Friends and family gathered at Bella Lofthouse’s Ripon home at the weekend to celebrate her 100th birthday and see the card that she received to mark the occasion from King Charles III and Queen Consort Camilla.
King George V was on the throne when Ms Lofthouse was born in January 1923 as the sixth child of Mabel and Thomas Jameson.
A further four children followed and she is the last remaining sibling of a well-known and hard-working Ripon family.
Ms Lofthouse lives with her daughter Jackie Robertson, who told the Stray Ferret:
“The thing mum enjoys most is spending time with her family, especially her great grandson Isaac, who is 19 months.
“She has lived a long and happy and life and is grateful for the kindness, love and support that she receives from those who are closest to her.”
Always a hard worker, Ms Lofthouse left Holy Trinity School at the age of 14 to take her first job at McDonald’s Grocers on Market Place, and during World War II she was employed at the Royal Ordnance Factory in Thorp Arch, making bullets and cordite.
At the time of her marriage to her sweetheart George at Ripon Cathedral in 1949, she had begun to work as a domestic at Sharow View the former Ripon Workhouse on Allhallowgate (pictured above) which was then being used as a home providing care for elderly people.
Ms Lofthouse, said:
“I can honestly say that I spent some of the happiest days of my working life there. I started at Sharow View in the late 1940s and continued to work there for 30 years.
“I was working up to 48 hours a week, but I was very much appreciated by Mr and Mrs Brook who ran the place.”
To mark her 98th birthday in January 2021, Ripon Museum Trust invited Ms Lofthouse for afternoon tea in the workhouse building where she had worked for three decades and on Saturday, trust chair Richard Taylor was among the friends and family to join in celebration of her 100th
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Dean says Cathedral Quarter plan will attract more visitors to Ripon
The Dean of Ripon, the Very Revd John Dobson, has said the creation of a Cathedral Quarter would boost the city’s economy while providing an enhanced setting for the Grade I listed building.
His comments follow the submission of a planning application to Harrogate Borough Council seeking permission for construction of a two-storey standalone annexe on the Minster Gardens site to the north of the cathedral.
If planning consent is granted, the building would include a song school, gift shop, cafe and the city centre’s first Changing Places toilet, providing improved access to the city and the cathedral for disabled people.
The area of Minster Gardens where the proposed new building would be located
To accommodate the development, 11 trees would need to be removed from Minster Gardens and the existing toilet block demolished, along with outbuildings and a wall.
The proposal also includes landscaping of the gardens and improved links to Kirkgate and the Cathedral Car Park.
With these works added to the cost of construction, the new estimate for the project is in excess of £6 million.
Dean John, said:
“Taking down the trees and building in that area will need to be seen in context of this being a major development not only for the cathedral but for the city and the region.
“The development has to serve the needs of people coming to us as worshippers, pilgrims, holidaymakers, day trippers and people who come to concerts.”
He added that the planning application is:
“The culmination of years and years of work; building relationships, looking at all the different possibilities and options.
“It has been a huge job to get to this point but what people are excited about is we have at last found a solution to the age-old problem for the cathedral and city which will enable us to create the cathedral quarter and that is a wonderful prospect.
“Ripon is the cathedral city for entrance to the Dales and the region and these plans enhance not only the cathedral but the city as well, by bringing an increase in visitor numbers.”
With regard to the removal of trees, Dean John, said:
“In mitigation of losing 11 trees we will be planting over 300 trees, some on the site and others on land which is being provided for us.”
On the issue of Minster Road, he said:
“Some people in the city want to close Minster Road while the city council definitely does not. What we are saying is we need to find a way of calming and reducing the traffic so it can become a unified area which will also be safe for pedestrians and can be opened up as a public space to be used and for people to come and go.
“There are many similar areas around the country which work perfectly successfully so while details have to be worked out we are saying there are no plans to close Minster Road.”
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Ripon councillor calls for action amid concerns about broadband installation
A Ripon councillor has called for action following complaints about the disruption caused by contractors involved in the installation of a full fibre broadband network.
Cllr Andrew Williams, leader of Ripon City Council and North Yorkshire county councillor for the Minster and Moorside division, told the Stray Ferret the works by the Make Happen Group on behalf of CityFibre had brought complaints from more than a dozen residents living on Whitcliffe Lane, Whitcliffe Drive and Elm Road.
