Ripon Minster
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The Cathedral Church of St Peter and St Wilfrid, commonly known as Ripon Cathedral, and until 1836 known as Ripon Minster, is a cathedral in Ripon, North Yorkshire, England. Founded as a monastery by monks of the
Irish tradition Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe *** Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent u ...
in the 660s, it was refounded as a Benedictine monastery by St Wilfrid in 672. The church became collegiate in the tenth century, and acted as a mother church within the large Diocese of York 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 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'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 Burnet ...
) with one in the Roman style. This is one of the earliest stone buildings erected in the
Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, 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- ...
Kingdom of Northumbria. 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 chur ...
dates from this period. People have been going to worship and pray at Ripon 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

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 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 p ...
tells us: Saint Wilfrid was buried in this church near the high altar. Devastated by the English king Eadred in AD 948 as a warning to the Archbishop of York, 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. Thomas of Bayeux, first
Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...
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 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 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 Mother church or matrice is a term depicting the Christian Church as a mother ...
. But in 1547, before this work was finished, Edward VI 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 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 principa ...
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 th ...
Diocese of Ripon – the first to be established since the Reformation.


Dean and chapter

As of 30 December 2020: * DeanJohn Dobson (since 14 June 2014 installation) *Canon Precentor – Michael Gisbourne (since 16 September 2018 installation) *Canon Educator (i.e.
Canon Chancellor According to both canon law (Catholic Church), Catholic and canon law (Anglican Communion), Anglican canon law, a cathedral chapter is a College (canon law), college of clerics (chapter (religion), chapter) formed to advise a bishop and, in the cas ...
) – 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 Germany, German-born United Kingdom, British organist, conductor (music), conductor, teacher and composer who currently serves as Director of Music at Ripon Cathedral. Early career and education Krippner was born and educated ...
, with Tim Harper as assistant director of music.


Organ

The cathedral has a fine organ by
Harrison and Harrison Harrison & Harrison Ltd is a British company that makes and restores pipe organs, based in Durham and established in Rochdale in 1861. It is well known for its work on instruments such as King's College, Cambridge, Westminster Abbey, and the R ...
, 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 Ring may refer to: * Ring (jewellery), a round band, usually made of metal, worn as ornamental jewelry * To make a sound with a bell, and the sound made by a bell :(hence) to initiate a telephone connection Arts, entertainment and media Film and ...
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 Scale (music), scales, and are also applied to musical instruments, Interval (music), intervals, Chord (music), chords, Musical note, notes, musical sty ...
ring of ten bells was cast in 1932, and three additional bells were installed in 2008 with two new
treble Treble may refer to: In music: *Treble (sound), tones of high frequency or range, the counterpart of bass *Treble voice, a choirboy or choirgirl singing in the soprano range *Treble (musical group), a three-piece girl group from the Netherlands *T ...
s 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's '' Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' 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 painter and draughtsman. His international career brought him to Antwerp, Paris, England and Wales. He is mainly remembered for his to ...
, 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, or ...
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


See also

* Ripon * Architecture of the medieval cathedrals of England * English Gothic architecture * Romanesque architecture * Church of England * Diocese of Leeds *
Dean and Chapter of Ripon The Dean and Chapter of Ripon Cathedral are the ecclesiastical governing body of Ripon Cathedral. They consist of the dean and several canons meeting in chapter and are also (less frequently) known as the Dean and Canons of Ripon. Ripon Cathedr ...
* List of Gothic Cathedrals in Europe


References


Sources

* * *


Further reading

*


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 Ripon 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