SIX GENERATIONS OF RIDLEY BREWING
Nicholas Ridley
Born 1500, dedicated his life to the church and eventually became Bishop of London in 1550. His questioning of the Pope’s supremacy over the Kingdom of England led to his imprisonment in the Tower of London and he was tried for heresy. In 1555 Queen Mary, or ‘Bloody Mary’ as she became known, got her way and Bishop Nick was burnt at the stake for his religious beliefs. He died a Martyr in Oxford on October 16.
Thomas Dixon Ridley
Almost 300 years later in 1842 Thomas Dixon Ridley built his brewery on the banks of the River Chelmer. It was here that the Ridleys’ great tradition of brewing was born. The brewery thrived and Ridley’s beer was enjoyed at inns from Southend to Saffron Walden. Over the next 163 years six generations of Ridleys honed their skills and perfected their palettes to bring the people of Essex the best local brews, until the brewery was sold in 2005.
BISHOP NICK LTD
Nelion Ridley took up the mantle and in 2011 established Bishop Nick in Ridley heartland - Felsted, Essex. He then expanded and moved the brewery to Braintree in 2013. With a rich heritage of traditional brewing Nelion holds sacred many of the Ridley traditions: using local ingredients to produce a range of high quality and distinctive real ales for today’s discerning drinker. Bishop Nick has scooped numerous leading industry awards including the highly coveted Campion Beer of Britain (SILVER overall) for their leading brand Ridley's Rite in 2017. Head Brewer Alexander Ratter joined the team in 2018.
Brewer's blog
Hello Bishop Nick drinkers, I'm sorry I haven't written a blog for a long while, but...
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Brewer's Blog
Brewer's Blog: Hello again, Alex here with a few spare minutes to update you on the comings and goings in the brew house.
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Brewer's Blog - my favourite time of year!
Hello everybody, it hasn't escaped my notice that I haven't written a blog for ages. It's been a little hectic over the Summer and Autumn and brewing activities have occupied every spare hour - not only did Bishop Nick have to keep up with the usual late Summer demand for sacred ale, but it also had the small matter of a large contract with Wetherspoons to distribute Divine nationally.
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