He added:
“They are concerned about the potential dangers for both pedestrians and motorists, of accessing and leaving their properties on streets where construction work is ongoing, that have blocked off footpaths and are lined with barriers.”
A closed section of footpath on Whitcliffe Lane
Cllr Williams, who has called for intervention from North Yorkshire County Council’s highways department, which issued permits for the work to go ahead, said:
“When I visited the area at the weekend there were no road closed signs, no diversion signs in place. It was a complete mess. I even witnessed a motorist having to drive on a footpath to get around one of the contractors’ vehicles.
“On Whitcliffe Lane one side of the pavement is unavailable and on the opposite side of the road they have put the signage on the pavement advising of the roadworks thus preventing people in wheelchairs or with a pram from using it.
“They are working in three locations at once, but these are not urgent works and therefore proper road closure signs should be in place with diversions and advance warning given to local residents.”
David Black, one of the agents overlooking the installation on behalf of Make Happen Group, said:
“We operate to the the highest possible standards and our work is independently assessed, but you can never please all of the people all of the time.
“Our aim is to complete the installation quickly, efficiently and safely in a way designed to minimise disruption to residents.”
Mr Black added:
“Our work on Elm Road is now complete and will be completed soon on Whitcliffe Lane and Whitcliffe Drive.
“I have been in contact with Cllr Williams and invited him to meet with me on site. That invitation remains open.”
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Village to stage first Kirkby Live event on Saturday
The first in a new series of live music in Kirkby Malzeard will take place on Saturday evening.
The Kirkby Live initiative aims to boost the village economy as well as increase community spirit.
This weekend’s opening event at the Mechanics Institute sees York-based Hyde Family Jam, who put their own spin on popular hits remixed as ‘folk gone wrong’, take centre stage.
Volunteer and Kirkby parish councillor Jane Aksut, who is organising the event with fellow councillor and volunteer Richard Hughes, said:
“The aim is to build Kirkby Malzeard’s sense of ‘place’ as somewhere people want to live, work, play and invest.
“Kirkby Live is a new part of this relentless drive to make our area a destination and to draw in visitors from outside to support and invest in local business.
“This new venture sees live music hitting Kirkby Malzeard in 2023 with the aim of improving community spirit in this rural area and also benefitting local businesses and community organisations.”
As part of the objective to attract people from the wider area into the village on Saturday, a coach from Ripon has been arranged, enabling visitors to leave their cars at home and have a drink at the event.
It will leave the city’s bus station at 6.30 pm and will return to Ripon after the concert, leaving Kirkby Malzeard at 10.30 pm.
More information about booking tickets for the coach and the concert can be found by clicking here.
The Hyde Family Jam features vocals, guitar, accordion, violin and double bass. Cllr Hughes said:
“The band is showing their infectious enthusiasm also comes with a huge heart – they are making a great effort to support our rural area by agreeing to play in a much smaller venue than usual, and offering lots of time and advice to help our aim of making Kirkby Malzeard a music venue.”
He added:
“The Kirkby Malzeard Business and Community Group, which is supporting Kirkby Live, focuses on networking to bring together community cohesion and also to promote local businesses and services. This event is a brilliant example of networking, with local businesses, community groups and even the Hyde Family Jam themselves all benefitting from new contacts.”
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- Search for classical singers across the Harrogate district
- Ripon orchestra returns for first concert of the year
Ripon orchestra returns for first concert of the year
Ripon’s St Cecilia Orchestra returns to Holy Trinity Church this month with a programme featuring music for dance, drama and romance.
Following the success of their Rachmaninov festival weekend with pianist Peter Donohoe in October, the orchestra is looking forward to a change of pace with this varied programme of chamber orchestra gems.
The first concert of the year will be held at 7.30pm on Saturday, January 28.
Conductor Xenophon Kelsey said
“It’s pretty rare for us to do a concert without a soloist. This is a glorious opportunity for all the players to develop the sense that, in a smaller, chamber-sized orchestra, everyone is a soloist – at least some of the time!
“We all need to listen to each other, react to musical shapes and ideas and not simply ‘follow the conductor.’ That is what makes it such a delight to conduct concerts like this and to really feel you are part of the team, not just the boss at the front.”
The concert will open with Richard Strauss’ Serenade for 13 Wind Instruments, a single-movement piece completed when the composer was just 17 years old and the first work to gain him recognition as a composer outside his native environment.
