Ripon, Yorkshire Genealogy

England Yorkshire Yorkshire Parishes K-R  West Riding  Ripon

Parish History
RIPON (St. Peter and St. Wilfrid), a city and parish, partly in the liberty of Ripon, and partly in the Lower division of the wapentake of Claro, W. riding ofYork; containing 15,024 inhabitants, of whom 5461 are in the town, 23 miles (N. W. by W.) from York,and 212 (N. N. W.) from London. This place, which is of considerable antiquity, is supposed to derive its name from the Latin Ripa, on account of its situation upon the bank of a river. The earliest record we find respecting it is of about the middle of the seventh century, when a monastery was founded here by Eata, abbot of Melrose in Scotland, which was subsequently given by Alfred, King of Northumbria, to Wilfrid, Archbishop of York, by whom it was greatly improved, and its church solemnly dedicated. The town at that time consisted of 30 houses; it soon began to increase in extent, and, under the fostering patronage of the monks, grew into distinction. In the ninth century it was plundered and burnt by the Danes, when so complete was the devastation, that only the remaining ruins denoted its former existence; but it regained its importance with such celerity as to be incorporated a royal borough by Alfred the Great, in 886. This prosperity did not, however, long continue. The town shared in the destruction which Edred, in suppressing the insurrections of the Northumbrian Danes, carried through that province; and it had scarcely recovered from this devastation when it suffered from the unrelenting vengeance of William the Conqueror, who, after defeating the Northumbrian rebels, in 1069, laid waste the country, and so effectually demolished this town, that it remained for some time in ruins, and at the period of the Norman survey was still desolate. The monastery, after its destruction by Edred, was rebuilt, chiefly by Oswald and his successors, archbishops of York, and was endowed and made collegiate by Archbishop Aldred.

Profiting by a period of comparative tranquillity, Ripon had again begun to revive, when it was once more exposed to the ravages of war by the progress of the Scots, under Robert Bruce, who, after exacting from the wretched inhabitants all that could be wrung from them, destroyed the town by fire. Aided, however, by donations from the Archbishop of York and the neighbouring gentry, and by the industry of the remaining inhabitants, it so rapidly recovered as to be selected by Henry IV. for the residence of his court, when driven from London by the plague. A similar calamity induced the lord president of York to remove his court hither in1604. In 1617, James I. passed a night here on his route from Scotland to London, and was presented by the mayor with a gilt bowl and a pair of Ripon spurs; and the town was also visited by his unfortunate successor, Charles I., in 1633. In the civil war it was taken possession of and held for the parliament, by the troops under the command of Sir Thomas Mauleverer, who defaced and injured many of the monuments and ornamental parts of the church; but they were at length driven from the town by a detachment of the king's cavalry, under Sir John Mallory, of Studley.

Ripon is situated between the rivers Ure and Skell, over the former of which is a handsome stone bridge of seventeen arches, forming a commodious approach tothe town from the north. The streets are narrow and irregular, but the houses, which are chiefly of brick, are, with a few exceptions, well built; the town is paved, lighted with gas, and plentifully supplied with water. The theatre, built in 1792, has for many years been converted into a riding-school. The public rooms at Low Skellgate, erected in 1834, at an expense of nearly £3000, by a proprietary of two hundred, contain a spacious and elegant assembly-room, which is occasionally used for public meetings; a subscription library and news room; a mechanics' institute, established in 1831; a dispensary, and various other accommodations, the whole forming a handsome pile, with extensive gardens. The races, which had been long discontinued, were revived in 1837. The surrounding scenery is enriched with the grounds of Studley Park and the magnificent ruins of Fountains Abbey, which are described under the head of Studley-Royal.

