Secret Ripon

Ripon is one of England’s smallest cities and has a long history that encompasses saints and actors, marquesses, mayors and murderers, writers and eccentrics. Its Hornblower sets the watch each evening in a tradition said to be more than a thousand years old; each year festivities celebrate the return from exile of St Wilfrid in 705AD; its 19th-century workhouse is the most complete still surviving; in the First World War the city was almost surrounded by the country’s largest army camp, where Wilfred Owen stayed before his final posting and death. Round every corner and down every winding street, Ripon offers unexpected historical and architectural surprises, quirky details and the stories of a diverse cast of former Riponians. In words and images from the past and today, local author David Winpenny reveals the secrets of this historic and fascinating city. Disappear down the rabbit holes with one-time resident Lewis Carroll, and reach the heights with England’s first free-standing obelisk. Explore Ripon Cathedral, from its Saxon crypt to its modern glass, learn the city’s history of law and order (and sometimes disorder) and discover why the very ground beneath your feet is dissolving. Ripon really is a place of secrets.