FAITHfor the
Future The Ridley Vision
Faith for the Future The Need for a New Building
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Teaching Spaces Equipped for Today’s Needs
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Facilities to Support a Flourishing Community Life
The Centre for Youth Ministry
In-house Ridley courses
Federation-wide teaching
Room for Enrichment as a Community
Living spaces that meet the distinctive needs of single students
Facilities that embrace the needs of married students
Capacity to contribute to the life of the Church
Space to welcome members of the world Church
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The Proposed Development
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A New Community Hub
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Aesthetics
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A flexible-use 250-seat auditorium
A ground-floor community lounge
Versatile and Modern Facilities
A new home for the Cambridge Centre for Youth Ministry
Additional and modern accommodation
Flexible teaching spaces
Dedicated crèche facilities
A sound-proofed studio
An Invitation
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Further information
“The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short, but setting our aim too low and achieving our mark.”
Michelangelo
The Need for a New Building Despite the inherent volatility of numbers training for ordained
ministry across the country, in recent years Ridley has enrolled students in such numbers that our challenge is normally that of overcrowding.
At any one time the optimum number of full-time ordinands within Ridley’s extended community has proved to be around 70. This suits Ridley’s community dynamic, providing a good range of ordinands at various stages of life, and being large enough to resource the different dimensions of community life. Yet these numbers place considerable pressure on Ridley’s facilities, especially when combined with the diversified activities that have become central to Ridley’s distinctive strengths as a theological college.
Victorian buildings designed for 40 single young men are now being used for around 140 full and part-time students preparing for a wide variety of ministries, male and female, single and married, with an age range of late teens to early 60s. In addition, teaching facilities are a shared resource for the 300 students of the Cambridge Theological Federation. The recent conversion of the Principal’s Lodge has helped ease the pressure, but a great deal more must be done to provide satisfactory teaching, residential and communal space. Ridley is blessed with imaginative and dedicated staff who work with and around the limitations of the available facilities. Yet this does not alter the reality that the college is bursting at the seams.
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Facilities to Support a Flourishing Community Life
Thursday is Community Day at Ridley, when spouses and children join
staff and students for lunch, afternoon Common Room Tea and the weekly College Communion. It is at this time that the biggest strain is put on all Ridley’s facilities.
At College Communion the Chapel is frequently overcrowded to the point of discomfort with students packed into the overflow organ gallery and on supplementary bench seating. Likewise, at supper after the service, the pressure to vacate tables means that conversations begun over the meal frequently have to be uprooted and continued elsewhere.
Visitors constantly comment on Ridley’s strong sense of community, and in the Easter Term, as summer approaches, the College’s court and croquet lawn provides space that fosters our life together as a community. But during the Michaelmas and Lent Terms, when Cambridge fenland weather forces people inside, the absence of an indoor gathering point hinders social interaction. While Ridley’s facilities at the level of ‘Staircase’ group fellowship work reasonably well, with no large space to congregate, our burgeoning community is poorly served by its current buildings.
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Ridley’s community thrives within the wider context of the Cambridge Theological Federation. Yet on-site facilities limit its scope as a social hub for this extended ecumenical community.
Teaching Spaces Equipped for Today’s Needs Teaching on-site at Ridley happens at a variety of levels – from youth ministry classes within the Centre for Youth Ministry to in-house courses taken by Ridley ordinands, and classes which draw students from across the Cambridge Theological Federation. At each level, existing facilities are stretched, placing unwanted limits on what we are able to offer, and reducing educational flexibility.
The Centre for Youth Ministry
In-house Ridley courses
CYM, with a cohort of around 50 students, is housed in
what was originally a modest family flat, providing one small lecture room and inadequate meeting space. As well as being cramped, such facilities afford little scope for the breakout groups that are essential to the reflective learning that is a hallmark of CYM’s training.
Ridley’s main lecture and seminar rooms are similarly
inadequate. At times, in order to accommodate concurrent classes, the Chapel is enrolled as a supplementary but far from ideal teaching venue, with significantly restricted educational technology. Not large enough for the existing student body, the capacity of our main Lecture Hall sadly prevents us from welcoming guests or adequately hosting events such as the College Lecture series which frequently draws prestigious speakers.
As a prominent member of the Cambridge Theological Federation,
Ridley supplies a high proportion of students for Cambridge-based Federation courses, yet is ill-equipped to serve as a Federation-wide teaching venue.
Federation-wide teaching
The Federation in fact has just one large lecture hall between all its member colleges. Additionally, a poor distribution of medium-sized teaching rooms places an excessive burden on Westminster College, the only member with two such rooms on its site. A venue which offers a large state-of-the-art auditorium and two smaller lecture rooms is needed by the Federation both to ease the scheduling pressures and expand the breadth and potential of this partnership. This is precisely what Ridley plans to provide.
