RIPON, West Riding of Yorkshire, a market town, municipal aid parliamentary borough, and the seat of a bishopric, in the parish of Ripon, is situated on the right bank of the river Ure, in 54° 8' N. lat., 1' 32' W. long., distant 23 miles N.W. from York, 212 miles N.N.W. from London by road, and 215 miles by the Great Northern and Leeds Northern railways. The population of the borough in 1851 was 6050. The borough is governed by 4 aldermen and 12 councillors, of whom one is mayor ; and returns two members to the Imperial Parliament The livings are perpetual miracles in the archdeaconry of Richmond and diocese of Ripon.
When Eata, abbot of Melrose, founded a monastery here in 661, there were only 30 houses in the town. A few years after, stldfrid, king of Northumbria, gave the monastery to Wilfred, archbishop of York. The town was made a borough in 886 by Alfred the Great. The town suffered reverses in the wars agisiost the Northumbrian Danes, In the devastations of the Normans, and in the invasion of Robert Bruce. Henry IV. fixed his residence here when he was driven from London by the plague.
The collegiate church of Ripon, commonly called the minter, now the cathedral, is dedicated to St. Peter and St. Wilfred ; it is parochial as well as collegiate. Many parts of it are very fine, especially the west front, which is a bold and good example of the early English style. The first stone of the present building was laid in 1331, but the choir was probably not finished till 1494. It is considered to be one of the beat-proportioned churches in the kingdom. Its length from east to west is 266 feet 5 inches, the transept is 132 feet long, the nave and aisles aro 87 feet broad, and the choir and aisles 66 feet 8 inches broad. It has two uniform towers at the west end, each 110 feet high, beelike tho great tower, called St. Wilfred's tower. Tho breadth of the west front is 43 feet, or, including the two towers, 102 feet. Under the chapter-house is a crypt, believed to be of Saxon data; it contains an immense collection of human remains in good preservation, piled in regular order round the walla. Trinity church was built and endowed in 1826, at a cost of 13,000/., by its first incumbent, the Rev. Edward Kilvington. It is a cruciform structure, in the early English style. The Wesleyan and Primitive Methodists
and Independents have places of worship. The Free Grammar school, founded in 1553 by Philip and Mary, has an income from endowment of nearly 6001. a year • the number of 'cholera in 1854 was 55. There are National and Infant schools, a Blue-Coat school, and a Wesleyan Training school. St Mary Magdalene's hospital, founded by Archbishop Thurstan in 1144, is divided Into six dwellings for poor widows, who receive a small annual stipend. In the hospital of St Anne eight poor women are similarly maintained. The public rooms, erected in 1834, comprise a dispensary, a mechanics institute, a subscription library, and a newsroom.
Ripon was once celebrated for its manufacture of spurs, which were in such high repute, that 'as true steel as Ripon rowels' became a proverbial expression to denote honesty and courage; it was also once noted for its woollen manufactures. Saddle-trees are now largely manufactured in Ripon. Tanning, malting, and iron and brass fonadlas are carried on. There are seversl ilour-mIlls and varnish ateasdatoria They Is a manufactory of steam-engines, triter wheels, and enelneboilers. The market-place is a spacious square, eerranaded chiefly by Shope and good houses ; in the centre snouts as obelisk 10 feet high, which is surmounted by the arms of Ripon, a bat le hoes' and • tpur.rowel. On the south aide of the marketplace Is the town ball, bah in 1801. The streets are well paved, and lighted with gait Tbare is a good supply of water. A county court to held. The market is on Thursday. Six fairs are bald annually, chiefly for lather, cattle, and cloth. Near the town the river tire is crossed by a handsome bridge of 17 arches. The Ure navigation was brought up to the town by means of • short canal in 1767.
The diocese of Itipon was formed in 1836 from the dioceses of York and Chester. It is in the province of York, and extends over n great part of the West Riding, and over the liberty of Richmondshire in the Nails Riding. It is divided into the archdeaconries of Richmond and Ceara. The chapter oondsts of the dean, the two archdeacons, Ma canons, a chancellor, and two minor canons. The income of the bishop is fixed at 45001. tonally.