There has been a stone church on the site since 672 when Saint Wilfrid replaced the previous timber church of the monastery at Ripon (a daughter house of Aiden's monastery at Melrose) with one in the Roman style. This is one of the earliest stone buildings erected in the Anglo-SaxonKingdom of Northumbria. The crypt dates from this period.
People have been coming to worship and pray at Ripon for more than 1,350 years. The Cathedral building itself is part of this continuing act of worship, begun in the 7th century when Saint Wilfrid built one of England's first stone churches on this site, and still renewed every day. Within the nave and choir, you can see the evidence of 800 years in which master craftsmen have expressed their faith in wood and stone.
The city was originally known as Inhrypum and was founded by Saint Wilfrid during the time of the Anglian kingdom of Northumbria, a period during which it enjoyed prominence in terms of 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 century, but would later remain largely unaffected by the Industrial Revolution.
Ripon was first represented in the Model Parliament of 1295, and also returned members in 1307 and 1337, but it was not permanently represented until 1553, after which it returned two Members of Parliament. It was a parliamentary borough consisting only of the town of Ripon itself until the Great Reform Act of 1832; the right to vote was vested in the holders of the burgage tenements, but voting was rare for the last contested election in Ripon before the Reform Act had been in 1715! By 1832 it was estimated that there were 43 men qualified to vote, though the population of the borough was over 5,000.
A population of this size made Ripon one of the more substantial boroughs, and after the Reform Act it kept its right to return two members, though the boundaries of the borough were slightly extended to bring in another 600 people living in the neighbouring parish of Aismunderby-cum-Bondgate. However, the next Reform Act, which came into force at the 1868 election, reduced Ripon's representation from two MPs to one.
Situated three miles south of the historical cathedral city of Ripon, this UNESCO World Heritage Site is home to one of the largest and best-preserved ruined Cistercian monasteries in the country ...Grade II listed cottage, Ripon – £107.
CarolineBaldwin, head of the flower guild at RiponCathedral, North Yorkshire, adds the final touches to a display for Sunday’s Harvest thanksgiving service, where the dean is expected to discuss this year’s poor crop yield ...LIZ HATTON FOR THE TIMES.
She's trying to save trees being axed at RiponCathedral to make way for a development. Dame Judi Dench is a patron for the Woodland Trust and is trying to save the trees at Ripon Cathedral from being cut down.
FABRIZIO VILLA/GETTY IMAGES ...BEN JONES FOR THE TIMES ... IAN GEORGESON ... RiponCathedralChoir received standing ovations for their singing during their visit to Bavaria, where they performed at several churches in the region including Waldsassen Basilica ... .
I spotted this paddleboarder on the canal in Ripon... Harpist Lucinda Taylor plays music by Hasselmans, Pescetti and Pam Wedgwood as part of Ripon Cathedral’s regular free Thursday lunchtime concerts.