The river Ure was made navigable as far as Ripon, by an act passed in 1767; and a second act obtained in 1820, incorporated the proprietors by the style of "TheCompany of Proprietors of the River Ure Navigation to Ripon:" barges of from 25 to 30 tons' burthen are employed in bringing coal and merchandise of various kinds from Hull, York, and other places, to the town,and are laden in return with lead, butter, &amp;c. An actw as passed in 1845 for a railway from Leeds, by Ripley and Ripon, to Thirsk. The place was formerly celebrated for its manufacture of spurs and woollen-cloths, but its present trade is somewhat limited; linen is manufactured to an inconsiderable extent, and during the season there is a weekly market for wool, much resorted to by the manufacturers from Leeds, Halifax, &amp;c. The regular market is on Thursday: in the market-place, a spacious and well-built square, is an obelisk 90 feet in height, erected in 1781 by William Aislabie, Esq., on the top of which are a bugle-horn and a spur-rowel, the arms of Ripon. Fairs are held on the first Thursday after the 20th day after Old Christmas-day, on May 13th and14th, the first Thursday and Friday in June, the Thursday after August 2nd, the 1st Thursday in November,and November 23rd, for cattle and various kinds of merchandise.

The town, which is a borough by prescription, received charters from James I. and II. The corporation now consists of a mayor, 4 aldermen, and 12 councillors,under the act 5th and 6th of William IV., cap. 76; and the municipal limits have been made co-extensive with those for parliamentary purposes, including a district of 1549 acres. The mayor and late mayor are justices of the peace. Ripon first sent members to parliament in the 23rd of Edward I.; the privilege was discontinued in the reign of his successor, and was not revived till the time of Edward VI., since which it has been exercised without interruption: the mayor is returning officer. A court military, for the recovery of debts to any amount, the officers of which are appointed by the lord-lieutenant of the West riding, has jurisdiction within the borough and liberty of Ripon, the latter of which comprises the greater part of the parish of Ripon, and the whole of Nidd with Killinghall. Justices of the peace for the liberty are chosen by the lord-lieutenant, and in conjunction with the recorder they hold sessions for the liberty; petty-sessions take place every Friday under the magistrates for the borough and liberty, and occasionally for the North and West ridings of  the county. The powers of the county debt-court of Ripon, established in 1847, extend over the registration-districts of Ripon and Pateley-Bridge. The building formerly used as the town-hall, erected in 1801 at the expense of Mrs. Allanson, of Studley, is a lofty, spacious, and handsome structure of freestone, with a portico of the Ionic order; it has not been used by the corporation since the passing of the Municipal Corporations' act.There are a criminal court and a prison in connexionwith the liberty.

The collegiate establishment, which, at the dissolution of monasteries, possessed seven prebends and thirteen chantries, was refounded in 1604 by James I., who appointed a dean and six prebendaries, with a subdean, and endowed it with £247 per annum. By the act 6th and 7th of William IV.,cap. 77, Ripon was made the head of a diocese consisting of that part of the county of York which was previously in the diocese of Chester, and of a large part of the county previously in the diocese of York. It comprehends the archdeaconries of Richmond and Craven, with 374 benefices. The establishment consists of a bishop, dean, sub-dean, six canons, and two minor canons, with inferior officers; the bishop has an income of £4500,and the Dean and Chapter, who hold the patronage of the minor canonries, possess a net revenue of £633. The dean and chapter have a prison, and are authorised, by charter of James I., to hold a court of pleas, called the Canon Fee Court, in which they appoint their own officers, the charter stating that such authority had long appertained to them. The ancient collegiate church, now the cathedral of the diocese, is a large cruciform building. It has two square towers at the western end, each 110 feet high, embattled, and surmounted with pinnacles; and in the centre is another square tower, standing upon four pillars with arches, and ornamented with a cupola on its north-western angle. On each of these towers was formerly a spire, those on the towers at the western end being 120 feet in height, and that on the central tower still higher; but the latter having been blown down in 1660, causing considerable damage to the roof, the others were removed. On the southside of the choir is the chapter-house, over which is the library, containing a good collection of ancient works,and portraits of many of the kings and queens of England. Under the nave of the cathedral is a chapel, in which is a place called St. Wilfrid's Needle, said by tradition to have been used for the trial of female chastity. The bishop's throne and the stalls are ornamented with carved work, and the magnificent east window, which is 51 feet by 25, contains the arms of James I., those of England and France, of the dean and chapter, and of the town; there are also many beautiful and curious monuments in the cathedral. The episcopal palace,e rected at Bramley Grange, near the city, is a handsome structure, situated in a demesne of about 110 acres.

