RIDLEY FAMILY OF ENGLAND, EARLY ANCESTRY.
407
overhang it. Different views of the woods and river are presented at
every turn of these walks, which were constructed by the owner in 1873,
and the foregrounds are a mixture of gray rocks, heather, and hanging-
wood, with parasitic plants twining from stem to stem. The walks have
recently been extended to a bold range of rocks near "Plankie Mill."
Visitors are permitted to view the grounds and other attractions if they
ask to do so at the house.
A most singular adventure is said to have taken place at Ridley Hall
in the year 1723, when the then proprietor was absent in the city of Lon-
don, and an old female servant and her son were left in charge of the
place. On an evening when the old woman was sitting alone, a peddler
came to the door, declaring himself half-dead with fatigue, and begging
for a night's lodging. This the servant refused, when he implored that
he might leave his long pack while he looked elsewhere for shelter, stating
that he would return and take it away the next day. She consented to
grant this favor, and directed him to put down his luggage on the shelf
of the kitchen-dresser. Sometime after the man had departed the son
of the old woman came in from shooting, and learning the story, and
fancying he saw the pack move, in his excitement fired at it with his gun;
streams of blood gushed forth, and on undoing the bundle the horror-
stricken pair found the shot had killed a man who had been sewed up in-
side. The peddler had brought this man to the house, that in case he
was not admitted himself to a lodging, the house might be opened in the
night and robbed by the two, but by the accident they were foiled, and
the safety of the house insured.
Some parts of Ridley Hall are very ancient, and undoubtedly formed a
residence of the Ridley family before the estates were lost, but there have
been many additions made at different times, until now the main building
presents quite a modern appearance. The gardens and grounds around
the house are quite extensive and ornamented with a rich variety of rare
trees, plants, and flowers. The last known proprietor was an old lady
named Davidson, and Mr. Ridley, of Parkend, was acting as her confiden-
tial agent. The colored view of Ridley Hall in this book was made from
a photograph taken on the grounds, and kindly furnished by my corres-
pondent there.
HALTWHISTLE. This ancient residence of the Ridley family of North-
umberland, is a small market town of seventeen hundred and fifty inhab-
itants. Many of the old stone houses retain battlements and other traces
of fortification. The Ridleys of Haltwhistle were long at feud with the
clan of Armstrong, a family that dwelt in the strongholds of the moun-
tain, and had several battles with them, of which accounts have been pre-
served. The Armstrongs were dreaded all along the border, in conse-
quence of their bold incursions and robberies. They frequently made
raids upon Halt whistle and other property of the Ridleys on the Tyne,
and carried away goods and cattle, sometimes driving large flocks before
them to their impregnable rendezvous.
On one occasion the Ridleys called their clan together and pursued the
Armstrong outlaws and recovered considerable of the property they
were taking away. When returning to Haltwhistle, one of the Arm-
strongs, a chief of that clan, being more bold than the others, came out
of their stronghold and pursued the clan of Ridley upon a horse, crying
after them in taunting language, challenging some one to engage him in
combat. This could not be long endured, and the chief of the Ridleys
