Pictures of local people from the past are lighting up the front of Ripon’s Workhouse Museum with a new after-dark display.
People of Ripon’s Past, features historic photographs from the Ripon Re-Viewed collection including, among others, North Eastern Railway staff, workers from Ostcliffe’s Tannery, land girls and a refugee family.
Running until March 21, the daily display can be seen between 6pm and midnight.
The Images are projected onto the museum with a design created by locally-based audio-visual and lighting specialists Fusion LX
Helen Thornton, director of Ripon Museum Trust said:
“We had some fantastic feedback from the community on our previous lighting displays and we wanted to continue into 2022.
“After talking with Ripon Re-Viewed, we came up with the idea to display some brilliant historic photos of Ripon in days gone by, as a way to bring the community together through our shared past.
“Hopefully, the display will intrigue and inspire anyone passing by the museum on Allhallowgate.”
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Mandy Whitehead, project lead at Ripon Civic Society said:
“A big thank you to the Workhouse Museum for the opportunity to share some of the fabulous images from Ripon’s past. We hope it will give the local community an insight into life in Ripon.”
Ripon MP Julian Smith urges UK to ‘rip up’ red tape and welcome Ukrainian refugees
“It’s really important that the United Kingdom makes an immediate open, welcoming and warm hearted commitment of sanctuary to those who wish to leave Ukraine.“Rip up the usual bureaucracy and let’s just say they are welcome and we will make it as easy as possible to be here.”
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Mr Smith has 37,000 followers on Twitter and his message has 6,000 shares and 38,000 likes.
Sanctuary organisations in Harrogate and Ripon continue to re-settle refugee families from the war-torn countries of Syria and Afghanistan.
Prime minister Boris Johnson should resign over his ‘lack of leadership’ in handling the partygate scandal still hanging over Downing Street.
That’s the view of Ripon councillor Stuart Martin, chair of the Conservative-controlled North Yorkshire County Council, who will not be standing for re-election after 23 years in local politics.
He told the Stray Ferret:
“In my time as a firefighter and crew manager, I knew that I was duty bound to set an example and I don’t think the prime minister has done this in his handling of the partygate issue.
“He should step down because of the lack of leadership that he showed.”
Cllr Martin, pointed out:
“I must stress that I am not speaking on behalf of the council, but from a personal perspective.”
In March 2020, when the country was in its first covid-lockdown and he and his wife April were serving as the Mayor and Mayoress of the Harrogate District, she contracted coronavirus and went into two weeks of self-isolation.
The Mayoress’s condition deteriorated rapidly and she was rushed into Harrogate District Hospital where her life was saved in the intensive care unit.
At the time, Cllr Martin, said:
“I had to say goodbye to her in the ambulance and I didn’t know whether or not I would ever see her again.”
A second chance
Former nurse April, who is still suffering from long covid, said:
“Because of the skill of everybody at the hospital, we were given a second chance and that was in our thinking, when we looked to the future and Stuart decided it was time to step down.”
The couple, who will celebrate their 41st wedding anniversary in June, have two grown-up daughters and plan to spend more time with them and their six grandchildren, aged from five to 16.
The frightening experience of two years ago remains fresh in their minds and with daughter Gemma working as a paramedic, they have an everyday reminder of the vital role that front-life staff continue to play in tackling the pandemic and keeping people safe.
This was highlighted at Christmas, when the lack of rapid flow test kits put additional strain on the emergency services.
Cllr Martin, said:
“It was a chaotic and ridiculous situation, with paramedics urgently requiring testing kits to ensure that they were clear of the virus and able to care for others.”
Continuing work in the community
The Queen and Prince Philip, pictured in 2004 with the then Mayor and Mayoress of Ripon Councillor Stuart Martin and his wife April
As the government eases the restrictions on daily life, the Martins will continue to remain vigilant as they carry out their community work in Ripon and further afield.
Cllr Martin, one of the founders of TASC Madagascar which is helping disadvantaged people in the island country, will continue as a trustee for the charity.
He will also maintain his role as chair of trustees at Community House in Ripon, whose services are supporting hundreds of families and individuals trapped in food poverty.
