£500,000 restoration of historic Ripon church begins

Last updated Dec 2, 2020

Canon-Ian-Smith-and-Barrie-Price-in-St-Wifrids-Church-1-scaled

Parish priest Canon Ian Smith (left) and chair of fundraising Barrie Price, are pictured in front of St Wilfrid's high altar with its reredos screen.

Work has begun on the £500,000 restoration of St Wilfrid’s Catholic Church — one of Ripon’s architectural gems.

Years of fundraising by parishioners and awards from trusts, boosted by a £75,000 grant from Historic England, have made the project possible.

Parishioner and chair of fundraising, Barrie Price, said:

“After all our trials and tribulations of nearly five years, the contractors came on site to commence phase one of our restoration programme.

“This covers the whole of the central area of the church, excluding the rear section, and is expected to be completed by the end of March.”

St Wilfrid’s Catholic Church on Coltsgate Hill.

The grant from Historic England, awarded after a successful application from the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, will enable the construction of a south porch extension, including toilets.

St. Wilfrid’s, which opened in 1862, is recognised as one of finest parish churches in England.

Its ornate reredos screens designed by Victorian architect Edward Pugin provide dramatic backdrops to the high altar and adjacent side altar, dedicated to St Joseph.

Both architectural works of art, sculpted from solid blocks of stone, provide focal points within the grade II* listed building.

In 1909 fittings from the private chapel at nearby Studley Royal were transferred to St Wilfrid’s following the death of the Marquess of Ripon — the city’s first mayor since the reformation — who had previously created the Lady Chapel within the church.

These include 10 stained-glass windows installed along the north and south aisles and dating from 1878.

Now, more than 50 years after the church’s last major refurbishment, the reredos, along with other parts of the building’s fabric, will be repaired and cleaned by specialists.

Mr Price, an accountant and former Ripon City and Harrogate district councillor, said:

“We were all ready to go earlier this year, but the first covid lockdown brought a temporary halt to everything, with the church having to close to meet the government’s social distancing requirements.”