Ridley College was conceived in 1888 by a group of Anglican clergy and laymen eager to establish a school for boys in Ontario that emphasized strong academic and religious values. The school was originally known as Bishop Ridley College, in tribute to Nicholas Ridley, a 16th century English churchman who was martyred during the Protestant Reformation for refusing to renounce his Anglican faith.

Operation commenced in the fall of 1889 with 48 boarders on the school roll; annual fees were $267. The first facility was the stately and spacious Springbank Sanatorium; shortly thereafter, construction was begun across the old Welland Canal on a lower school for boys age 5 to 13 (the first boarding facility of its kind in Canada) on the present-day campus site. St.Catharines' readily accessible, both by rail and by lake steamer, plus its reasonable proximity to Toronto, Hamilton, and several American border cities, rendered it ideal from all points of view.

The name “Springbank” stems from the name of the hotel constructed in 1864 by Dr. Theophilus Mack on Yates Street. It was built to exploit the curative powers of the mineral waters found under the area. Springbank and two other spa hotels flourished particularly in the 1860s and 1870s attracting a wide variety of international patrons. By the late 1870s, however, the attraction of the St. Catharines spas was waning. The Springbank Hotel and Bathing Establishment closed its doors in the mid 1880s. Fortuitously, the directors of what would become Ridley College were looking to found a new boys’ school. The sale of the building was completed in 1888 and Ridley began operations in September 1889. In October 1903, the Springbank building complex was consumed by fire forcing the school to move across the canal to its modern western campus.

Back on Yates Street, the extensive Ridley property was purchased by Newman Brothers of St. Catharines for a housing development on College Street. The old school site specifically was purchased by Mr. Albert W. Taylor, a local business man, who built a beautiful home there in 1909. Naturally enough, he called it “Springbank”. A.W. Taylor was, in fact, with the first group of students to graduate in 1890. This initiated a strong connection with the school which lasted until his death in 1962. The home changed hands a number of times subsequently but continues today as a flourishing Bed & Breakfast establishment. The house itself celebrates its centenary in 2009. In Queen Anne Revival style, it features both stucco and stone walls, a wide verandah and cut stone window sills. The Cadet Corps does a traditional “eyes left” to the home on its annual Church Parade in honour of its Yates Street roots.

The Reverend Dr. John Ormsby Miller, a highly-regarded scholar and administrator, assumed duties as the first headmaster, and over his 30-year tenure established a strong foundation for the school.

Disaster struck in 1903 when Springbank burned to the ground, though fortunately with no injury to students or faculty. After some difficult months a new building, School House, was constructed on the main campus, thus uniting the Lower and Upper schools. In 1921, Dr. Harry Griffith, an Old Ridleian from the first class in 1889 and a noted football coach (his University of Toronto varsity team won the first Grey Cup), took the helm as headmaster. Dr. Griffith impressed upon his charges the importance of honour and sportsmanship, and served with distinction until his retirement in 1949. During his tenure, in 1924, Ridley's shareholders relinquished or redeemed their stock certificates, and the school became a non-profit corporation.

The Ridley campus grew dramatically during the 1920's, and new buildings and facilities were added in each of the following decades. The Memorial Chapel and Great Hall were built to commemorate Ridley's war dead: 61 Old Ridleians were killed in the First World War, and 81 were killed in the Second World War. Many of the stained glass windows in the chapel are dedicated to the memory of those who perished in both world wars.

Subsequent headmasters Dr. J.R. Hamilton (1949-61), Mr. Ted Pilgrim (1962-71), Mr. Richard Bradley (1971-81), Dr. Jeremy Packard (1981- 89), Mr. Douglas Campbell (1989-93) and Mr. Rupert Lane (1995-2004) continued in the tradition of bold leadership established by Drs. Miller and Hamilton, and expanded the school's record as a university preparatory school with an outstanding national and international reputation. The school became co-educational in 1973; just over a dozen girls enrolled in the inaugural year, while today almost half of Ridley's students are girls.

Ridley has changed and adapted both out of desire and necessity over the years, yet the dedication of the teaching staff and the enthusiasm of the student body have remained constant.