Awarded an MBE IN 2010 for his charity work in Ripon and Madagascar, Cllr Martin will be playing active roles with the Ripon Community Poppy Project and as chair of the Friends of Hell Wath.
April, a former district commissioner for the Girl Guides, will continue to run a local Brownie group.
Looking back over the past 20 years, in which they have been Mayor and Mayoress of Ripon as well as the Harrogate district, a special memory came in 2004 when the Queen and Prince Philip visited the city to mark the 400th anniversary of the Royal Charter awarded by James I.
Cllr Martin, said:
“We were extremely privileged to meet them on that day and proud to have represented the people of Ripon.”
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Future of Ripon’s Hell Wath nature reserve generates heated discussion
More than 100 people with passionate but different views about the future of Hell Wath Nature Reserve attended a meeting in Ripon last night.
The meeting, at Ripon Bowling Club, was organised by Keep Hell Wath Natural, a group concerned about clearance and other work at the reserve, including removal of a large area of hawthorn and blackthorn, the felling of trees and draining/de-silting of a pond.
The work is being done as part of the National Lottery-funded £2.5m Skell Valley Project, which involves work on a 12-mile stretch of the River Skell between Dallowgill Moor and Hell Wath.
Members of Keep Hell Wath Natural, along with local residents, dog walkers and people who have been visiting the area for up to 55 years joined representatives from the Friends of Hell Wath, the Skell Valley Project, and Harrogate Borough Council leader Richard Cooper at the meeting. It was chaired by independent city councillor Peter Horton.
Meeting organisers Janet Anderson (centre) and Brian Don, pictured in January in an area of Hell Wath where clearance works have taken place
Project partners include the National Trust, Nidderdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and Harrogate Borough Council, which has a 99 year lease on Hell Wath negotiated at a peppercorn rent with landowner Tarmac.
Objectors say ‘brutal’ clearance has gone too far
Speaker after speaker said they wanted Hell Wath to remain as they have known it for decades — as a natural and largely un-touched area with trees, shrubs, grassland, riverside paths and pond.
They were critical of the clearance activities that have already taken place as part of the Skell Valley Project.
Fears were also expressed about possible longer-term plans to create a cycle path, which they believe would be hazardous for owners who take their dogs to exercise at Hell Wath and let them off the lead.
They believe that the clearance ‘went too far’ removing areas of bushes, trees and water that sustain wildlife ranging from frogs and newts to birds, rabbits and hedgehogs.
The removal of trees and scrub, was described by two speakers as ‘brutal’ and ‘creating a mess.’
Sheila Boyd summed up the feelings of many present, when she said:
“We are talking about an area that has been completely cleared and destroyed, taking away the habitat for hedgehogs, butterflies, birds and other creatures.
“There are four large and open fields at Hell Wath, with barely a tree in sight, so why couldn’t these pockets of bushes and woodland be left as they were?”
What was the response from the Skell Valley Project?
Project manager Nabil Abbas explained the reason for the clearance works. He said
“Historically, in a wild landscape like this, there would have been large herbivores like wild boar, wild cattle, elk, beavers etc living and naturally managing the land.
“Regular catastrophic events such as flooding or wildfires would also take place, all of which remove trees and shrubs and help to maintain a mosaic of open habitats suitable for a broad range of different species.”
Nabil Abbas
He added:
“Cattle did graze at Hell Wath for a long period, however it is not appropriate to reintroduce them given the way the community now use and enjoy the space.
“Due to the absence of these natural processes which would keep them in check, trees and shrubs are spreading through these precious open areas.
“As a result, we risk losing the diversity of species such as rare orchids and wildflowers, bees, butterflies and other pollinators, and the birds and animals that feed on them, if we do not actively manage these remaining habitats.
“In summary, our landscape is no longer ‘natural’ since key ecological processes are no longer operating, and therefore human intervention is needed to conserve the diversity of habitats and species which depend on them.”
Council leader ‘shocked’
Cllr Cooper, said he was ‘shocked’ by the hostile reaction to some of the points made by Mr Abbas and claimed there had been an attempt to ‘shout him down and heckle’ him.
In response, a member of the audience, said:
“You should understand the strength of feeling in this room and that is why people are getting heated about what is happening at Hell Wath.”
‘Shocked’ Harrogate Borough Council leader Richard Cooper. Picture: Tyler Parker Photography
‘No plans for a cycle path’ – Friends of Hell Wath
Both the secretary of the Friends of Hell Wath, Jeremy Dunford and committee member Carol Leo, were categoric in saying that a cycle path is not planned as part of their work or that of the Skell Valley Project.
Mr Dunford, who is also chair of the Ripon Disability Forum, confirmed there are plans to improve paths and access for people who, like himself, are wheelchair users, or families with children in pushchairs. He said:
“There will be no cycle paths, no tarmac, no concrete, but we want to ensure that Hell Wath is accessible to everybody. We all have a right to visit this area.”
Jeremy Dunford, spoke about improving accessibility
Ms Leo, added:
“There will also be no bridleways and there will be signage on all entrances saying ‘no cycling’.”
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Invitation to join the friends
At the end of the meeting, Ms Leo, said:
“It is clear that people here are passionate about Hell Wath and I hope that we can all work together.
“I ask those of you who are not already members of the Friends of Hell Wath to come and join us.”
Ripon BID begins to light up the city
Ripon Business Improvement District will begin an initiative tonight to light up alleys and ginnels in the city.
The BID, which aims to increase footfall in Ripon to help businesses, will switch on festoon lighting in Lavender Alley, which links Fishergate with Old Market Place and Queen Street,
It will be the first alley and ginnel around the city to be lit up, as part of a BID-funded programme designed to make Ripon a more attractive place to visit.
Ripon BID manager Lilla Bathurst, said:
“Lighting up these key routes throughout the city has been a priority.
“Businesses want all our tourists and the local community to enjoy the most convenient routes as they navigate and explore the city.
“We have been pleased to work with local to Ripon lighting contractor, Fusion FX to deliver this project.’’
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Lavender Alley, was given a deep clean in November along with three other busy routes regularly used by pedestrians, shoppers and visitors, to access the city,
In December, Kirkgate, a key gateway to and from Ripon’s iconic cathedral and location for hospitality businesses and a strong mix of retailers, received a pre-Christmas deep clean, as the BID-managed work progressed.
Families invited to enjoy the sights and sounds of RiponSeven of Ripon’s best-known locations are combining on Saturday March 12 to provide free entertainment and interactive fun for families.
The Sights and Sounds of Ripon programme, organised by Harrogate Borough Council, runs from 11am until 2pm at all venues.
It includes activities ranging from participation in a Victorian school lesson at the Workhouse Museum, to a visit to the bell tower at Ripon Cathedral.
Anyone interested in how fingerprints have been used to catch criminals can find out at the Prison and Police Museum, on St Marygate, where they can try fingerprinting themselves.
The cathedral will host singing, dancing, displays, craft activities and a bell tower tour.
At the nearby Courthouse Museum on Minster Road, visitors can see how the city’s criminals were brought to justice in bygone days.
In addition to the array of activities at the three heritage attractions run by Ripon Museum Trust, the cathedral, which celebrates its 1,350th anniversary this year, will host an exhibition featuring community services provided by 14 local organisations.
There be family crafts and games and performances from local choirs, Ripon City Morris Dancers and Betty Lupton’s Ladle Laikers.
The dancers and the Ladle Laikers will also be performing at the Workhouse Museum, along with singers and a ukulele band, while Punch and Judy shows will take place at 11.30am and 1.30pm.
The city council’s treasured items will be the focus of talks in the Mayor’s Parlour
At Ripon Town Hall, the city’s silverware and other treasures, collected over centuries, will be the focus of talks held on the hour from 11am in the Mayor’s parlour.
Those looking for some interactive entertainment will find it at Ripon Arts Hub on Allhallowgate, where they can view a working rehearsal by Ripon Youth Theatre between 11am and 12 noon and join in live Oliver! workshops at 12.15pm, 1pm and 1.45pm.
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The city’s library will hold storytime readings for 0-6 year-olds from 11am and there will be stories and activities for 7-11-year-olds between 12 noon a 12.45pm.
In addition to the daytime programme at the library, which will feature community information stalls, Ripon Poetry Festival will be staging a free to attend open mic night at 7.30pm, for which places need to be booked in advance.
Further programme details are available here.
A gala concert in honour of the Queen’s platinum jubilee will be held at Ripon Cathedral on Saturday March 5.
St Cecilia Orchestra will play some of the best-loved English orchestral music, compered by Nidderdale-based actor and playwright, Nevin Ward.
He promises:
“A glorious, thrilling programme that is not just some of the finest English music ever written, it’s some of the best music ever, full stop!”
The programme will open with Walton’s rousing Orb and Sceptre march, specially commissioned for Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation.
This will be followed by Britten’s Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra, which takes the listener on a whistlestop tour of the orchestra by means of a cleverly adapted set of variations on a theme from Purcell’s Abdelazer.
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Mr Ward, a native Northumbrian who has lived in Nidderdale for 45 years, voices the narration in the evening concert and also in a special family highlights matinee at 5.00 pm – designed to give younger children the opportunity to take part in the celebrations and hear live orchestral playing.
Following the interval, the orchestra’s string section will feature in Vaughan Williams’ Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis, written for double string orchestra with string quartet and based on a melody of the English Renaissance.
Conductor Xenophon Kelsey is looking forward to hearing the fantasia in the generous acoustic of Ripon Cathedral. He said:
“The Vaughan Williams work is glorious – so atmospheric and evocative, especially in the cathedral!”
Elgar finale
The concert will come to a close with one of Elgar’s musical masterpieces, the Enigma Variations, consisting of 14 pieces based on an original melody, each of which is a sketch depicting one of the composer’s friends.
Elgar himself explained that the work ‘commenced in a spirit of humour’, as he improvised at the piano one evening, but it ‘continued in deep seriousness’.
In naming the theme ‘Enigma’, the composer posed a challenge which has generated much speculation over the years but has never been definitively answered.
Tickets for the full evening performance are priced at £20 for adults and are free for under 18s. Available via the orchestra website, www.st-cecilia.org.uk, from the Little Ripon Bookshop and Henry Roberts, or reserve by phone: 01423 531062. The performance begins at 7.30pm.
Tickets for the short family matinee at 5.00pm (Walton and Britten only) cost £5 for adults and are free for under 18s, and are available from the same outlets.
Ripon’s lively literary scene, made up of poets, creative writers and published authors, has welcomed a new arrival.
Dion Child, who previously lived in Wales, moved to the city a few months ago and has set up Write-on-Ripon as a means of meeting fellow wordsmiths.
The new group is attracting attention and attendees since its first meeting in November at Hive Cafe in Halls of Ripon, where its Tuesday afternoon gatherings have been held ever since.
A natural progression from this will be seen on Tuesday at 7.30pm in the Curzon Cinema on North Street, when an open mic event called Write-On-Ripon Unleashed will be held. Entry is free.
Mr Child told the Stray Ferret:
“We would like as many people as possible to come along and join in the fun
“This is a fantastic opportunity for writers to unleash their inner creativity and share their talent by performing in the style of their choice to like-minded literature lovers.
“As I have found in the past, it’s a great way of making friends and sharing ideas.”
Among those who will be attending is Maggie Cobbett, chair of Ripon Writers’ Group and an accomplished and versatile author and poet, whose work includes the novels Foreshadowing, Workhouse Orphan and Anyone for Murder?
She said:
“Always keen to meet new people who ‘get’ why I’m rarely seen without a pen and notebook at the ready, I went along to the first session of Write-On-Ripon! and have become a regular attender.
“Write-On-Ripon! Unleashed offers a great opportunity for writers from any established group or none to get together in a convivial atmosphere, swap ideas and – should they wish – share some of their work.
“If the first session is well supported, the intention is for this to become a regular event in the cultural calendar of our little city.”
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Ripon pool and playgrounds will not be open for half-term
Ripon’s multi-million pound swimming pool will not be open on time for next week’s half-term school holidays.
It and the new Dallamires children’s play area, created on site as part of the £15 million leisure development, are now expected to open next month, according to staff on site.
