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Ripon () is a cathedral city in the Borough of Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England. The city is located at the confluence of two tributaries of the River Ure, the
Laver Laver may refer to: * Laver (surname), a list of people with the name * Laver (ghost town), Sweden * Green laver, a type of edible green seaweed used to make laverbread * River Laver, a river in North Yorkshire, England * Lavatorium, a washing fa ...
and
Skell SkELL (abbreviation of ''Sketch Engine for Language Learning'') is a free corpus-based web tool that allows language learners and teachers find authentic sentences for specific target word(s). For any word or a phrase, SkELL displays a concorda ...
.
Historically History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...
part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, the city is noted for its main feature, Ripon Cathedral, which is architecturally significant, as well as the
Ripon Racecourse Ripon Racecourse is a thoroughbred horse racing venue located in Ripon, North Yorkshire, England and is nicknamed the Garden Racecourse. History Racing on the present site on Boroughbridge Road began on 6 August 1900. but racing has taken plac ...
and other features such as its market. The city was originally known as ''Inhrypum''. Bede records that Alhfrith, king of the Southern Northumbrian kingdom of Deira, gave land at Ripon to
Eata of Hexham Eata (died 26 October 686), also known as Eata of Lindisfarne, was Bishop of Hexham from 678 until 681,Fryde, et al. ''Handbook of British Chronology'' p. 217 and of then Bishop of Lindisfarne from before 681 until 685.Fryde, et al. ''Handbook of ...
to build a monastery and the abbot transferred some of his monks there, including a young Saint
Cuthbert Cuthbert of Lindisfarne ( – 20 March 687) was an Anglo-Saxon saint of the early Northumbrian church in the Celtic tradition. He was a monk, bishop and hermit, associated with the monasteries of Melrose and Lindisfarne in the Kingdom of Nor ...
who was guest-master at Ripon abbey. Both Bede in his Life of Cuthbert and Eddius Stephanus in his Life of Wilfred state that when Eata was subsequently driven out by Alhfrith, the abbey was given to Saint Wilfrid who replaced the timber church with a stone built church. This was during the time of the Anglian kingdom of Northumbria, a period during which it enjoyed prominence in religious importance in Great Britain. It was for a period under Viking control, and later suffered under the Normans. After a brief period of building projects under the Plantagenets, the city emerged with a prominent wool and cloth industry. Ripon became well known for its production of spurs during the 16th and 17th centuries, but would later remain largely unaffected by the Industrial Revolution. Ripon is the third-smallest city in England and the smallest in Yorkshire, by population. According to the
2011 United Kingdom Census A census of the population of the United Kingdom is taken every ten years. The 2011 census was held in all countries of the UK on 27 March 2011. It was the first UK census which could be completed online via the Internet. The Office for National ...
it had a population of 16,702, an increase on the
2001 United Kingdom Census A nationwide census, known as Census 2001, was conducted in the United Kingdom on Sunday, 29 April 2001. This was the 20th UK census and recorded a resident population of 58,789,194. The 2001 UK census was organised by the Office for National ...
figure of 15,922. It is located south-west of Thirsk, south of Northallerton and north of Harrogate. As well as its racecourse and cathedral, Ripon is a tourist destination because of its proximity to the UNESCO World Heritage Site which consists of the
Studley Royal Park Studley Royal Park including the ruins of Fountains Abbey is a designated World Heritage Site in North Yorkshire, England. The site, which has an area of features an 18th-century landscaped garden, some of the largest Cistercian ruins in Europe ...
and Fountains Abbey.


