Local attractions offer free and reduced entry to lottery playersSeveral of the Harrogate district’s most popular visitor attractions are offering free or half price admission until Sunday.
National Lottery Open Week is being staged to thank lottery players for contributing to good causes.
Places that have benefited from lottery funding, including Fountains Abbey in Ripon, RHS Harlow Carr and Ripon Museum Trust are among those taking part.
RHS Harlow Carr
Anyone who presents a lottery ticket or scratch card (digital or physical) at the National Trust-owned Fountains Abbey‘s visitor reception can visit the historic site for free.
Fountains Abbey. Photo: J Shepherd
RHS Harlow Carr is offering 2-for-1 entry for anyone that presents their lottery ticket or scratch card.
Ripon Museum Trust is offering a 50% discount to lottery players on Saturday to individuals and family groups that show a National Lottery ticket or scratch card on arrival at its three venues. They are the Liberty Courthouse, Prison & Police and Workhouse museums
Helen Thornton, museum trust director, said:
“We’ve been fortunate to receive National Lottery funding which enabled us to purchase the Workhouse Museum site and also to progress our future development plans.
“This is our way of saying thank you to everyone who has bought a National Lottery ticket, helped us on our journey and made a vital contribution to supporting good causes.”
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Darren Henley, chief executive of Arts Council England and chair of the National Lottery Forum, added:
“The National Lottery Open Week is a fantastic opportunity for hundreds of venues and projects across the UK to say thanks to players who raise £30 million each week for good causes.”
Further details about National Lottery Open Week available here.
Sneak peek: The return of Ripon’s department storeA new-look independent high street venture opens in a familiar Ripon setting at 9am tomorrow.
Halls of Ripon is in the Fishergate building that formerly housed the Philip Hall and Wrens department stores.
The coronavirus crisis signalled the end for some retailers in towns and city centres, but four former Wrens tenants kept their dream for independents alive.
Linda Liversidge at her Legs & Co stall, where she sells classic and vintage fashion for women and men
Mike and Liz Cooper, Hedley Hall and Lloyd Sheard devised a plan while selling their respective goods from a temporary location in Queen Street.
Tomorrow, their dream becomes reality.
Mr Cooper told the Stray Ferret:
“We are home to 22 small retailers – 15 of which are coming to open in high-street premises for the first time.
“The demand for space has been phenomenal and we have attracted a great mix of businesses, selling items ranging from hand-made gifts and home furnishings, to womenswear and jewellery.”
Keeley Buller and her partner David Ward will be selling cakes, beverages and other refreshments at The Hive coffee shop within Halls of Ripon
He added:
“Our aim is to take independent retailing in the city into a new era, while creating a department store experience with a level of service that is attractive to customers.
“Each retailer has their own facilities for debit and credit card transactions.”
Traders who also want sell online can call on Ben Butler, who is running his e-commerce sales and marketing business at Halls of Ripon.
Goods on sale include famous-name model vintage cars
Mr Hall’s antiques, collectables and vintage model business was in the former Wrens department store from the day it opened.
He said:
“Mark Butler’s highly innovative and award-winning concept sadly suffered because of the covid lockdowns at key trading periods last summer and pre-Christmas.
“We have taken his ideas forward and, by continuing to provide affordable space with no strings attached, have created a platform designed to help small businesses to succeed.”
A broad spectrum of retailers have joined the department store
Because of its long history, heritage and natural attractions, Ripon in non-covid times has benefited from year-round trade brought by tourists and the local population.
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Mr Sheard pointed out:
“There has always been the demand for a department store of this nature in Ripon.
“It is attractive to traders like myself, because it is in a fantastic location for footfall.”
Ripon museums reopen today with new exhibitionThe death of Harriet Rodwell, who committed suicide in the city’s workhouse in 1855, features in a new exhibition opening in Ripon today.
Ms Rodwell’s hard life and sad demise is remembered in Fragments — one of five textile installations.
Created by 6-Ply — a group of North Yorkshire textile artists — it is part of the Lives Unravelled exhibition at Ripon’s Workhouse Museum.
