Ripon, North Yorkshire

Askrigg
Aysgarth Falls
Bempton Cliffs
Beverley
Bingley
Bradford
Bridlington
Burnsall
Burton Agnes Hall
Castle Bolton
Castle Howard
Clapham
Flamborough Head
Fountains Abbey
Goathland
Grassington
Hardraw Force
Halifax
Harrogate
Hawes
Haworth
Hebden Bridge
Helmsley
Heptonstall
Holmfirth
Howden
Hubberholme
Humber Bridge
Hutton-le-Hole
Kettlewell
Kilburn
Kilnsey Crag
Knaresborough
Lastingham
Malham
Muker
North Yorks Railway
Pickering
Reeth
Richmond
Rievaulx Abbey
Ripley
Ripon
Robin Hood's Bay
Runswick Bay
Saltaire
Scarborough
Semer Water
Settle
Sewerby Hall
Skipton
Staithes
Tan Hill
Thirsk
Whitby
York

Ripon is changing with the times - but at a pace which suits its steady lifestyle. In 1999 the city was awarded a total of £1.3million in lottery funds to improve the Market Square and the Wakeman's house, restore Thorpe Prebend House as a Pilgrim Interpretation and Education Centre and improve the River Skell which flows through the city.

The most prominent feature of Ripon is the Cathedral, which actually stopped being a cathedral 1150 years until it resumed its function in 1836. The Norman Cathedral building was begun in the 12th century but even this was built on the site of and earlier Anglo-Saxon church dedicated to Saint Wilfrid in 661 AD - the crypt of which still survives beneath the central tower of today's Cathedral. This Anglo-Saxon crypt is of special interest since it is the last surviving remnant of a church that was only the 8th stone building produced by the Anglo-Saxon world.

There has been talk of making Ripon a centre of excellence in culture and sport, a dream which has already come to fruition for Ripon Grammar School - once the stamping ground of fashion designer Bruce Oldfield and Yorkshire cricketer Peter Squires - which enjoyed a flurry of national attention when it was highlighted as one of the finest schools in the country with a "sky-high reputation for academic excellence". But while the city moves forward, the traditionalists still enjoy a backward glance at some of the rites and rituals which continue to give Ripon its underlying character.

Few people know, for example, that an official city hornblower sounds the "Setting of the Watch" every evening at 9pm to assure everyone they are safe for the night - a ritual maintained without fail for more than 1,000 years. Or that every Thursday morning, at 11am, a bell is rung in the Corn Market in accordance with an ancient statute, signifying the start of corn trading. Anyone selling corn before the bell had been rung risked being thrown into jail.

Ripon is also one of the few places in the country where you can stand with original seventh century architecture on all sides - at St Wilfred's Needle in the Cathedral crypt. A more gruesome aspect of ecclesiastical life is linked to capital punishment - there used to be two sets of gallows in Ripon - one ecclesiastical and one civic - and in 1569 300 people were executed in one year alone. A housing estate has since been built on Gallows Hill, though whether the ghosts of the past still haunt its streets is a secret no-one is willing to share..... Everyone, however, shares in the atmosphere and excitement of race days at Ripon. Horse racing has been part of city life since 1664 and today it's one of the most popular venues in Yorkshire for those who enjoy a flutter or simply love to soak up the carnival atmosphere of a day at the track.

Home | Video Clips | Feedback | Map | Video | Goodies | Links