History


Northumbrian and Viking period

During its pre-history the area which later became Ripon was under the control of the
Brigantes The Brigantes were Ancient Britons who in pre-Roman times controlled the largest section of what would become Northern England. Their territory, often referred to as Brigantia, was centred in what was later known as Yorkshire. The Greek geogr ...
, a
Brythonic Brittonic or Brythonic may refer to: *Common Brittonic, or Brythonic, the Celtic language anciently spoken in Great Britain *Brittonic languages, a branch of the Celtic languages descended from Common Brittonic *Britons (Celtic people) The Br ...
tribe. Three miles (5 km) north at Hutton Moor there is a large circular earthwork created by them. The Romans did not settle Ripon, but they had a military outpost around five miles (8 km) away at
North Stainley North Stainley is a village in the Harrogate district of North Yorkshire, England north of Ripon. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is the closest settlement to the theme park Lightwater Valley which is to the south. Histo ...
. Solid evidence for the origins of Ripon can be traced back to the 7th century, the time of the Anglian kingdom of Northumbria. The first structure built in the area, known at the time as ''Inhrypum'', was a
Christian church In ecclesiology, the Christian Church is what different Christian denominations conceive of as being the true body of Christians or the original institution established by Jesus. "Christian Church" has also been used in academia as a synonym fo ...
dedicated to
St Peter ) (Simeon, Simon) , birth_date = , birth_place = Bethsaida, Gaulanitis, Syria, Roman Empire , death_date = Between AD 64–68 , death_place = probably Vatican Hill, Rome, Italia, Roman Empire , parents = John (or Jonah; Jona) , occupation ...
, with the settlement originating in the year 658. This was founded by a Northumbrian nobleman known as Wilfrid, who later became Archbishop of York; he was granted the land by King Alhfrith. The earliest settlers were stonemasons, glaziers and plasterers that Wilfrid brought over to help construct the Ripon monastery, from Lyon in Francia and Rome which was then under Byzantine rule. The years following the death of Wilfrid are obscure in Ripon's history. After the invasion of the Great Heathen Army of Norse Vikings in Northumbria, the Danelaw was established and the
Kingdom of Jórvík Scandinavian York ( non, Jórvík) Viking Yorkshire or Norwegian York is a term used by historians for the south of Northumbria (modern-day Yorkshire) during the period of the late 9th century and first half of the 10th century, when it was do ...
was founded in the Yorkshire area. In 937 Athelstan, then
King of England The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the constitutional form of government by which a hereditary sovereign reigns as the head of state of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies (the Bailiw ...
, granted the privilege of sanctuary to Ripon, for a mile around the church. One of his successors was less well-disposed: after the Northumbrians rebelled against English rule in 948, King
Edred Eadred (c. 923 – 23 November 955) was King of the English from 26 May 946 until his death. He was the younger son of Edward the Elder and his third wife Eadgifu, and a grandson of Alfred the Great. His elder brother, Edmund, was killed tryi ...
had the buildings at Ripon burned. Prosperity was restored by the end of the 10th century, as the body of Saint
Cuthbert Cuthbert of Lindisfarne ( – 20 March 687) was an Anglo-Saxon saint of the early Northumbrian church in the Celtic tradition. He was a monk, bishop and hermit, associated with the monasteries of Melrose and Lindisfarne in the Kingdom of Nor ...
was moved to Ripon for a while, due to the threat of
Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish ance ...
raids.


Normans and the Middle Ages

After the Norman conquest, much of the north rebelled in 1069, even trying to bring back Danish rule; the suppression that followed was the
Harrying of the North The Harrying of the North was a series of campaigns waged by William the Conqueror in the winter of 1069–1070 to subjugate northern England, where the presence of the last House of Wessex, Wessex claimant, Edgar Ætheling, had encouraged An ...
, which resulted in the death of approximately one-third of the population of the
North of England Northern England, also known as the North of England, the North Country, or simply the North, is the northern area of England. It broadly corresponds to the former borders of Angle Northumbria, the Anglo-Scandinavian Kingdom of Jorvik, and the ...
. Ripon is thought to have shrunk to a small community around the church following the suppression. The lands of the church were transferred to St Peter's Church at York as the
Liberty of Ripon The Liberty of Ripon or Riponshire was a liberty possessing separate county jurisdiction, although situated within the county of Yorkshire, England. The liberty was under the jurisdiction of the Archbishop of York, a privilege claimed to have ...
and it was during this time that a grand Collegiate Church was built on top of the ruins of Wilfrid's building. Eventually developed in the
Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...
style, the project owed much to the work of
Roger de Pont L'Evêque Roger is a given name, usually masculine, and a surname. The given name is derived from the Old French personal names ' and '. These names are of Germanic origin, derived from the elements ', ''χrōþi'' ("fame", "renown", "honour") and ', ' ...
and Walter de Gray, two Archbishops of York during the Plantagenet era. During the 12th century Ripon built up a booming wool trade, attracting Italian trade merchants, especially Florentines, who bought and exported large quantities. Ripon's proximity to Fountains Abbey, where the
Cistercian The Cistercians, () officially the Order of Cistercians ( la, (Sacer) Ordo Cisterciensis, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint ...
s had a long tradition of sheep farming and owned much grazing land, was a considerable advantage. After English people were forbidden from wearing foreign cloth in 1326, Ripon developed a cloth industry which was third in size in Yorkshire after York and Halifax. Due to conflict with Scotland, political emphasis was on the North during the time of
Edward I Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he ruled the duchies of Aquitaine and Gascony as a vassal o ...
and
Edward II Edward II (25 April 1284 – 21 September 1327), also called Edward of Caernarfon, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1307 until he was deposed in January 1327. The fourth son of Edward I, Edward became the heir apparent to t ...
, as Scottish invaders attacked numerous northern English towns. Ripon had a wakeman to make sure the residents were safely home by curfew and law and order was maintained, yet it was forced to pay 1,000  marks to the Scots to prevent them from burning down the town on one occasion.