The serenade makes strong use of the French horn, having in the ensemble line-up – perhaps evidence of his father’s musical influence (Franz Strauss was principal horn player of the Munich Court Orchestra).
Next on the programme, is Sibelius’ Pelléas and Mélisande suite, written in response to a commission by the Swedish Theatre in Helsinki as incidental music for Maurice Maeterlinck’s 1892 play of the same name.
The play inhabits a medieval world of dream and fantasy and tells of Pelléas’ love for Mélisande, who is unhappily married to his brother, Golaud. The story has inspired several more musical works, including an opera by Debussy.
After the interval the orchestra will play Bartók’s energetic Romanian Folk Dances in the chamber orchestra version. Originally written for piano, and based on tunes that would have been played on violin or a shepherd’s flute, the work consist of six short movements that should according to the composer take just four minutes and three seconds to perform.
The concert concludes with Mozart’s rarely-played symphony 25. In the key of G minor, the symphony is written in the sturm und drang style, characterised by emotional extremes and sudden changes in tempo and dynamics – a piece sure to leave the audience feeling energised!
Tickets for the concert, priced at £15 for adults and free for under 18s, can be obtained online at www.ticketsource.co.uk/st-cecilia, from the Little Ripon Bookshop and on the door, or can be reserved by calling 01423 531062.
The most significant development in hundreds of years for Ripon Cathedral has been submitted to Harrogate Borough Council’s (HBC) planning department.
If planning consent is granted, it will see the construction of a two-storey standalone building to the north of the Grade I listed cathedral, which would include a refectory, song school and the city centre’s first Changing Places toilet, providing access for disabled people.
The £6m scheme also involves demolition of the existing toilet block on the site, along with outbuildings and a stone wall.
Documents on HBC’s planning portal show that the development on Minster Gardens involves the removal of 11 trees – one of which was assigned by the council as having ‘veteran status.’
In its planning statement in support of the application, Rose Consulting, says:
“The proposal does involve the removal of eleven trees, including a tree to which HBC have assigned veteran status but with compensatory planting on a ratio of five new trees to each one removed.
“This number of lost trees has been reduced to a minimum as a result of discussions with the council.”
At its December meeting, where a pre-application presentation was made on the cathedral’s proposed development, Ripon city councillors gave their support in principle, with the caveat that they could not agree to any future closure of Minster Road – which runs past the ancient building.
The application submitted to Harrogate Borough Council, does not include plans for the closure of Minster Road to through traffic – though it is a longer-term ambition
Speaking at that meeting, leader of the council Andrew Williams, said:
“We will be looking at the finer detail when the planning application is submitted, but the city council supports the general principle of this development, with the exception of the proposed closure of Minster Road, which we cannot agree with because diverting traffic elsewhere would cause many problems.”
In its submission to HBC planners, Ripon Cathedral Chapter points out:
“Ultimately it is hoped that closure of Minster Road to through traffic may one day arise – for which there is growing political and community consensus but is a benefit which is not deliverable within this application, as it is not in Chapter’s gift.”
The cathedral, which celebrated its 1,350th anniversary last year, has a national and international reputation which has seen visitors grow year on year to in excess of 100,000 in 2022.
Ripon City Council has described a planning application for a 66-bed care home at Ripon City AFC’s Mallorie Park ground as ‘premature’
At its full January meeting, members voted unanimously to reject plans by Leeds-based care company LNT Care Developments. However, the final decision will be made by Harrogate Borough Council.
Ripon City Council leader Andrew Williams told the meeting:
“While we want to see the football club thrive and are happy to meet with them and work with them, this application is premature because the football club has not confirmed exactly where it will be relocating to.”
Fellow councillors shared that view, but said that they would like to extend an invitation to the club, which has played at Mallorie Park for more than 100 years, to present its proposals to the city council.
An artist’s impression of how the care home would look at Mallorie Park.
In October, club secretary and former player Daniel Metcalfe told the Stray Ferret:
“A shortlist of potential locations has been drawn up, but the move will only take place when we have a new site with all necessary planning and other approvals in place.”
The Stray Ferret has attempted to clarify with the club whether a new site has been agreed, but no response had been received at the time of publication.
If LNT’s plans are approved by Harrogate Borough Council, the Mallorie Park ground would be transformed by the construction of a two-storey home specialising in general and dementia care. The proposed development includes 25 parking spaces.
