Francis Ruddle

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Francis Ruddle (23 November 1798 – 9 February 1882) was a master builder and carpenter from Peterborough. He often worked with John Thompson, and together they formed the firm Ruddle & Thompson. After Thompson’s death, Ruddle worked with Thompson’s son, John Thompson junior.

In 1830–31, to designs by the architect Edward Blore, Ruddle made new choir stalls and an organ screen for Peterborough Cathedral. That work was removed in 1883 when the cathedral’s central tower was in danger of collapse. Some of the stalls were later bought by a parishioner for St Dominic’s Church in Newcastle upon Tyne and remain there.

Westminster Abbey work happened in two phases, again guided by Blore. In 1832–33, a new organ case was built at a cost of £827, replacing Schrider’s case, but early complaints about sound were noted. The organ case was removed in 1847. In May 1845, a contract for 52 new choir stalls and related work on the Abbey’s choir was signed, and the project was completed in 1848 at a total cost of £5,909 13s 11d. The choir stalls remain in place today.

In 1858, Ruddle & Thompson were the general contractors for the restoration of Hereford Cathedral under George Gilbert Scott. In 1863, Ruddle made a new pulpit for Lincoln Cathedral for £500, following Scott’s designs; the pulpit is still in use in St Hugh’s Choir.

Other works by Ruddle include Thorpe Hall (Peterborough), Thicket Priory, Ripon Cathedral, the Queen’s private chapel at Windsor Castle, All Saints’ Church in Oakham, the chapel at Balliol College, Oxford, and the former British Embassy in Constantinople (Istanbul).