The Cathedral Church of St Peter and St Wilfrid, commonly known as Ripon Cathedral, and until 1836 known as Ripon Minster, is a

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the ''cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominations ...

Ripon 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 and Skell. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, the ...

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is the largest ceremonial county (lieutenancy area) in England, covering an area of . Around 40% of the county is covered by national parks, including most of the Yorkshire Dales and the North York Moors. It is one of four co ...

, England. Founded as a monastery by monks of the Irish tradition in the 660s, it was refounded as a

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

monastery by

St Wilfrid Wilfrid ( – 709 or 710) was an English bishop and saint. Born a Northumbrian noble, he entered religious life as a teenager and studied at Lindisfarne, at Canterbury, in Francia, and at Rome; he returned to Northumbria in about 660, and ...

in 672. The church became collegiate in the tenth century, and acted as a mother church within the large

Diocese of York The Diocese of York is an administrative division of the Church of England, part of the Province of York. It covers the city of York, the eastern part of North Yorkshire, and most of the East Riding of Yorkshire. The diocese is headed by the ...

for the remainder of the Middle Ages. The present church is the fourth, and was built between the 13th and 16th centuries. In 1836 the church became the cathedral for the Diocese of Ripon. In 2014 the Diocese was incorporated into the new Diocese of Leeds, and the church became one of three co-equal cathedrals of the Bishop of Leeds. The cathedral is notable architecturally for its

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 ...

west front in the Early English style, considered one of the best of its type, as well as the

Geometric Geometry (; ) is, with arithmetic, one of the oldest branches of mathematics. It is concerned with properties of space such as the distance, shape, size, and relative position of figures. A mathematician who works in the field of geometry is ca ...

east window. The seventh-century crypt of Wilfrid's church is a significant example of early Christian architecture in England. The cathedral has Grade I

listed building 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 I ...

status.

Background

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

Saint Aidan Aidan of Lindisfarne ( ga, Naomh Aodhán; died 31 August 651) was an Irish monk and missionary credited with converting the Anglo-Saxons to Christianity in Northumbria. He founded a monastic cathedral on the island of Lindisfarne, known as Lindis ...

's monastery at

Melrose Melrose may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Melrose, Scottish Borders, a town in the Scottish Borders, Scotland ** Melrose Abbey, ruined monastery ** Melrose RFC, rugby club Australia * Melrose, Queensland, a locality in the South Burnett R ...

) with one in the Roman style. This is one of the earliest

stone In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its Chemical compound, chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks ...

buildings erected in the

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo-Saxons happened wit ...

Kingdom of Northumbria la, Regnum Northanhymbrorum , conventional_long_name = Kingdom of Northumbria , common_name = Northumbria , status = State , status_text = Unified Anglian kingdom (before 876)North: Anglian kingdom (af ...

. The

crypt A crypt (from Latin '' crypta'' " vault") is a stone chamber beneath the floor of a church or other building. It typically contains coffins, sarcophagi, or religious relics. Originally, crypts were typically found below the main apse of a c ...

dates from this period. People have been going to worship and pray at

for more than 1,300 years. The cathedral building 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.

History

Ripon Cathedral Nave 1, Nth Yorkshire, UK - Diliff

Today's church is the fourth to have stood on this site. Saint Wilfrid brought stonemasons, plasterers and glaziers from France and Italy to build his great

basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica is a large public building with multiple functions, typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building gave its nam ...

in AD 672. A contemporary account by

Eddius Stephanus Stephen of Ripon was the author of the eighth-century hagiographic text '' Vita Sancti Wilfrithi'' ("Life of Saint Wilfrid"). Other names once traditionally attributed to him are Eddius Stephanus or Æddi Stephanus, but these names are no longer ...

tells us: Saint Wilfrid was buried in this church near the high altar. Devastated by the English king

Eadred 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 try ...

in AD 948 as a warning to the

Archbishop of York The archbishop of York is a senior bishop in the Church of England, second only to the archbishop of Canterbury. The archbishop is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of York and the metropolitan bishop of the province of York, which covers ...