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Room for Enrichment as a Community Living spaces that meet the distinctive needs of single students Today’s on-site accommodation houses single
students, just as it did at the College’s establishment. But small bedsits originally designed for young single men are now occupied by men and women at various stages of life, many of whom have given up the relative comfort and privacy of established homes to train for ordination. With a handful of en-suite rooms available in just two of the six ‘Staircases’, many residents share inadequate bathroom facilities, and the communal kitchen on each Staircase affords little opportunity for single residents to entertain visiting friends and family. Lounge and television facilities are similarly restricted; the College’s two common rooms are also shared with other activities.
Facilities that embrace the needs of married students While Ridley has a token amount of married accommodation on-site, the majority of married students
live with their families in locally-rented houses. Each married student is assigned a shared study on-site, giving them a base within the community, and providing the opportunity for them to be fully integrated into their Staircase fellowship group. However, study rooms are in short supply, there is much doubling and trebling up, and in recent years it has been necessary to bring in a Portacabin to ease the immediate pressures.
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The Cambridge area is well-served by good schools and preschool groups, and Ridley regularly draws a high number of married ordinands with young children. Around 20 to 30 of up to 70 children in total are typically on site during our weekly Community Days, and are currently cared for in Ridley’s two common rooms which double up temporarily as crèches. While a commercially run on-site nursery is perhaps not feasible given space and car-parking constraints, Ridley would benefit immensely from a dedicated crèche area. The College needs onsite facilities that more fully enable us to incorporate families as integrated members of our community.
Capacity to contribute to the life of the Church Conferences, day workshops and focussed discussion events hosted at Ridley draw people from across Britain and overseas
to explore aspects of their Christian faith or to engage with contemporary issues in a context of worship and prayer. We believe that Ridley is called to be a place of encounter, formation and strategic initiatives in the life of the Church. In order to serve in this way and to expand this facet of our work the College needs facilities that are both versatile and modern. The lack of a large auditorium and corresponding dining facilities, together with the shortage of accommodation and breakout rooms, is making conferences of any significant size both logistically difficult and financially fragile. In order to host its recent ground-breaking conference on end-of-life issues, it was necessary for the Simeon Centre to rent a marquee to hold plenary sessions, to host the conference dinner at an alternative venue, and to house 20 of its delegates at another college.
At a point when the Church is increasingly requiring its training institutions to develop their own sources of income, it is vital that Ridley has facilities that enable it to respond creatively with new initiatives that both improve its revenue stream and deploy its strengths for the benefit of the Church and the Gospel.
Space to welcome members of the world Church Ridley is significantly enriched when members of the global
Church join the community as sabbatical guests, independent students, and visiting scholars. Our strong commitment to this aspect of our calling is hampered by our current buildings. In recent years, with the increased pressure on rooms, the rooms that can be set aside for short-term guests and independent students have had to be reduced in number. To be able to better welcome the world to Ridley it is essential that we have the space to accommodate international visitors properly, and thus further raise the profile of the global Church within our community.
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The Proposed Development Over the past four years, planning our new building has been a journey of consultation, discovery, and refinement. We are fortunate to have the services of Bland, Brown & Cole, local architects who have considerable experience not just of major planning in the historic centre of Cambridge but also of Ridley itself, having undertaken a significant refurbishment project some years ago.
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A recent artist’s impression of the new building, as viewed from across the courtyard
Even as we work towards the day we will lay the foundation stone, the consultation process continues, to ensure that the building and its facilities can give the very best service to our students and staff, and provide a platform from which Ridley can advance into the future.
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Artist’s impression of the building viewed from the courtyard entrance
Aesthetics Sympathetically designed to blend with the existing
Victorian buildings while remaining true to its own time, the new ‘T-shaped’ building will complete the fourth side of the college quadrangle originally envisaged by Ridley’s founders.
The building will sit in the area that has been occupied by what was formerly the Principal’s Garden. Now unused, the land is surrounded by tall evergreen hedges that dominate and unbalance the visual impact of the court.
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The new building, though significant in size, is placed in such a way that it will open up the view of ‘G’ and ‘H’ Staircases at the opposite end of the court, currently disrupted by the dark hedging. The view greeting visitors as they arrive at Ridley will be transformed by this introduction of a far lighter and more positive focus to the college grounds.
The view today
A New Community Hub The ‘stem’ of the building’s ‘T-shape’, which extends into the courtyard, will provide the focussed and flexible community space that the College urgently needs, thus re-orienting Ridley’s community life.
A flexible-use 250-seat auditorium A signature feature of the new building, the auditorium will serve not only as a lecture hall but also as a venue for corporate worship and for occasional sit-down meals for the extended college community, where the existing dining room is too small. It will also offer an ideal venue for social events including concerts and celebrations both for Ridley and for the wider Federation. The auditorium will be named in honour and memory of the College’s most distinguished alumnus, the Revd Dr John R. W. Stott.
