RIPON a cathedral city and borough in the West Riding of Yorkshire, is situated at the confluence of the Ure with the Laver and the Skell, and on the Great Northern Railway, 22 miles north-west of York and 11 north of Harrogate. The Ure is crossed by a fine bridge of 9 arches. The streets are for the most part narrow and irregular, and, although most of the houses are comparatively modern, some of them still retain the picturesque gables characteristic of earlier times. In the spacious market-place there is a modern cross, erected in 1781. The cathedral, although not ranking among those of the first class, is celebrated for its fine proportions, and is of great interest from the various styles of architecture which it includes. Its entire length from east to west is 266 feet, the length of the transepts 130 feet, and the width of the nave and aisles 87 feet. Besides a large square central tower, there are two western towers. The cathedral was founded on the ruins of St Wilfrid’s abbey about 680 a.d. in the reign of Egfrid, but of this Saxon building nothing now remains except the crypt, called St Wilfrid’s Needle. The present building was begun by Archbishop Roger (1154-81), and to this Transition period belong the transepts and portions of the choir. The western front and towers, fine specimens of Early English, were probably the work of Archbishop Gray (1215-55), and about the close of the century the eastern portion of the choir was rebuilt in the Decorated style. The nave and portions of the central tower were rebuilt towards the close of the 15th century in the Perpendicular style. The whole building underwent renovation under the direction of Sir G. G. Scott from 1862 to 1876 at a cost of £40,000. There are a number of monuments of historical and antiquarian ...interest. The bishop’s palace, a modern building in the Tudor style, is situated in extensive grounds about a mile from the town. The principal secular buildings are the town-hall, the public rooms, and the mechanics’ institution. There are several old charities, including the hospital of St John the Baptist founded by the archbishop of York in 1109, the hospital of St Mary Magdalene for women founded by the archbishop of York in 1341, and the hospital of St Anne founded about the time of Edward IV. by an unknown benefactor. From an early period till the 16th century Ripon was celebrated for its manufactures of woollen cloth. After this industry declined the town became so well known for its spurs that “as true steel as Ripon rowels” became a current phrase; and both Ben Jonson and Da venant refer to Ripon spurs in their verses. This manufacture, with those of buttons and various kinds of hardware, continued to prosper till the beginning of the present century, when the rise of the mechanical industries in the large towns caused it to decline. The population of the borough (area 1580 acres) in 1871 was 6806, and in 1881 it was 7390.
The city is first mentioned under the name of Inhrypum in connexion with the establishment of a monastery in 660 by Abbot Eata of Melrose. A few years after it was bestowed on St Wilfrid, who was elevated to the see of Northumbria. After the division of the bishopric in 678, a see was erected at Ripon. The city suffered severely in connexion with the incursions of the Danes and the invasion of William the Conqueror, and was burnt by Robert Bruce in 1319 and 1323. During the Civil War it was for a time occupied by the Parliamentary forces, but it was retaken by the Royalists in 1643. It was first represented in parliament in the reign of Edward I. it lost one of its two members in 1868, and ceased to be separately represented in 1885. Surrounding the town is an extensive district called the liberty of Ripon, over which the archbishop of York at one time exercised special jurisdiction, not yet altogether annulled.
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