The display, dedicated to Ms Rodwell and created by Eileen Sweeney, reflects the fact that only fragments of the former inmate’s life remain.
The Prison & Police Museum – one of Ripon’s three heritage attractions now reopened for visitors
The new exhibition marks the reopening of the city’s three heritage attractions.
The workhouse, along with the Prison & Police and Old Courthouse are operated by Ripon Museum Trust.
The custom-made Lives Unravelled exhibition is Inspired by historical research into the lives of workhouse women.
It will be on display until September 5.
Artists have used a variety of materials and techniques to convey the real experiences and imagined emotions of being a woman in the workhouse.
Pieces installed as part of the exhibition, also include Room for Mother and Infant, by Hazel Waite; Jane Button’s “Fancy Apron”, by Sarah Lowe; Veg, Glorious Veg, by Mary Exelby and Apron of Feelings, by Jenny Bradbury.
Helen Thornton, director of Ripon Museum Trust said:
“It’s so exciting to be able to reopen our museums with this very moving and powerful temporary exhibition by local textiles group 6-Ply.
“We’re delighted to share these works with visitors and I hope they encourage people to consider the lives of people who lived and died here.”
Following today’s reopening, the museums will be open Tuesday to Sunday and on selected Bank Holidays, including bank holiday Monday, May 31.
Entrance to the exhibition is included in the cost of museum entry. All tickets to Ripon museums are valid for repeat visits over a 12-month period.
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Bookings can be made via the museum trust website or by calling 01765 690799.
Ripon Museums have covid safety measures in place and have been awarded the Visit Britain We’re Good to Go industry standard.
When will the Ripon hornblower return?Ripon’s nightly hornblower ceremony has been performed behind closed doors since March last year.
So the return of the city’s three hornblowers, who share the task, is keenly anticipated. But it seems the trio won’t be seen again on Market Square for almost two months at the earliest.
Ripon City Council leader Andrew Williams told the Stray Ferret:
“It is not possible to make concrete plans until we have certainty over the total lifting of limits on social distancing.”
Stage four of the government roadmap out of lockdown says the removal of all limitations on social contact will take place no earlier than 21 June.
The obelisk and Market Square, where the nightly hornblower ceremony has taken place for centuries.
Cllr Williams said:
“The council has received numerous enquiries about when the hornblowers will be seen again at the obelisk.
“Naturally, we hope that there are no mishaps along the way to the lifting of restrictions.
“We are as keen as our residents, businesses and visitors to the city, to see and hear them on Market Square.
“We will keep people informed.”
The 9pm ceremony has been performed continuously, without fail, since Ripon was granted its first charter in 886 by the Saxon king Alfred the Great.
During lockdown, the hornblowers have ‘set the watch’ by blowing the horn at their own homes.
People have been able to watch this on Facebook.
Hornblowers Wayne Cobbett, Alison Clark and Richard Midgley are employed by the city council.
They perform the ritual on a rota basis.
In pre-covid times, this involves them making blasts of the horn at the four corners of the obelisk and a brief talk on the history of Ripon.
The event can attract large gatherings, particularly in summer months.
Each hornblower has their own instrument from a collection of five, which still includes the ancient horn said to have been given to the city by King Alfred.
It’s a prized and priceless item, only on display at civic occasions.
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Last March, before the ceremony had to go behind closed doors, Mr Midgley said:
“Over the centuries, Ripon has had to fight off many threats from war to plague.
“The sounding of the horn and setting of the watch reminds us that we can and will overcome adversity – as we have done for centuries.”
Three Ripon museums prepare for reopeningThree Ripon museums are preparing to reopen next month after receiving further government funding.
The Workhouse, Prison & Police and Old Courthouse museums plan to welcome visitors from May 17.
Before then, the Workhouse Museum gardens will be open until 3pm today.
Ripon Museum Trust, which maintains the attractions, has received two grants totalling £186,850 from the Government’s Culture Recovery Fund, which helps cultural organisations recover from covid,
The latest grant of £69,350, announced last week, will help the trust develop digital learning for schools and reconnect with tour groups, older learners and communities.
The Police & