Key parts of Ripon’s military past could be demolished to make way for the proposed 1,300-home development at the city’s barracks.
Homes England is seeking outline planning permission for the Clotherholme housing scheme, which would be the biggest single residential development in Ripon’s history.
Ripon Civic Society has now highlighted the potential loss of rare items that are part of Ripon and the UK’s military heritage.
The vital role Ripon’s military establishment played in both world wars and the Cold War has been highlighted in new research by the society.
Christopher Hughes, its chairman of the society, said:
“The site at Laver Banks is important in the history of Ripon’s past and in the defence of Britain in World War II and since.
“We have done detailed work on the Homes England proposals for the whole of the army camp site. We encourage them, and Harrogate Borough Council, to take a revised look at proposals for demolition of some of the structures our research has identified, and to protect them for the future.”
The society has been closely engaged in the planning process and has been keen to stress the importance of the last remaining remnants of the city’s vast World War I camp, in which the poet Wilfred Owen was stationed.
The heavy girder bridge, which crosses the River Laver on the Barracks site, was the next generation of the bridge designed by Sir Donald Bailey.
Setting up Ripon Military Heritage Trust to aid further research, it has now discovered that from the start of World War II the remaining site was the test-bed for developing and trialling demountable bridges, including the world-famous Bailey bridge.
The School of Military Engineering was evacuated from Chatham in Kent to Ripon at the start of the war.
Ripon architectural historian, lecturer and writer, David Winpenny, who is a vice-president of the society, said:
“As well as providing training for engineers on the Bailey bridge, the school also developed the massive Bailey Suspension Bridge, capable of spanning up to 400 feet.
“It was tested in Ripon at the Laver Banks site of Ripon Camp by British, Canadian and American troops before being deployed in Burma and other theatres of war.
“From 1946 a new heavy girder bridge was developed; by 1955 60 had been ordered. The first to be put in place was over the River Ure in Ripon. It was mainly used in West Germany as well as in Malaya.
“Development continued in the following decades. The only surviving heavy girder bridge was installed in Ripon as late as 1992.
“Ripon also has the larger of only two surviving k‘demolition’ training bridges, designed with cavities in which explosives could be packed to eliminate the bridges before an enemy assault.
Mr Winpenny added:
“As well as these rare survivals, and the still-extant infrastructure of the testing site, the Ripon Camp also has the last four Twynam Huts remaining; these were the successors to the Nissan Huts and were developed in 1959 for use as accommodations for personnel, offices and stores.
“They were deployed worldwide, including in Cyprus, Aden and Libya, as well as on Ascension Island during the Falklands War and at Long Kesh Camp in Northern Ireland.”
The society has shared its findings with Homes England, which is responsible for the transition of the site from army camp to housing and employment site, and with Harrogate Borough Council, which will determine the planning application.
It has said that these significant but vulnerable remnants of Ripon’s military past require special protection as part of the planning process. The society wants to work closely with all parties to establish a community legacy for Ripon and the wider area by promoting and interpreting the site.
Guy Wilson, creator of the Royal Armouries museum in Leeds, and one of the Ripon Military Heritage Trust trustees, said:
“It is amazing how significant this quiet part of North Yorkshire was in the Second World War. What was happening in Ripon helped us to win the war and our research has discovered how important Ripon was in the development and perfection of the Bailey bridge and its successors.
“It is a story hitherto unknown but one very worth telling and remembering.”
Ripon man helping Ukraine says ambulances are being shot by Russians
Former Ripon Grammar School student Lewis Edwards has told the Stray Ferret that ambulances in Ukraine are being attacked by Russian forces.
This is among the latest in a growing list of breaches of the Geneva Convention committed by the invading troops, as the situation for civilians trapped in towns and cities under siege becomes more horrific and desperate by the hour.
The targeting of the emergency vehicles follows a weekend in which fleeing refugees came under attack during a supposed ceasefire in Mariupol.
Lewis Edwards and his partner Tanya Bogdanovska pictured at Christmas in Kyiv
Speaking from Slovakia yesterday afternoon, Mr Edwards said:
“I got a phone call from an organisation in Ukraine saying they wanted me to try and source armoured ambulances, because the Russians have started shooting at the normal ambulances used to take injured people hospital.
“Through contacts, I’ve managed to find two already and I’ve been phoning around asking if there is anybody who might know where we can get some more.
“The whole situation is chaotic and insane, as the aid agencies that we are working alongside seem to be relying on us – 10 refugees – to provide logistical support, because we appear to be able to get things done that they can’t.”
Oksana Pron (left) and Kristina Simalova are part of the team sending items such as medical supplies from Slovakia to Ukraine.
Mr Edwards, 33, and his 30-year-old Ukrainian partner Tanya Bogdanovska — both teachers who had been working at a private school in Kyiv — fled the Ukraine capital on February 25.
After crossing the border into Slovakia a week ago, they teamed up with eight other volunteers to help people seeking sanctuary in countries including the UK.
As well as helping refugees — mostly women and children who are arriving in Slovakia each day — they are continuing to do all that they can for Ukraine people, including friends and family, who have been unable to escape.
In addition to sourcing ambulances, they have supplied a generator for an area without electricity and have assembled a shipment of essential medical supplies that will be setting off to Ukraine tomorrow.
In Ripon, a gofundme page set up by Mr Edwards’ family to support the work with refugees has now raised more than £11,000.
His mother, Ali Edwards, said:
“I’m so proud of what they are doing, helping people who have made it to safety in Slovakia, while remaining focused on those still in danger in Ukraine.
“The attacks on ambulances that Lewis has told me about are appalling, obscene and show a total lack of humanity.”
On Saturday evening, The Magdalens pub on Princess Road, Ripon is hosting a fundraising evening to raise more money for the Ukraine Shelter run by Mr Edwards and his colleagues.
The rock and roll bingo music quiz starts at 7.30pm and the £7.50 cost of entry includes five bingo games and a pie and peas supper. There will also be a raffle.
Tickets can be purchased in advance at the pub, from tomorrow.
Pre-school children in Ripon are just finding out about the antics of Super Mario and Sonic the Hedgehog, but their parents and grandparents have known these animated characters for decades.
The significance of this is not lost on Rory Lofthouse, owner of the New Wave Gaming Arcade on Westgate.
He told the Stray Ferret:
“For the younger children, joining in games featuring Super Mario, Sonic and others, is a new experience, while it’s a nostalgic trip down memory lane for dads, mums and grandparents.
“We have game players aged between four and 70 plus, who can enjoy their visit on many different levels.”
A father and son playing together at the New Wave Gaming Arcade. Picture Rory Lofthouse
The arcade offers retro versions of the video games from the 80s, 90s and early noughties, most of which were originally created for Nintendo, Sega and Sony PlayStations.
It’s a strategy that is working, attracting Ripon families and people from further afield.
Rory pointed out:
“Parents are coming with children as young as four and joining in the games that they used to play when they were growing up.
“We also get grandparents who remember the excitement of sons and daughters, when they received their first Playstation as Christmas or birthday presents.”
Gamers, aged 13 and above, can lose themselves in the fantasy super hero world of Fortnite
Rory, added:
“We are attracting gamers from the wider Ripon area, including Harrogate, because they prefer coming here to travelling to Leeds.
“Teenagers who come with families for a day out, but don’t want to visit the tourist attractions, such as the cathedral and museums, often spend an hour here, while their parents look around the city.”
Children under 10 have to be accompanied by an adult and for those over ten, who may be at the arcade to join in gaming with friends, a close watch is kept to ensure that the games are suitable for the age of the players.
For people with sensory needs, the arcade provides a quiet hour on Sunday morning from 10 to 11, when the sounds on the gaming machines are turned down.
As well as catering for young children up to the age of 10, other games can be played by teenagers and adults.
These include Epic’s Fortnite, which is suitable for players aged 13 and above, along with titles, including Ridge Racer, Big Buck Hunter and Gunblade.
Memoirs of former Ripon mayor to raise money for charityThe current Mayor of Ripon recommends that people have a hanky at the ready, when they read John Richmond’s keenly-awaited memoirs.
Councillor Eamon Parkin, First Citizen of the ancient city, received an advance copy of the former mayor’s book, Beyond the Farm Gate on Wednesday.
