700 Most of the buildings destroyed by fire. Manor subsequently sold to the Pepys family.
Record Source
REED Shrops 1.191; York 1.528
Patrons who owned this venue
| Name | Date | Titles |
|---|---|---|
| Egerton, Richard | 0-1579 | Knight |
| Egerton, Thomas | 1540-1617 | Baron Ellesmere |
| Egerton, Thomas | 1540-1617 | Viscount Brackley |
Bibliographic Sources
- Coward, T.A. Picturesque Cheshire. London: Methuen, 1926
- Figueiredo, Peter de, and Julian Treuherz. Cheshire Country Houses. Chichester: Phillimore, 1988
- Gallichan, Walter M. Cheshire. London: Methuen, 1928
- Leland, John. The Itinerary of John Leland in or about the Years 1535–1543. 5 vols. London: Centaur, 1964
- Notitia Cestriensis, or, Historical Notices of the Diocese of Chester, by the Right Rev. Francis Gastrell, D.D. Lord Bishop of Chester. Vol. 1: Cheshire. Manchester: Printed for the Chetham Society, 1845
- Ormerod, George. History of the County Palatine and City of Chester. 1st ed 1819. 3 vols. London: Routledge, 1882
- Pevsner, Nikolaus, and Edward Hubbard. Cheshire. Harmondsworth, Midd: Penguin Books, 1971