Ripon

Ripon is a small cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England. Its main attraction is the cathedral, and the nearby UNESCO World Heritage Site of Fountains Abbey & Studley Royal Water Garden. It’s also a good base for exploring the Yorkshire Dales.

Ripon claims to be the oldest city in England, and it’s certainly one of the smallest, with a population of about 17,000.

See

In town, stroll the ancient streets, and the highlight is the Cathedral. The Law & Order Museum is on three sites: the Workhouse Museum, the Courthouse Museum, and the Police & Prison Museum, you buy a combined ticket for a Rake’s Progress of social decline. The market is held in the Square on Thursdays. At 9 pm every evening the Watchman blows his horn here, as he has every night since 886 AD, to warn everyone to get indoors, safe from marauding Vikings. The horn was originally presented by King Alfred the Great, to symbolise Ripon’s charter as a city, and to remind folk to stay vigilant against the foes he’d defeated.

• ⊙Cathedral, Minster Rd HG4 1QT. M-Sa 08:30-18:00, Su 12:00-17:00. The oldest part of the building is the Saxon Crypt, the only remnant of the stone church built here in 672 AD by St Wilfred. It’s been continually added to, smashed down and rebuilt ever since, so the present fourth incarnation of the building is mostly Gothic and Early English. (updated Aug 2018)
• Law & Order Museum (Workhouse, Courthouse and Prison & Police Museums), ☎ +44 1765 690799. Daily March-Nov. Combined ticket (valid for 12 months): Adult £13, conc £12.50, adult plus one child (6-15) £19. Individual museum entry also available, as below. (updated Aug 2018)
  • ⊙Workhouse Museum & Garden, 76 Allhallowgate HG4 1LE. 10:00-16:00. £6.50, £6, child £5. (updated Aug 2018)
  • ⊙Courthouse Museum, Minster Road HG4 1QS. 10:00-16:00. £4.50, £4, child £3.75. (updated Aug 2018)
  • ⊙Prison & Police Museum, St Marygate HG4 1LX. 10:00-16:00. £6.50, £6, child £5. (updated Aug 2018)