He told the Stray Ferret:
“I just couldn’t put it down, it is beautifully written and made me both laugh and cry and I’m sure it will similarly affect anyone fortunate enough to obtain a copy.”
Cllr Parkin, added:
“Poignant passages, telling of sad events in John’s life, are balanced with comical episodes, told with a Tyke’s sense of humour. As I read the book, I was wiping tears of sorrow and laughter from my eyes.”
Adding to the poignancy of the work, by 86-year-old first-time author John, is the fact that it is dedicated to his late and beloved wife, Barbara, to whom he was married for 55 years. She died of breast cancer in July 2013.
All proceeds from the sale of the limited edition book will go to Breast Cancer UK and it is hoped that £6,000 will be raised for the charity.
John, who was awarded a British Empire Medal for services to the community in the 2021 New Year’s Honours, has been working on the book for four years and said:
“I received considerable help from Sheila Whitfield, an expert in memoir writing, who gave me advice after I met her through the University of the Third Age.“
The 280-page book, which includes highlights from John’s work in business and local politics, starts by taking the reader on a transatlantic journey from rural North Yorkshire to the streets of San Francisco.
In the mid 1970s, he was invited to represent the world’s first and foremost city of Ripon, at the USA’s bi-centennial celebrations, attended by the mayors of the younger Ripons in America.
In stark contrast to the glitz of California, John turns the clock back to the 1930s, to give an insight into the hard labours of life at Carr House farm on the edge of Dallowgill, where he was born in 1935.
He pointed out:
“There was no running water, no electricity or gas, no bathroom or inside toilet and we washed the muck from our scalps and skin while sitting in a big cast iron bath in the side scullery.”
A heart-breaking event from John’s childhood has lived with him for 80 years and still brings tears to his eyes.
“We had a wonderful black mare that we called Old Bess. She was a war horse, who served her country in France during the the first world war and came to us with a bullet hole in her front left foot.
“A special shoe was made, so that she was able to pull wagons without feeling pain, but tragically, one day, when she was drinking water from a ditch on the farm, she slipped and fell in.
“It was a pitiful sight for my parents, seeing her struggling to get up and she eventually had to be pulled out with harnesses attached to two horses, but she had suffered terrible injuries.
“My mother comforted her in her final hours and Old Bess was humanely put to sleep the following morning.”
That ingrained memory has shaped John’s life as an animal lover and to this day he, and fellow volunteers, are involved in the daily feeding of stray cockerels that have been abandoned on the moors near Kirkby Malzeard.
Animal lover John and a team of like-minded volunteers feed the stray birds
On a much happier, though at the time flat note, John’s memoirs recount the story of a hastily-made offer that he soon regretted.
It was winter 1975 and Ripon’s sole hornblower told the city council that he wanted to take a Christmas break. But who would take over during his absence to ensure that the nightly ceremony of setting of the watch was maintained?
John made history when he became the only Mayor of Ripon to act as a hornblower while in mayoral office
John said:
“With all other councillors sitting on their hands as I chaired the meeting, in a fit of pique, I said, if none of you will do it, I’ll have to do it.”
He made an offer that he wasn’t sure he could properly fulfil, particularly after he attempted his first blow in the privacy of the mayor’s parlour.
However, after secret practice sessions in the bowels of the town hall under instruction from the city’s then Sergeant at Mace and former hornblower, Cyril Hawley, John perfected the pout and summoned up the necessary puff to get a blast out of the horn.
Beyond the Farm Gate, which costs £15, is available at various outlets, including The Little Ripon Bookshop, on Westgate, the Mason’s Arms, Bishop Monkton and from Kirkby Malzeard historian Tony Sinfield.
On Thursday lunchtime John will be at Ripon Golf Club signing copies of the book for club members and members of the public.
His memoirs can also obtained by calling 01765 607096.
Consultation on 1,300-home Ripon Barracks development extended
Consultation on the proposed 1,300-home Ripon Barracks development has been extended until Wednesday next week.
People who wish to comment on the proposed 1,300-home Ripon Barracks development now have until Wednesday next week to make their views known to .
Harrogate Borough Council has confirmed to Ripon City Council that its request for an extension to the consultation period on the major planning application, has been agreed. The original closing date for comments was February 17.
So far 178 comments have been submitted — 148 by members of the public and 30 by consultees, such as heritage and business organisations.
Independent city council leader Andrew Williams told the Stray Ferret:
“This is the biggest single residential development in Ripon’s history.
“It is important for as many people, as possible — in particular local residents — to have the opportunity to make their views known.”
The city council voted unanimously at its February meeting to call for an urgent extension after discovering that a transport assessment for the Homes England scheme was belatedly published on the Harrogate Borough Council planning portal.
It meant anyone who commented on the outline planning application prior to February 3 did not have the opportunity to see the amended transport assessment document before submitting their views.
This effectively meant that the document was only available to read for 15 of the 30 days that the consultation period was initially set to run.
Cllr Williams said:
“On the doorstep, the major concern from the people that councillors have spoken with since the barracks development was first mooted has been traffic and what mitigation measures are proposed to ensure that Ripon doesn’t find itself gridlocked by the increased volume of vehicles that this and other housing development will generate.
“That is why the city council commissioned its own report from a traffic consultant, that can be submitted as part of the consultation process.
The transport assessment in support of the Homes England development states:
“The proposed mitigation measures for the Ripon Barracks site include a wide range of improvements not just in the vicinity of the development itself, but also throughout the western side of the city and into the city centre itself.
“These measures include; the implementation of pedestrian and cyclist improvements by implementing mitigation measures such as traffic calming on Clotherholme Road and Kirkby Road; the introduction of a one way system involving Kirkby Road, College Road and Trinity Lane to accommodate on road cycling while maintaining car parking along College Road; the provision of a gateway junction including segregated cycling facilities at the primary Kirkby Road access to the site; junction mitigation measures to alleviate traffic congestion at key city centre junctions and provide enhanced pedestrian crossing facilities; measures to prevent rat running; and proposed contributions to public transport bus services.
Ripon’s new swimming pool and partly-refurbished leisure centre, officially opened its doors early this morning.
The reaction of the first swimmers through the door at 6.30 was unanimously positive.
Comments included, ‘superb’ ‘fabulous’ ‘absolutely great’ and ‘It’s really exciting.’
Named in honour of a history-making Olympic diving champion and local hero, who learnt to swim in Ripon’s Spa Baths at the age of 3, the Jack Laugher Leisure and Wellness Centre is designed to be a facility fit for the 21st century.
Jack Laugher MBE , is on the sign that greets swimmers and gym users when they enter the centre
The pool contains almost half a million litres of water
The centre, along with other swimming and leisure facilities across the district, is being operated on behalf of the council by Brimhams Active.
The people of Ripon have been waiting for this day – the project to build the pool ran nine months behind schedule and cost approximately £5 million more than its original £10.2 million budget.
The Changing Places toilet at the new Ripon pool
The charges for members of the public to use the new pool, have not increased from the entry fees charged at Spa Baths.
A swimming session for an adult costs £5.10 with children aged 3 to 16 paying £2.70 and complimentary entry for children under 3. The adult concession rate also remains at £3.70.
Centre operations manager Ben Cutting, was on duty with his Brimhams Active team to welcome the early-bird swimmers
Containing almost half a million litres of water, the six-lane pool can accommodate 108 swimmers at a time and leading-edge AngelEye technology has been installed as an added safety measure, should anybody get into difficulty during a swim.
Accessibility features are an integral part of the design, from the inclusion of wider doors, steps for entry at the shallow end of the pool and the provision of Changing Places toilets in both the pool and at the leisure centre.
The gym area
The ground floor of the centre remains closed, awaiting the remediation measures required before the whole of the building can be used, but the upper floor is equipped with an array of top-of-the-range health and fitness equipment – from treadmills to cycling machines that can link into digital media.
There is also a sauna room that can be used by swimmers and gym goers and outside, the well-equipped Dallamires Children’s Play area, which opened on Monday, is already proving popular.
Ripon family’s plea: ‘Please help the people of Ukraine’
As the Russian bombardment of Ukraine continues, former Ripon Grammar School student Lewis Edwards and his partner Tanya Bogdanovska are safe in Slovakia, but constantly thinking about family and friends facing the horror of war.
Lewis, whose family live in Ripon, has been providing regular updates, along with the photographs seen here.
He told the Stray Ferret, this morning:
“Tanya spent the night talking with friends online, while they hid in stairwells during non-stop rocket attacks.
“She has been telling them that they will survive and asking them not to lose hope, but what do you say when someone tells you they don’t want to die like this? They are young, they are scared and they don’t know what to do.”
As rockets and mortar fire rains down on Kyiv, men, women and children are sheltering at the city’s Metro stations
With the worsening situation, the urgency of Ukrain’s plea for help increases by the minute and for Tanya it is a personal plea, because she comes from Zaporhisia, which has been under heavy attack for days.
While she and Lewis can only add their voices to the world-wide call for the military assistance that Ukrain needs, they and a growing group of friends are preparing to provide practical, on the ground support for fleeing refugees through a shelter in Slovakia.
This will provide food, rest, the opportunity to bathe and obtain essential items such as sanitary products for women and nappies. The shelter will also have private areas where the refugees can make calls to loved ones back in Ukraine.
Lewis, Tanya and friends who will help in setting up the shelter, have now crossed the border into Slovakia
The plans for creating the shelter are taking shape and in Ripon, a Go Fund Me page set up on Sunday by Lewis’s family is steadily receiving donations from the local community.
Lewis’s mother, Ali, said:
“We would like to thank all those who have made donations and ask those who haven’t so far, if they will help support the people of Ukraine in what ever way they can.”
While people have been sheltering under ground in Metro stations, Russian rockets have destroyed residential blocks
The shelter will give respite for traumatised Ukrainian refugees before they make onward journeys.
Final destinations are currently unknown to the fleeing women, children and men over 60, who left their homeland with hastily-packed suitcases, back packs and carrier bags.
The majority had to bid farewell to loved ones, including husbands, partners, brothers and uncles aged between 18 and 60, who stayed behind to fight for their country.
This is happening city by city and street by street, as Ukrainian soldiers, along with civilians armed with Molotov cocktails and guns provided by allies, continue their desperate struggle against Russia’s military might.
Women and children who are fleeing Ukraine, are facing an uncertain future
Lewis, said:
“The current situation is absolutely dire, but we hope that we can provide some light at the end of the tunnel.
“Our friends, a group made up of Ukrainians and foreigners ,are working together now to try and do what we can.”
The collective, including teachers like Lewis and Tanya, who met at Point Camp (a children’s summer camp in Ukraine) come from a number of European countries.
A new children’s play area in Ripon opened for families today.
The Dallamires Playground is part of the city’s new £15m Jack Laugher Leisure and Wellness Centre on Dallamires Lane. The pool is set to open on Wednesday.
The playground seems to have gone down well on social media, with posts from parents saying it looks like “so much fun” and “wonderful for little kids”.
The play area can be accessed from a public footpath off Knaresborough Road.
Three-year-old Lottie (pictured in our main image), was one of the first children to play on one of the slides.
Her mum Kim said:
“it’s a lovely new play area for families to bring children to from this part of the city.”
As rockets and mortar fire rained down on Kyiv and Russian tanks moved menacingly on the capital’s streets, a former Ripon Grammar School student and his partner, hatched a plan to flee Ukraine and help others seeking sanctuary abroad.
Teachers Lewis Edwards, 33, and Tanya Bogdanovska, 30, arrived in Uzhhorod in the early hours of yesterday morning, after leaving Kyiv on Friday to drive 500 kilometres to the border with Slovakia.
Today they face a long wait to cross into the neighbouring country, where their plans for a shelter that will provide assistance to fellow refugees from Ukraine are starting to take shape.
They have growing support from a team of people that includes doctors and other professionals.
Fundraising and advice
Back home in Ripon, Lewis’s family launched a Go Fund Me page yesterday, which aims to raise an initial £10,000 to get their humanitarian venture off the ground.
At the time of publication, more than £3,000 had been raised.
Advice is being provided by Nicola David, chair of Ripon City of Sanctuary, who has expertise in resettlement programmes from her work with organisations that have assisted Syrian refugees.
She said:
“I was in contact with Lewis yesterday to offer advice on the structures that need to be put into place, both here and in Slovakia, to support the shelter in its work.”
Lewis Edwards, with his mother, Ali. Picture: the Edwards family
His mother, Ali, said:
“We have been worrying, as we have witnessed hour by hour coverage of Russia’s invasion and attacks on Kyiv and other parts of Ukraine, while praying that Lewis and Tanya will get out safely.
“I’m very proud of them for the way that they always think about others and hope that people in Ripon and further afield will give their financial support at this desperate time for the people of Ukraine.”
Last night, Lewis told the Stray Ferret about the horror of seeing his adopted country invaded by Russia.
He said:
“A week ago, Tanya and I were teaching children at a private secondary school in Kyiv and on Thursday, our lives were turned upside down as the first rockets and mortars were fired at Ukraine and the invasion began.
“We sought safety in the shelter of an underground metro station, but could hear explosions above and when we emerged we discovered that residential blocks, schools, hospitals and nurseries in Kyiv and other parts of Ukraine had been indiscriminately attacked by the Russians.
“Then came a terrifying moment as we walked along the street and heard the sound of a gun being cocked. We didn’t know if we were the target, all we could do was hope and fortunately we survived.”
He added:
“We have seen some surreal sights in Kyiv and on our journey to the border, including old ladies with machine guns, who are ready to fight for their country street by street
“People are making Molotov cocktails to throw at tanks and changing road signs to confuse the Russian invaders. One side read: ‘Russians turn left and up your own ar**’
“It’s clear to us that Putin has made a complete misjudgement, thinking that Ukraine’s military would surrender, but the soldiers, airmen and citizens are ready to fight to the last.
“Tanya and I just hope that further practical aid will be provided by NATO as soon as possible.”
Do you own a haunted castle, hall, pub, manner house, or stately home in, or within easy reach of Ripon?
If you do, Dion Child would like to hear from you.
Recently arrived in the city Dion runs the growing ‘Write-on-Ripon’ group for creative writers. He also hopes to introduce people to his style of paranormal activity.
Dion formerly lived in Wales where he was involved in running Kington Ghostbusters. He told the Stray Ferret:
“I’ve come up with the name Ripon Spookers and am currently in contact with a range of likely locations, hoping the owners will let us spend a night trying to make contact with their resident spooks.”
He stressed:
“This has nothing to do with devil worship or anything dark and dangerous, but is intended to provide fascinating evenings, or perhaps weekends away, for like-minded people wanting to get in touch with the other side.
“Each will be a bespoke – or perhaps be-spooked event, focused on the ghostly inhabitants residing at each location.”
Like the Most Haunted TV series that ran for 18 seasons and proved a screaming success, the focus will be on finding the paranormal signs of spirit activity.
Dion said that he has never seen a ghost, but added:
“I have sensed a presence, heard footsteps when nobody was there, watched tables levitate and seen white globes floating in mid air.”
The Kington Ghostbusters group held its paranormal activities at reputedly haunted pubs, castles and stately homes and he is confident that similar places can be found in Ripon or surrounding area.
Dion pointed out:
“I’m relatively new to Ripon and have been hearing about places in the city and not far away, that have a haunting tale to tell, such as The Unicorn Inn with its ghosts and the Wakeman’s cafe, which was formerly home to Hugh Ripley, the first mayor of Ripon.
“I’ve heard legend has it that his ghostly figure will appear in a window looking onto the market square, if the hornblowers ever fail to set the nightly watch.
“I understand that this has never happened, including throughout the covid lockdown and it would be a blow to the city if it ever did.”
With up to 20 people anticipated to attend the events that Dion envisages putting on, the hunt is on for suitable medium to larger sized locations.
Anybody who has a property that fits the bill, can contact him via the Ripon Spookers facebook page
Ripon’s s reputation as a city with many haunted places led to the creation of a popular ghost walk.
The weekly 90-minute walks, which started from Market Square, were interrupted by the covid lockdown, but they made a return when social-distancing restrictions were eased last summer.