Ripon Cathedral
| Ripon Cathedral | |
|---|---|
 The east end of the cathedral | |
.svg)  Ripon Cathedral Shown within North Yorkshire | |
| Location | Ripon, North Yorkshire |
| Country | England |
| Denomination | Church of England |
| Website | www.riponcathedral.org.uk |
| Architecture | |
| Style | Anglo-Saxon, Gothic (Early English) |
| Years built | 1160-1547 |
| Administration | |
| Province | York |
| Diocese | Ripon and Leeds (since 1836) |
| Clergy | |
| Bishop(s) | The Rt Revd John Packer |
| Dean | The Very Revd Keith Jukes |
| Canon(s) | The Revd Canon Paul Greenwell Precentor The Ven Janet Henderson |
| Laity | |
| Director of music | Andrew Bryden |
| Organist(s) | Edmund Aldhouse |
Ripon Cathedral is the seat of the Bishop of Ripon and Leeds and the mother church of the Diocese of Ripon and Leeds, situated in the small North Yorkshire city of Ripon, England.
Background
A church on the site is thought to date from 672, when it is believed to have been the second stone building erected in the Anglo-Saxon Kingdom of Northumbria [citation needed]. 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.
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 tells us:
"In Ripon, Saint Wilfrid built and completed from the foundations to the roof a church of dressed stone, supported by various columns and side-aisles to a great height and many windows, arched vaults and a winding cloister."
Saint Wilfrid was buried in this church near the high altar.
Devastated by the English king 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 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. 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 nave was widened and the central tower partially rebuilt. The church's thirty five misericords were carved between 1489 and 1494. It is worth noting that the same (Ripon) school of carvers also carved the misericords at Beverley Minster and Manchester Cathedral.
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.
Cathedral status
The minster finally became a cathedral (the church where the Bishop has his cathedra or throne) in 1836, the focal point of the newly created Anglican Diocese of Ripon — the first to be established since the Reformation.
Future
Music
The musical tradition in the cathedral was very strong until the closure of its choir school. The current director and assistant director of music are Andrew Bryden and Edmund Aldhouse respectively.
Organ
The cathedral has a fine organ by Harrison and Harrison dating from 1926. 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.
List of organists
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Assistant organists
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- Edward Brown[2]
- Henry Taylor 1876 - 1881[3]
- J. William-Render ????[4]
- William Rains
- William Edward Cave
- Edgar Alfred Lane
- Herbert Arthur Wheeldon ???? - 1887[5]
- Charles Morton Bailey 1887 - 1890
- Edgar Watson
- C. RIchards ca. 1908[6]
- David Lamb
- Leonard Bagguley 1925[7] - 1927[8] (formerly assistant organist of St Mary's Church, Nottingham, afterwards organist of Paignton Parish Church)
The post of assistant organist was informal until 1928 when it made official.
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Bells
A ring of 12 bells with an additional 'flat sixth' bell is hung in the south west tower. A diatonic 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.[10]
Picture gallery
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The west front -
Detail of the western façade -
The nave, showing a romanesque arch and behind it a restyled gothic arch -
The interior of the choir
See also
- Ripon
- Architecture of the medieval cathedrals of England
- English Gothic architecture
- Romanesque architecture
- Church of England
References
- ^ a b Squire, William Barclay (1885). . In Stephen, Leslie (ed.). Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 02. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
- ^ Thornsby, Frederick W., ed. (1912) Dictionary of Organs and Organists. Bournemouth: Logan; p. 254
- ^ Thornsby (1912); p. 337
- ^ Glasgow Herald 4 July 1888
- ^ Derby Mercury, 2 February 1887
- ^ Lichfield Mercury 22 May 1908
- ^ Nottingham Evening Post 27 July 1925
- ^ Western Morning News 16 December 1927
- ^ Who's Who in Music; 4th ed. 1962; p. 202
- ^ Yorkshire Association of Change Ringers Latest News, Accessed 29 March 2009
Bibliography
- The Dioceses Commission's Yorkshire Review — A Guide to the Report (PDF), churchofengland.org
External links
- Ripon
- Anglican cathedrals in England
- Gothic architecture in England
- Diocese of Ripon and Leeds
- Church of England churches in North Yorkshire
- Monasteries in North Yorkshire
- Visitor attractions in North Yorkshire
- 672 establishments
- 670s architecture
- Anglo-Saxon architecture
- 1220s architecture
- English Gothic architecture
- Anglo-Saxon cathedrals
- Grade I listed buildings in North Yorkshire
- Grade I listed cathedrals
- 7th-century church buildings
- Anglican Diocese of Leeds
- Edward Blore buildings
- 670s establishments in England