Reformation and Tudor times

Ripon, which relied heavily on its religious institutions, was badly affected by the
English Reformation The English Reformation took place in 16th-century England when the Church of England broke away from the authority of the pope and the Catholic Church. These events were part of the wider European Protestant Reformation, a religious and poli ...
under the Tudor king
Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...
. The Abbot of Fountains, William Thirske, was expelled by Henry and replaced; Thirske went on to become one of the leaders of the Pilgrimage of Grace popular rising. The people of Northern England were quite traditional in their beliefs and were unhappy about Henry's intention to break with Rome; the Pilgrimage of Grace was the manifestation of this sentiment. The revolt failed and Henry followed through with the break from Rome and the Dissolution of the Monasteries, which included Fountains Abbey. After Mary, Queen of Scots, fled Scotland to Northern England she stayed at Ripon on her journey. The mainly Catholic North supported her, and there was another popular rising known as the Rising of the North; this began six miles (10 km) away at Topcliffe and was led by Thomas Percy, the 7th Earl of Northumberland and Charles Neville, the 6th Earl of Westmorland. The rebels stayed at Ripon on 18 November 1569, but the rising eventually failed resulting in 600 people being executed, 300 of whom were hanged at Gallows Hill in Ripon during January 1570. Plans were drawn up to make Ripon a centre of education, a ''University of the North'', to rival Oxford and Cambridge. Although chief advisers Lord Burghley and Archbishop Sandys supported the idea, Elizabeth I did not follow it through. The scheme was revived in 1604 by Sandys' widow Cicely, under the patronage of Anne of Denmark and Bess of Hardwick without success.


