Sir Matthew White Ridley, 2nd Baronet

Sir Matthew White Ridley, 2nd Baronet (28 October 1745 – 9 April 1813), was a Northumbrian landowner and politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1768 and 1812.

He was the son of Matthew Ridley (1716–1778), Governor of the Newcastle-upon-Tyne Company of Merchant Adventurers, four times Mayor of and five times Member of Parliament for Newcastle, and Elizabeth White (1721–1764), daughter of Matthew White, a prominent Newcastle merchant of Blagdon Hall, Stannington, Northumberland, and sister of Sir Matthew White, 1st Baronet, of Blagdon.

He was appointed Chief Magistrate for Newcastle on three occasions, and was elected Mayor of the city three times, in 1774, 1782 and 1791.

Ridley is depicted in full length life size dressed in a Roman toga.

Ridley married Sarah Colborne, daughter of Benjamin Colborne of Bath, in 1777; they had five sons and one daughter: His third son, Henry, and grandson William Henry Ridley, were both Rectors of Hambleden, Bucks.