, only the crypt of Wilfrid's church survived but today this tiny 7th-century chapel rests complete beneath the later grandeur of Archbishop Roger de Pont l’Evêque's 12th century minster. A second minster soon arose at Ripon, but it too perished – this time in 1069 at the hands of

William the Conqueror William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England, reigning from 1066 until his death in 10 ...

. Thomas of Bayeux, first Norman Archbishop of York, then instigated the construction of a third church, traces of which were incorporated into the later chapter house of Roger's minster. The Early English west front was added in 1220, its twin towers originally crowned with wooden spires and lead. The east window was built as part of a reconstruction of the choir between 1286-8 and 1330, and was described by architecture critic Pevsner as a 'splendid' example of the series of large Decorated gothic windows constructed in Northern England. Major rebuilding had to be postponed due to the outbreak of the

Wars of the Roses The Wars of the Roses (1455–1487), known at the time and for more than a century after as the Civil Wars, were a series of civil wars fought over control of the throne of England, English throne in the mid-to-late fifteenth century. These w ...

but resumed after the accession of Henry VII and the restoration of peace in 1485. The crossing tower was rebuilt after it collapsed in an earthquake in 1450 but was never completed. Between 1501 and 1522 the nave walls were raised higher and the aisles added. The church's thirty-four misericords were carved between 1489 and 1494. The same (Ripon) school of carvers also carved the misericords at

Beverley Minster Beverley Minster, otherwise known as the Parish Church of Saint John and Saint Martin, in Beverley, East Riding of Yorkshire, is a parish church in the Church of England. It is one of the largest parish churches in the UK, larger than one-thi ...

and

Manchester Cathedral Manchester Cathedral, formally the Cathedral and Collegiate Church of St Mary, St Denys and St George, in Manchester, England, is the mother church of the Anglican Diocese of Manchester, seat of the Bishop of Manchester and the ...

. But in 1547, before this work was finished,

Edward VI Edward VI (12 October 1537 – 6 July 1553) was King of England and Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death in 1553. He was crowned on 20 February 1547 at the age of nine. Edward was the son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour and the first E ...

dissolved Ripon's college of canons. All revenues were appropriated by the Crown and the tower never received its last perpendicular arches. It was not until 1604 that

James I James I may refer to: People *James I of Aragon (1208–1276) *James I of Sicily or James II of Aragon (1267–1327) *James I, Count of La Marche (1319–1362), Count of Ponthieu *James I, Count of Urgell (1321–1347) *James I of Cyprus (1334–13 ...

issued his Charter of Restoration. During the civil war, much of the stained glass was smashed and some of the statues were destroyed.

Cathedral status

The minster finally became a cathedral (the church where the Bishop has his

cathedra A ''cathedra'' is the raised throne of a bishop in the early Christian basilica. When used with this meaning, it may also be called the bishop's throne. With time, the related term ''cathedral'' became synonymous with the "seat", or principal ...

or throne) in 1836, the focal point of the newly created

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 t ...

Diocese of Ripon – the first to be established since the

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

Dean and chapter

As of 30 December 2020: * Dean – John Dobson (since 14 June 2014 installation) *Canon Precentor – Michael Gisbourne (since 16 September 2018 installation) *Canon Educator (i.e.

Canon Chancellor According to both Catholic and Anglican canon law, a cathedral chapter is a college of clerics ( chapter) formed to advise a bishop and, in the case of a vacancy of the episcopal see in some countries, to govern the diocese during the vacancy. In ...

) – Barry Pyke (since 11 September 2016 installation; previously called "Canon for Rural Engagement and Education") *Canon Pastor – Ailsa Newby (since June 2017; Newby is also The Lady Newby by her marriage to Dick Newby)

Music

The current director of music is Dr

Ronny Krippner Ronny Krippner is a German-born British organist, conductor, teacher and composer who currently serves as Director of Music at Ripon Cathedral. Early career and education Krippner was born and educated in Marktredwitz, Germany, and studied or ...

, with Tim Harper as assistant director of music.

Organ

The cathedral has a fine organ by Harrison and Harrison, which is a rebuild of the original Lewis instrument dating from 1878. The organ is on the screen and has casework by Gilbert Scott. A specification of the organ can be found on the National Pipe Organ Register. The organ last underwent a major refurbishment in 2013. These works included a thorough cleaning and repair of all pipe work.