Civil War and Restoration

Ripon replaced its old textiles industry with one for the manufacture of spurs during the 16th century. They were so widely known that they gave rise to the proverb "as true steel as Ripon Rowels". At the time, spurs did not just serve as functional riding accessories, they were also fashionable; an expensive pair was made for King James I when he stayed at Ripon in 1617. It was James who granted Ripon a Royal Charter in 1604 and created the first Mayor of Ripon. After the
Bishops' Wars The 1639 and 1640 Bishops' Wars () were the first of the conflicts known collectively as the 1639 to 1653 Wars of the Three Kingdoms, which took place in Scotland, England and Ireland. Others include the Irish Confederate Wars, the First and ...
in Scotland, a treaty was signed at Ripon in 1640 to stop the conflict between Charles I and the Scottish
Covenanter Covenanters ( gd, Cùmhnantaich) were members of a 17th-century Scottish religious and political movement, who supported a Presbyterian Church of Scotland, and the primacy of its leaders in religious affairs. The name is derived from ''Covenan ...
s. Although Ripon was not in the main line of fighting which was to the east, it remained loyal and royalist during the English Civil War. There was an incident in 1643, when parliamentarian forces under
Thomas Mauleverer Sir Thomas Mauleverer, 1st Baronet (9 April 1599 – c. June 1655) was an English politician and prominent Roundhead during the English Civil War. Sir Thomas Mauleverer was born into a family with large estates in Yorkshire. His father, Sir Richar ...
entered Ripon and damaged the Minster, but John Mallory and the royalist forces soon settled the matter after a skirmish in the Market Place. The royalists were eventually defeated in the Civil War and Charles I spent two nights as a prisoner in Ripon. Oliver Cromwell visited the city twice on his way to battle, once on the way to the
Preston Preston is a place name, surname and given name that may refer to: Places England *Preston, Lancashire, an urban settlement **The City of Preston, Lancashire, a borough and non-metropolitan district which contains the settlement **County Boro ...
and also on the way to the Battle of Worcester. By the time of the English Restoration, several strains of non-conformist Christian practices had appeared, although they were not common in Ripon, the majority of people being Anglicans with a Catholic minority. After the Revolution of 1688 which overthrew
James II James II may refer to: * James II of Avesnes (died c. 1205), knight of the Fourth Crusade * James II of Majorca (died 1311), Lord of Montpellier * James II of Aragon (1267–1327), King of Sicily * James II, Count of La Marche (1370–1438), King C ...
, there were Jacobite risings in the British Isles; some Riponmen were jailed in February 1746 upon "suspicion of corresponding with Prince
Charles Edward Stuart Charles Edward Louis John Sylvester Maria Casimir Stuart (20 December 1720 – 30 January 1788) was the elder son of James Francis Edward Stuart, grandson of James II and VII, and the Stuart claimant to the thrones of England, Scotland and ...
". The founder of Methodism,
John Wesley John Wesley (; 2 March 1791) was an English people, English cleric, Christian theology, theologian, and Evangelism, evangelist who was a leader of a Christian revival, revival movement within the Church of England known as Methodism. The soci ...
, preached in Ripon and a small community of followers was established. During the
Georgian era The Georgian era was a period in British history from 1714 to , named after the Hanoverian Kings George I, George II, George III and George IV. The definition of the Georgian era is often extended to include the relatively short reign of Willi ...
Ripon, unlike several other cities, was not significantly affected by the Industrial Revolution despite the existence of various guilds. Although more widely known for his activities outside of Ripon, John Aislabie, during his time as Member of Parliament for Ripon, created the
Studley Royal Park Studley Royal Park including the ruins of Fountains Abbey is a designated World Heritage Site in North Yorkshire, England. The site, which has an area of features an 18th-century landscaped garden, some of the largest Cistercian ruins in Europe ...
with its water garden and erected the
Ripon Obelisk The Ripon Obelisk is an obelisk monument in the centre of the Yorkshire settlement of Ripon in Northern England. It was designed by Nicholas Hawksmoor and constructed in 1702 with the support of John Aislabie, Ripon's Member of Parliament (United ...
(designed by Nicholas Hawksmoor).
Newby Hall Newby Hall is a country house beside the River Ure in the parish of Skelton-on-Ure in North Yorkshire, England. It is 3 miles south-east of Ripon and 6 miles south of Topcliffe Castle, by which the manor of Newby was originally held. A Grade ...
was also created during this period by
Christopher Wren Sir Christopher Wren PRS FRS (; – ) was one of the most highly acclaimed English architects in history, as well as an anatomist, astronomer, geometer, and mathematician-physicist. He was accorded responsibility for rebuilding 52 churches ...
.


Modern Ripon

Communications were improved with the opening of
Ripon railway station Ripon railway station was a railway station that served Ripon, North Yorkshire, England on the Leeds-Northallerton Line that ran between Harrogate and Northallerton. History Opened by the Leeds and Thirsk Railway on 1 June 1848. The foundatio ...
in May 1848. During the First World War a large military training camp was built in Ripon, the local community offering hospitality not only to soldiers' wives but to the Flemish refugees who became part of Ripon's community. The racecourse south-east of the city also served as an airfield ( RFC Ripon) for the
Royal Flying Corps "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colors = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , decorations ...
(and latterly, the Royal Air Force). The racecourse was also used as a demobilisation centre for troops returning from France well into 1919. The town had a similar though smaller role during the Second World War and, in recognition of this, the
Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is heade ...
were presented with the
Freedom of the City The Freedom of the City (or Borough in some parts of the UK) is an honour bestowed by a municipality upon a valued member of the community, or upon a visiting celebrity or dignitary. Arising from the medieval practice of granting respected ...
in 1947. Since the War, Ripon has gone through some remodelling and has grown in size; it attracts thousands of tourists each year who come to see its famous buildings with their long Christian heritage, nearby Studley Park,
Ripon Racecourse Ripon Racecourse is a thoroughbred horse racing venue located in Ripon, North Yorkshire, England and is nicknamed the Garden Racecourse. History Racing on the present site on Boroughbridge Road began on 6 August 1900. but racing has taken plac ...
, and in recent times the theme park
Lightwater Valley Lightwater Valley Family Adventure Park is a theme park in North Stainley, North Yorkshire, England. The park was once home to Europe's longest roller coaster, The Ultimate (roller coaster), The Ultimate. Lightwater Valley was founded by Robert ...
. File:T and R Williamson Ltd - Varnish and Enamel Works - geograph.org.uk - 1246120.jpg, The T & R Williamson Ltd Varnish and Enamel Works File:The Arcade, Ripon - geograph.org.uk - 724791.jpg, The Arcade shopping centre File:Flats on Allhallowgate, Ripon (geograph 6039756).jpg, Apartment building on Allhallowgate