The play area, which can be accessed from a public footpath off Knaresborough Road, remains fenced off. A sign on the fencing says it ‘will open as soon as possible in the new year’.
The pool was due to be ready nine months ago and the project is currently £4m over budget.
In a further setback for parents and grandparents looking for places to take children next week, the Ripon City Council-owned Quarry Moor playground will not be reopening for the time being.
Long-term delay
The six-lane pool was originally due to be completed in May last year for an opening in the summer.
But ground stability issues on site that required remediation caused the initial delay and saw Harrogate Borough Council announce that the opening was going to be in November.
A weather-beaten sign at the Dallamires Play Area says it would open in ‘as soon as possible in the new year’.
A planned opening date of December 8 was subsequently announced but a fault discovered during testing of the pool’s lining, saw the council say that the opening would take place in January.
When asked if the pool would be open during the half-term holidays, a Harrogate Borough Council spokesman replied:
“A date hasn’t been confirmed yet.”
However, a woman who was hoping to take her grandchildren there next week contacted the Stray Ferret and said:
“I went to the leisure centre this week and was told by two members of staff that the pool would be opening at the start of next month.
“This is frustrating, because I had also visited the leisure centre in January to check if the pool would be open for half-term and was told by staff that it would open either later that month or the beginning of February.”
The grandmother, who asked to remain anonymous, added:
“I don’t want to make a fuss, the staff at the centre were very helpful, but it was disappointing when I also asked about the new children’s playground and was told it would be opening at the same time as the pool.”
Quarry Moor playground still closed
Half a mile from the pool, the Quarry Moor playground, which closed in September because of rat infestation, still remains shut.
The Quarry Moor playground will also be closed next week
Ripon City Council leader Andrew Williams, said:
“We apologise for the fact that the playground won’t be open.
“With the vermin issue under control, we had hoped that it could be back in use for the half-term holiday, but the condition of the play equipment has deteriorated.
“We need to carry out further inspection to assess if it is economical to carry out repairs, or go for a complete refurbishment with the installation of new equipment and aim to reopen in time for the Easter holidays.”
Last year, the city council set aside £70,000 for refurbishment of the playground and Cllr Williams said that additional sources of grant funding were also being explored.
Read more:
- Further delay to Ripon pool opening
- Ripon leisure scheme racks up additional £1m cost
- Ripon’s delayed leisure scheme more than £3m over budget
Ripon meeting to hear concerns about Hell Wath nature reserve
The organiser of a public meeting on the future of Hell Wath Nature Reserve has said he hopes for a “calm and constructive discussion”.
There has been heated online discussion recently about changes to the Ripon beauty spot.
Trees and bushes have been removed, a pond has been drained and saplings planted as part of the £2.5 million Skell Valley Project,
The four-year National Lottery-funded project, which is supported by Harrogate Borough Council, The National Trust, Friends of Hell Wath and Nidderdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, involves work on a 12-mile stretch of the River Skell between Dallowgill Moor and Hell Wath.
The project aims to create a sustainable future for the Skell Valley but some local people are upset about the extent of the clearance work at Hell Wath and feel they haven’t been adequately consulted.
A meeting at 7pm on Wednesday next week will give them an opportunity to raise their concerns.
‘Common ground’
Brian Don, of the Keep Hell Wath Natural group, which called the meeting, told the Stray Ferret:
“Our aim is to bring together people with differing views about this much-loved and visited area of Ripon, with the objective of finding a mutually acceptable way forward.
“We hope for a calm and constructive discussion, which can find common ground between those, who like ourselves, want to keep Hell Wath as we have known it for decades and those who have a different longer-term view.”
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The meeting, which will take place at Ripon Bowling Club on Bondgate Green, will be chaired by Peter Horton, deputy mayor of Ripon and a former Harrogate district and North Yorkshire county councillor, who has served as an independent on the city council for 19 years.
He said:
“I’m looking for an even-tempered meeting, at which all sides can air their views.
“What they have to say will be collated and we can see where we go from there — perhaps a follow-up meeting at which the issues raised can be addressed in detail.”