Organists

In 1447, the organ at Ripon Cathedral was played by a priest, Thomas Litster. Notable organists have included composers

Charles Harry Moody Dr Charles Harry Moody Hon. FRCO (22 March 1874 - 10 May 1965) was a composer and organist based in England. Life He was born in Stourbridge, Worcestershire on 22 March 1874, the son of Charles Moody (1825 – 1893) and Lydia Glover (1829-1904) ...

and

Ronald Edward Perrin Ronald Edward Perrin (13 April 1931 – 5 September 1997)Music at Ripon Cathedral: The People, the Building, the Instruments, the Music: 657 to 2008. Malcolm S. Beer, Howard M. Crawshaw, Ripon Cathedral. Dean & Chapter of Ripon Cathedral, 2008 wa ...

Bells

A ring of 12 bells with an additional 'flat sixth' bell is hung in the south-west tower. A

diatonic Diatonic and chromatic are terms in music theory that are most often used to characterize scales, and are also applied to musical instruments, intervals, chords, notes, musical styles, and kinds of harmony. They are very often used as a ...

ring of ten bells was cast in 1932, and three additional bells were installed in 2008 with two new trebles being added to give a diatonic ring of twelve, and an additional 'flat sixth' bell to give a light ring of eight.

Gallery

File:RiponWestBehioDezoid.jpg, The west front. File:RIPON FACADE.JPG, Detail of the western façade. File:Ripon Cathedral misericord (Alice in Wonderland inspiration), Yorkshire, UK - Diliff.jpg, A misericord, alleged inspiration for

Lewis Carroll Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (; 27 January 1832 – 14 January 1898), better known by his pen name Lewis Carroll, was an English author, poet and mathematician. His most notable works are '' Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (1865) and its sequ ...

's ''

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (commonly ''Alice in Wonderland'') is an 1865 English novel by Lewis Carroll. It details the story of a young girl named Alice who falls through a rabbit hole into a fantasy world of anthropomorphic creature ...

'' File:Blemya.jpg, A blemyah carving from a choir stall. File:Hendrik Frans de Cort - Ripon Minster.jpg, ''Ripon Minster'', by

Hendrik Frans de Cort Hendrik de Cort or Hendrik Frans de Cort (1742 in Antwerp – 28 June 1810 in London) was a Flemish landscape art, landscape painter and draughtsman. His international career brought him to Antwerp, Paris, England and Wales. He is mainly remembe ...

, c. 1800. File:RiponFensterSt.Michael.jpg, Stained glass window ''St. Michael'', West end File:Ripon-st-petersChapel-stainedGlassH23.jpg, Moses and Melchisedec, Stained glass window St. Peter's chapel File:Ripon Cathedral 2.jpg, The eastern façade of the cathedral File:Ripon Cathedral Rood Screen, Nth Yorkshire, UK - Diliff.jpg, The

Rood screen The rood screen (also choir screen, chancel screen, or jubé) is a common feature in late medieval church architecture. It is typically an ornate partition between the chancel and nave, of more or less open tracery constructed of wood, stone, o ...

File:Ripon Cathedral Organ, Nth Yorkshire, UK - Diliff.jpg, The Organ File:Ripon Cathedral Choir 2, Nth Yorkshire, UK - Diliff.jpg, The Choir of Ripon Cathedral File:Ripon Cathedral crypt.jpg, 1901 photograph of the crypt

References

Sources

* * *

External links

Ripon Cathedral WebsiteRipon Cathedral on Skyscrapernews.comRipon Cathedral Library and the Dean and Chapter Archive
University of Leeds
MUSIC AT RIPON CATHEDRAL 657–2008
{{Authority control 7th-century church buildings in England Churches completed in 1574 Ripon Anglican cathedrals in England Gothic architecture in England

Anglican Diocese of Leeds Church of England church buildings in North Yorkshire Monasteries in North Yorkshire Anglo-Catholic church buildings in North Yorkshire Tourist attractions in North Yorkshire Churches with elements of Anglo-Saxon work English Gothic architecture in North Yorkshire Anglo-Saxon cathedrals Grade I listed buildings in Ripon Grade I listed churches in North Yorkshire Grade I listed cathedrals Edward Blore buildings 7th-century establishments in England Diocese of Ripon Churches completed in 672