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LNT has developed more than 200 care homes in the UK since 2005. A planning statement, prepared on behalf of the company to support the application, says:
“The proposed care home would provide a character and form of development that should positively
enhance the character of the site and surrounding area, whilst also offering an important local
community service.The development would also have a positive impact within the area by improving employment
opportunities, not only during the construction phase but also in the longer term when the care home
becomes fully operational.”
Ripon City AFC has not disclosed how much the deal is worth, but has stated that funds from any sale would be used to develop a new facility, which would include floodlit 3G and grass pitches, seated stands as well as a multipurpose clubhouse.
A former head boy of Ripon Grammar School won a share of £1,250 for scoring zero after he and his grandmother took part in Pointless, the BBC quiz show.
The episode in which Nick Edwards and 82-year-old Christine Robson hit the jackpot was broadcast yesterday for a second time after previously being screened in May.
Those who have missed the programme can watch it on BBC iPlayer and see the pair coming up with the winning answer to the question: “Name any past winner of the Spanish, French or Italian Cup.”
Mr Edwards, who formerly lived in Copt Hewick, works for the sustainability team of the West Yorkshire Combined Authority in Leeds, where he runs the circular economy programme, which aims to reduce waste and prevent non-biodegradable items from going to landfill.
Speaking about the experience of visiting London’s Elstree Studios and taking part in the show hosted by Alexander Armstrong with assistance from Richard Osman, he said:
“My greatest success might be winning Pointless. More importantly than the show itself was the fact that I did it with my grandma.”
And what do they plan to do with their winnings?
Mr Edwards said:
“We agreed to spend it on a big family meal out, but we haven’t been able to get everyone in one place yet. It will happen at some point, I’ve promised them!”
And finally, what was the answer to the footballing question that foxed the 100 people on the Pointless panel?
It was Real Zaragoza – winner of the Spanish Cup, the Copa del Rey, on six occasions.
Ripon’s parish precept, which is charged to council tax payers in the city, is being frozen at its current level for the third year in succession.
It means Ripon residents living in a Band D property will pay a parish precept of £70.77 for the financial year 2023/24. People in Bands A to C properties will pay less and those in Bands E to H will pay more.
Final council tax bills for the year ahead are calculated by adding the parish precept to the amounts also charged by the new North Yorkshire Council and the North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner. The latter two have yet to finalise their amounts.
Ripon City Council unanimously approved its draft budget for 2023-2024 at its January full meeting after independent council leader Andrew Williams told members:
“Because of the increased number of new houses built in Ripon, there are more properties over which the precept will be charged and we are able to raise a levy of £420,000 at no extra cost to the charge payer.
“This is an increase from the £411,000 raised in the last financial year and will enable us to fund, among other things, the programme of public and civic events throughout the year, further improvements to the city’s Christmas lights infrastructure and refurbishment of Hugh Ripley Hall to increase its earnings potential.”
In the new financial year that comes into effect from April, monies will also be earmarked from reserves to pay for any professional advice required arising from double devolution and negotiations on matters including the transfer of assets such as Ripon Town Hall, Hugh Ripley Hall and Market Square, to the city council
Cllr Williams said:
“These are very difficult times with the cost of living crisis putting families under greater financial pressure through increased food, fuel, mortgage, rent and other costs.
“Faced with these circumstances we thought it only right and proper to freeze the precept charge for the coming financial year.”
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Ripon Salvation Army appeal helped hundreds across the Harrogate district
More than 500 bags of food and gifts were distributed to families across the Harrogate district after an annual Christmas appeal run by the Salvation Army in Ripon.
Each year the church and charity takes part in the nationwide Salvation Army appeal, which provides food and festive gifts anonymously to people recommended by agencies in the community.
Church leader Pat Clark said:
“This year, with the cost of living crisis, we faced a tsunami of need and we would like to say a big thank you on behalf of all the families supported by the appeal.”
Approximately 250 bags of gifts and 300 bags of food were provided, with each family member receiving a main present, chocolates and several small gifts. The food bags contained basic non-perishable foodstuffs and festive goods – mince pies, cake and puddings.
Ms Clark said:
“The huge effort was only made possible through the work of volunteer packers and sorters, donations from the public and other churches , schools and businesses.
“Planning for next Christmas is already underway, as arrangements have to be made to store cans and packets of food ready for the huge demand in December.”
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- Wildflower planting programme launched at Ripon nature reserve
- Plan to install donation point for upkeep of Ripon park