City status

Ripon was the first Church of England diocese to be created after the English Reformation, as it was recognised that existing dioceses were unsuited for the large increases in population caused particularly by the Industrial Revolution of the 18th century in central England. It was deemed that new cathedral building on a national scale was not viable and so Ripon, containing a high status parish church, was created from the existing
Chester Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...
and York dioceses in 1836, with the building promoted to cathedral status. Ripon council presumed this had elevated the town to the rank of city, and started referring to itself as such. The next diocese Manchester was promoted similarly, but doubts as to its use of the title were raised. With the subsequent clearer understanding of needing to petition the monarch, Manchester did so and obtained the status in 1853. Ripon was encouraged to follow suit, with its own status being recognised by the parliamentary City of Ripon Act in 1865. In 1974 Ripon borough (see Governance) was abolished and a parish council established as part of wider local government reform. The award of city status is typically granted to a local authority, whose administrative area is then considered to be the formal borders of the city, the grant in this case being removed at the same time and bestowed onto the parish. By this definition, the whole parish council area of Ripon, including its settlement and surrounding rural area containing a tiny portion of the
Nidderdale AONB The Nidderdale AONB is an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in North Yorkshire, England, bordering the Yorkshire Dales National Park to the east and south. It comprises most of Nidderdale itself, part of lower Wharfedale, the Washburn valley an ...
to the north west, is considered to be the limits of the city. It contains the third lowest population of all the cities in England, however it falls to seventh place when taking the whole of the UK into consideration. Using 2011 ONS census statistics, Ripon has the third smallest city council area but the fourth lowest urban area of any city in England.


Governance

Ripon became a municipal borough of the West Riding of Yorkshire with its headquarters at
Ripon Town Hall Ripon Town Hall is a municipal building in the Market Place, Ripon, North Yorkshire, England. The structure, which was the headquarters of Ripon Borough Council, is a Grade II* listed building. History The building was commissioned, as a place ...
in 1835, and remained an independent borough until 1974. That year, following the
Local Government Act 1972 The Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974. It was one of the most significant Acts of Parliament to be passed by the Heath Gov ...
, the former area of Ripon borough was merged with Harrogate borough and several
rural district Rural districts were a type of local government area – now superseded – established at the end of the 19th century in England, Wales, and Ireland for the administration of predominantly rural areas at a level lower than that of the Ad ...
s of the West Riding to form an enlarged Harrogate borough in the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire. The lowest tier of governance in Ripon is the Ripon City Council, a parish council with twelve members, three for each of four wards. In 2019, four councillors are Conservative, and the rest are independent. Ripon was represented by the Member of Parliament for Yorkshire until it had its own
parliamentary borough A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle Ag ...
established on a permanent basis in 1553. Ripon was able to elect two MPs to represent its parliamentary borough; the right of election was vested not in the population as a whole, but in the burgesses (originally meaning freemen of the borough or freeholders) until the Great Reform Act of 1832. The next Reform Act which came into force at the 1868 election, reduced Ripon's representation from two MPs to one. Some of the more notable MPs of Ripon were John Aislabie,
Frederick John Robinson Frederick John Robinson, 1st Earl of Ripon, (1 November 1782 – 28 January 1859), styled The Honourable F. J. Robinson until 1827 and known between 1827 and 1833 as The Viscount Goderich (pronounced ), the name by which he is best known to ...
and George Cockburn. The Reform Act of 1885 abolished the borough of Ripon, but the county constituency in which the town was placed as a result was named Ripon, and this continued as a single member constituency, albeit with some boundary changes, until it was abolished before the
1983 general election The following elections occurred in the year 1983. Africa * 1983 Cameroonian parliamentary election * 1983 Equatorial Guinean legislative election * 1983 Kenyan general election * 1983 Malagasy parliamentary election * 1983 Malawian general e ...
. Since 1983, Ripon has been part of the
Skipton and Ripon Skipton and Ripon is a constituency in North Yorkshire represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2010 by Julian Smith, a Conservative. Constituency profile The constituency covers a mainly rural area of the Yorkshire Da ...
constituency, a
Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...
stronghold.