The parish comprises the townships of Aldfield, Aismunderby with Bondgate, Bewerley, Bishopside, Bishopton, Clotherholme, Dacre, Eavestone, Givendale, Grantley, Hewick-Bridge, Hewick-Copt, Ingerthorpe, Lindrick, Markington with Wallerthwaite, Bishop-Monkton, Newby with Mulwith, Nunwick, Ripon, Sawley, Sharrow, Skelding, Skelton, North Stainley with Sleningford, Studley-Roger, Studley-Royal, Sutton-Grange, Bishop-Thornton, Warsill, Westwick, Whitcliffe withThorp, and Winksley. The tithes of Ripon township have been commuted for £390. A church, dedicated to the Holy Trinity, was erected by the Rev. Edward Kilvington in 1827, at an expense of about £13,000, of which £10,000 had been bequeathed for the purpose byDr. Kilvington, of Ripon. It is a handsome cruciformstructure of freestone, with lancet windows, a richly groined roof, and a tower surmounted by a beautiful spire; and contains between 900 and 1000 sittings, where of 200 are free. The fixed endowment is about £24 per annum, with two cottages and three or four acres of land; the income is derived mainly from the letting of pews, and is altogether about  £200: the patronage is vested in the Rev. Charles Simeon's Trustees.In the rural parts of the parish are eleven other incumbencies, nine of which are in the gift of the Dean andChapter. '''There are two places of worship in the town for Wesleyans, and one each for Independents and Primitive Methodists. '''The Free Grammar school was founded and liberally endowed by Philip and Mary, in1553; the management is vested in trustees, by whom the master and usher are appointed, the former with a salary of £240, and the latter with one of £90. Jepson's Hospital was established and endowed by Zacharias Jepson, in 1672, for boarding and educating twenty sons of freemen, or orphans; the income is about £190 per annum. The hospital of St. Mary Magdalene, situated in Stammergate, was founded and endowed by Thurstan, Archbishop of York, early in the twelfth century, and rebuilt by Dr. Hooke, prebendary of Ripon, and master of the hospital, in 1674; it affords an asylum to six widows, and a chapel adjoins the hospital, in which divine service is performed on certain days. The hospital of St. John the Baptist was instituted by an archbishop of York, probably so early as the reign of King John, and is a small building, in which two women are lodged: that of St. Anne, in Agnes' Gate, was founded in the reign of Edward IV., by one of the family of Neville, and affords an asylum to eight women. At the eastern end of the town is a curious relic of antiquity, called Alla or Ailo's Hill, a tumulus in the form of a cone, composed of sand, gravel, and human bones, and supposed to derive its name from Ælla, King of Northumbria, who was slain in 867, fighting against the Danes; the circumference of the hill, at the base, is about 3000 yards, and the height of the slope about 74yards. The town was the birthplace of Dr. Beilby Porteus, Bishop of London. The Right Hon. Fred. John Robinson, Viscount Goderich, was created Earl of Ripon in 1833.

From: Lewis, Samuel A., A Topographical Dictionary of England (1848), pp. 671-676. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=51239 Date accessed: 07 October 2011.

Civil Registration
Birth, marriages and deaths were kept by the government, from July 1837 to the present day. The civil registration article tells more about these records. There are several Internet sites with name lists or indexes. A popular site is FreeBMD.

Church records
To find the names of the neighbouring parishes, use England Jurisdictions 1851. In this site, search for the name of the parish, click on the location "pin", click Options and click List contiguous parishes.

This ancient parish was created in 1853. Church of England records began in 1827 for Ripon, Holy Trinity.

Census records
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Probate records
Records of wills, administrations, inventories, indexes, etc. were filed by the court with jurisdiction over this parish. Go to Yorkshire Probate Records to find the name of the court having primary jurisdiction. Scroll down in the article to the section Court Jurisdictions by Parish.

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