Ripon
Ripon is a small but ancient cathedral city in North Yorkshire, on the River Ure.
The cathedral, dedicated to St. Peter and St. Wilfrid, was originally founded by St. Wilfrid in 672, but was destroyed when the town was sacked by Edred in the 10th century. The present Gothic building contains the original crypt built by Wilfrid. This is open to the public during the cathedral’s opening hours. Several aspects of this magnificent building are said to have inspired Lewis Carroll when writing “Alice in Wonderland”.
The large Market Place is surmounted by a 90 foot obelisk, erected in 1781. From the Market Place a tradition has been kept for over 1100 years. The Wakeman blows his horn every night at 9pm to assure the townspeople that they are in safe hands for the night.
Ripon has a collection of museums devoted to law and order, one of which was built as a House of Correction in 1686.
There are the remains of two ancient hospitals - St. Anne, known as the Maison Dieu, and St. Mary Magdalen.
There are splendid waterside walks beside the Ure, and the basin of the Ripon Canal is the Northernmost point on England’s canal system.
Today, Ripon is a thriving market town, serving a wide area of North Yorkshire.