Geography


Topography

Ripon lies at the confluence of two rivers; the
Laver Laver may refer to: * Laver (surname), a list of people with the name * Laver (ghost town), Sweden * Green laver, a type of edible green seaweed used to make laverbread * River Laver, a river in North Yorkshire, England * Lavatorium, a washing fa ...
and the
Skell SkELL (abbreviation of ''Sketch Engine for Language Learning'') is a free corpus-based web tool that allows language learners and teachers find authentic sentences for specific target word(s). For any word or a phrase, SkELL displays a concorda ...
, which meet in the west of the city. As they flow through the city, the Skell feeds water into the basin of
Ripon Canal The Ripon Canal is located in North Yorkshire, England. It was built by the canal engineer William Jessop to link the city of Ripon with the navigable section of the River Ure at Oxclose Lock, from where boats could reach York and Hull. It open ...
. East of the city, the Skell meets the River Ure, and both the Ure and canal head south-eastwards towards Boroughbridge. The Ure was the traditional boundary between the old West and North Ridings of Yorkshire. As the city is at the meeting point of three rivers, it has flooded often in the 20th and 21st century; notable floods have occurred in 1982, 1991, 1995, 2000, 2005 and 2007. This prompted spending over £14 million on the building of flood defences for the city and a storage area upstream of the city which can hold of water. Much of the geology of the district is magnesian limestone, part of the Permian rocks which extend southwards from
Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. The River Skerne flows through the town; it is a tributary of the River Tees. The Tees itself flows south of the town. In the 19th century, Darlington underwen ...
to Wetherby. The area has pockets of gypsum underlying the surface soils. Water has dissolved the gypsum leaving the area prone to sinkholes, especially north of the city and on the northern side of the Ure.


Climate


Landmarks and architecture


Education

Ripon is home to Ripon Grammar School which is a selective intake, state secondary school. The school claims to take roots from the school which was attached to the Collegiate Church, founded during the time of the Angle kingdom of Northumbria by Saint Wilfrid. The refoundation date for the school was during the reign of Queen Mary I in 1555. The school has several notable alumni, known as Old Riponians, including theologian Bishop
Beilby Porteus Beilby Porteus (or Porteous; 8 May 1731 – 13 May 1809), successively Bishop of Chester and of London, was a Church of England reformer and a leading abolitionist in England. He was the first Anglican in a position of authority to seriously c ...
, historian Bishop William Stubbs, fashion designer Bruce Oldfield and television presenter
Richard Hammond Richard Mark Hammond (born 19 December 1969) is an English journalist, television presenter, mechanic, and writer. He is best known for co-hosting the BBC Two motoring programme ''Top Gear'' from 2002 until 2015 with Jeremy Clarkson and Jame ...
. In the modern day the school hosts around 800 pupils, gaining engineering status in 2006, it receives favourable reports from the
Ofsted The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) is a Non-ministerial government department, non-ministerial department of Government of the United Kingdom, His Majesty's government, reporting to Parliament of the U ...
, being either ''good'' or ''outstanding''. Opposite Ripon Grammar on Clotherholme Road is the non-selective
Outwood Academy Ripon Outwood Academy Ripon is a small mixed secondary school with academy status situated in the city of Ripon, in North Yorkshire, England. It provides for children ages 11 to 18, and had an enrolment of 656 pupils in 2018. The school is operate ...
(formerly Ripon College, a secondary
comprehensive school A comprehensive school typically describes a secondary school for pupils aged approximately 11–18, that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement or aptitude, in contrast to a selective school system where admission is res ...
), which was also known as Ripon City School until 1999. It has around 630 pupils and is exceeding the national average of GCSE and A-Level results. On the site of the Old Ripon Racecourse in Whitcliffe Lane was St Olave's Preparatory School. This site was taken over by an independent co-ed preparatory school founded in 1960 called the Cathedral Choir School. The choir school closed in 2012 and the site has now had approval for the building of new residential dwellings. Ripon previously had higher education facilities in the form of the College of Ripon and York St John until 2001. This college had its roots in two
Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...
teacher training colleges, which were founded in York in 1841 for men and 1846 for women. The women's college moved to Ripon in 1862. Over the next century, the colleges gradually diversified their education programmes. The colleges merged in 1974 to form the College of Ripon and York St John. The combined institution became a college of the University of Leeds in 1990. Between 1999 and 2001, all activities were transferred to York and the college received the name York St John University. One of York St John's buildings on its Lord Mayor's Walk campus was renamed 'Ripon' in June 2018 to commemorate Ripon Training College's "contribution to women’s education" over 123 years of service. Evolve, a small, inclusive post-16 college is based in the centre of Ripon, which works alongside
Craven College Craven College is a further education college based in Skipton, North Yorkshire, England. Craven offers a variety of further and higher education courses, including bachelor degrees. Craven College started life in the early 1800s as the Skipton ...
, which is based in Skipton. On the outskirts of Ripon there is the specialist autism education school called Spring Hill. The school offers day and boarding places. Current pupil numbers are 22. These include 17 boys, 5 girls, and 6 boarders. Spring Hill is owned by Cambian group PLC which is a large UK provider of specialist provision for children and adults. Spring Hill was previously in the ownership of the charity Barnardos. The current headteacher is Samantha Campbell, the head of care is Rebecca Sharp, The deputy headteacher is Christine Sherman, the head of education is currently vacant and the transitions and admissions coordinator is currently vacant.