3D plan showing the proposed auditorium
Highlight detail: At the rear of the auditorium is a glassed-in area, for use by parents with very small children during services.
3D cross-section of the community lounge
A ground-floor community lounge For the building to be the focal point
for the college community, a second key element is the socialising area on the ground floor. Equipped with coffee and refreshment facilities, the community lounge will be a natural gathering point for students and staff, enabling and encouraging interaction after lectures and acts of worship and throughout the day.
Highlight detail: Sliding doors open out onto a
terraced area, allowing this new indoor community area to freely connect with the outdoor court that serves us so well in fine weather. 9
Versatile and Modern Facilities The ‘bar’ of the ‘T-shape’, with four levels, will provide the College with vital additional accommodation, office and teaching spaces.
A new home for the Cambridge Centre for Youth Ministry When construction is complete the Centre for
Youth Ministry will move out of its current cramped facilities into a self-contained area that includes a seminar room and three breakout rooms. Also provided is a kitchen and coffee bar, three offices with interconnecting doors, a small meeting room and a storage room.
Highlight detail: A flexible partition between the kitchen and first breakout room allows them to convert to a larger multipurpose room.
CYM’s kitchen and first breakout room, connected by a flexible partition
Additional and modern accommodation
The proposed plan for the third floor, which will accommodate students, guests and visiting scholars
The new building will enable
the creation of an additional ‘Staircase’ fellowship group, with two shared kitchens, a staff study for a pastoral tutor, ensuite student rooms, and a TV lounge for Community-wide use. Additional study rooms will accommodate guests and shortterm members of the community including sabbatical guests and visiting scholars. Of the 24 bedrooms, 4 are pairs of twin bedded-rooms with interconnecting doors, to provide short-term accommodation for families, such as those accompanying prospective students on interview.
Highlight detail: Other rooms currently 10
designated as offices will be fitted with sufficient plumbing to enable them to be converted into further study bedrooms should the need arise.
In addition to the main auditorium, two medium-
sized seminar rooms and a smaller breakout room are provided. As well as offering greater flexibility for the teaching of in-house Ridley courses, they will be a welcome addition for the Federation-wide course schedule.
Highlight detail: Integrated storage for the stackable
chairs enables both seminar rooms to convert into multipurpose spaces. Example uses would be activities for older children during community social events or displays during conferences. Dedicated crèche facilities will have direct access to a secluded garden and children’s play area. A small dining room and kitchen is there for parents and for use by residential students for entertaining visiting friends and family.
Highlight detail: Outdoor storage for pushchairs under a
Flexible teaching spaces
Dedicated crèche facilities
pergola is incorporated in the development plans.
The basement floor will house essential mechanical plant, toilets and improved student laundry facilities. This level will also house a sound-proofed and air-conditioned video and audio recording studio, giving Ridley access to communication technology that is not currently possible.
Highlight detail: As well as providing an excellent space
A soundproofed studio
for sermon classes, the recording facilities will enable Ridley to serve the wider Church through digital media such as podcasts.
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An Invitation An unexpected initial pledge of half a million pounds in 2006
gave energy to Ridley’s long-range strategic planning. Subsequent cornerstone gifts and pledges, together with the success of our application for planning permission, granted unanimously by the Planning Committee of Cambridge City Council in June 2011, have set our feet firmly on the road towards transforming those plans into reality.
Over £3m of our £10m target was already pledged when planning permission was granted. We invite you to join a growing community supporting us financially and in prayer as we now move forward in faith into a new chapter of Ridley’s life and mission.
The success of Faith for the Future, launched in 2011, will equip Ridley Hall to strengthen its significant role in extending Christ’s Kingdom into all the world, providing a lasting legacy of men and women seeking to serve the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Further information We are delighted to share more detailed information on the development plans and our funding targets.
Our Director of Development, the Revd Richard Kew, is available to answer your questions or to talk in confidence about supporting Ridley’s future contribution to the Church.
To read more about the vision that has
A Journe Y of Faith The Ridley Vision
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brought Ridley from its establishment in 1881 to this new chapter in its life and service to the Church, read our accompanying booklet A Journey of Faith: The Ridley Vision.
Richard is very happy to talk with you in person, call you at your convenience, or correspond by email or letter. Revd Richard Kew Director of Development Ridley Hall Ridley Hall Road Cambridge CB3 9HG Tel: 01223 741069 Email: rk383@cam.ac.uk
Artist’s impression of the proposed landscaping, viewed from the West end of the courtyard
Ridley Hall Road Cambridge CB3 9HG UK T: +44 (0)1223 746580 F: +44 (0)1223 746581 E: ridleypa@hermes.cam.ac.uk W: www.ridley.cam.ac.uk Ridley Hall, Cambridge is registered in England and Wales under Company Reg No: 9011968 and Charity Reg No: 1157004.