Religion

Christianity is the largest religious affiliation in Ripon; 79.3% of the people in the area polled as part of the United Kingdom Census 2001 professed the Christian faith. Ripon Cathedral is the main religious building in the city and contains a tomb said to contain the bones of Saint Wilfrid who founded a monastery here and with it the town. The '' Venerable'' William Gibson is another noted local figure, a Catholic martyr who was one of the eighty-five martyrs of England and Wales. The Church of England is in the majority, with two parishes: the ancient Ripon Cathedral and Holy Trinity Church. Ripon was the
episcopal see An episcopal see is, in a practical use of the phrase, the area of a bishop's ecclesiastical jurisdiction. Phrases concerning actions occurring within or outside an episcopal see are indicative of the geographical significance of the term, mak ...
of the
Diocese of Ripon and Leeds The Diocese of Ripon (Diocese of Ripon and Leeds from 1999 until 2014) was a former Church of England diocese, part of the Province of York. Immediately prior to its dissolution, it covered an area in western and northern Yorkshire as well as ...
represented by the
Bishop of Ripon and Leeds The Bishop of Ripon was a diocesan bishop's title which took its name after the city of Ripon in North Yorkshire, England. History Though one ancient Bishop of Ripon is known, the modern see of Ripon was established in 1836 from parts of th ...
, created in 1836 with just Ripon in its title but adapted to include Leeds in 2000. In 2014 it became part of the Diocese of Leeds, with Ripon Cathedral serving as one of its three cathedrals of equal status. During the time of the kingdom of Northumbria there was a short-lived Diocese of Ripon, with Eadhedus the only bishop. There is also a Medieval chapel located on Magdalens Road, which was once part of a leper hospital. The Chapel of St Mary Magdalen is still used for regular worship and is a
grade I listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
building. There is a Roman Catholic parish in Ripon called St Wilfrid's; it is covered by the Diocese of Leeds in the Harrogate
deanery A deanery (or decanate) is an ecclesiastical entity in the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Anglican Communion, the Evangelical Church in Germany, and the Church of Norway. A deanery is either the jurisdiction or residenc ...
and the church is an architecturally significant building. There are also around two places of worship for Methodism in Ripon.


Culture

Market day is held on a Thursday, and there are 120 stalls. In celebration of the city's founder the ''Wilfrid Procession'' is held every year; it originated in the year 1108 when King Henry I granted the privilege of holding a fair for him. At the procession there are various decorated floats which make their way through the city with locals in costume. Part of the tradition represents the return of Wilfrid to Ripon, a decorated dummy (sometimes a man in costume instead) dressed as Wilfrid is sat on a horse, accompanied by two musicians with another man carrying St Wilfrid's hat around. Ripon also has dancing traditions such as the Long Sword dance and Morris dance. The market square is the site of the
Ripon Obelisk The Ripon Obelisk is an obelisk monument in the centre of the Yorkshire settlement of Ripon in Northern England. It was designed by Nicholas Hawksmoor and constructed in 1702 with the support of John Aislabie, Ripon's Member of Parliament (United ...
, erected in 1702 by John Aislabie and was designed by Nicholas Hawksmoor. It stands in height and is capped with a weathervane bearing a representation of the wakeman's horn. It is
Grade I listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
and reputed to be the oldest in England. The tradition of the Ripon Hornblower has endured since the year 886 and continues on to this day. It originates with the wakeman of Ripon, whose job in the Middle Ages was similar to that of a mayor, although he had more responsibilities in the keeping of law and order. Every day at 9:00 pm the horn is blown at the four corners of the obelisk in Ripon Market. The horn has become the symbol of the city and represents Ripon on the Harrogate borough coat of arms. There are three museums in Ripon collectively known as the ''Yorkshire Law and Order Museums''; it includes the Courthouse, the Prison and Police and the Workhouse Museums. In terms of sport, the most noted field of participation is
horse racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic p ...
with the
Ripon Racecourse Ripon Racecourse is a thoroughbred horse racing venue located in Ripon, North Yorkshire, England and is nicknamed the Garden Racecourse. History Racing on the present site on Boroughbridge Road began on 6 August 1900. but racing has taken plac ...
. The sport has a long history in Ripon, with the first recorded meeting on Bondgate Green in 1664, while its current location has been used as a racetrack since 1900. Ripon staged Britain's first race for female riders in 1723. The city is also home to
Ripon Rugby Union Football Club Ripon Rugby Union Football Club is a rugby union club based in Ripon, Borough of Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England. The club was founded in 1886, just 1200 years after the city of Ripon itself. The club currently fields four adult teams alon ...
who were founded in 1886 and currently play in Yorkshire 2, the eighth tier of the English Rugby Union league.


Transport

The city was previously served by
Ripon railway station Ripon railway station was a railway station that served Ripon, North Yorkshire, England on the Leeds-Northallerton Line that ran between Harrogate and Northallerton. History Opened by the Leeds and Thirsk Railway on 1 June 1848. The foundatio ...
on the Leeds-Northallerton Line that ran between Leeds and Northallerton. It was once part of the North Eastern Railway and then
London & North Eastern Railway London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major se ...
. The Ripon to Harrogate Line was closed in the 1960s as part of the Beeching cuts. Today much of the route of the line through the city is now a relief road and although the former station still stands, it is now surrounded by a new housing development. The issue remains a significant one in local politics and there are movements wanting to restore the line. Reports suggest the reopening of a line between Ripon and Harrogate would be economically viable, costing £40 million and could initially attract 1,200 passengers a day, rising to 2,700. By road Ripon is well connected; it is accessible from the north and south via the
A1(M) motorway A1(M) is the designation given to a series of four separate controlled-access highway, motorway sections in England. Each section is an upgrade to a section of the A1 road (Great Britain), A1, a major north–south road which connects Greate ...
which connects to Ripon by the B6265. Ripon is accessible from the east and west via the A61 which is the main road running through the city. Harrogate Bus Company's route 36 links the city to Harrogate and Leeds, and there are also regular bus routes to Boroughbridge, York, Thirsk, Northallerton, Leyburn,
Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...
and others. The
Ripon Canal The Ripon Canal is located in North Yorkshire, England. It was built by the canal engineer William Jessop to link the city of Ripon with the navigable section of the River Ure at Oxclose Lock, from where boats could reach York and Hull. It open ...
was proposed by John Smeaton in 1766, to connect the city centre to part of the River Ure; it was used for the transportation of coal from the Durham coalfields into the city. Although abandoned in 1956, a conservationist campaign saw it partly reopened in 1988, and fully in 1996.


Town twinning

* Foix in France 1957.


Freedom of the City

The following people and military units have received the
Freedom of the City The Freedom of the City (or Borough in some parts of the UK) is an honour bestowed by a municipality upon a valued member of the community, or upon a visiting celebrity or dignitary. Arising from the medieval practice of granting respected ...
of Ripon.


Individuals

* His Majesty The King: 24 October 2002.


Military Units

* The
Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is heade ...
: 27 July 1949. * RAF Leeming: 14 September 2015.


See also

* Marquess of Ripon * Quarry Moor nature reserve *
Ripon Community Hospital Ripon Community Hospital is a health facility in Firby Lane, Ripon, North Yorkshire, England. It is managed by Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust. It is a Grade II listed building. History The hospital was established as the Ripon Disp ...
*
Sanctuary Way Walk The Sanctuary Way Walk is a circular walk around the city of Ripon in North Yorkshire. The walk traces a route around the city and has eight trail points at the places where waymarkers used to designate that travellers were within of the cathe ...
*
Ripon Spa Baths The Ripon Spa Baths are a grade II listed building in Ripon, North Yorkshire, England. It was built between 1904–05 as a spa but failed to compete with the larger facilities at nearby Harrogate. In 1936 a new pool was constructed to the ...


References


Bibliography

* * *


External links


Official Ripon City Partnership "Visit Ripon" site

Ripon Tourist Information and Business Directory

The Ripon Gazette

Review Ripon
{{Authority control Cities in Yorkshire and the Humber Market towns in North Yorkshire Towns in North Yorkshire Civil parishes in North Yorkshire Borough of Harrogate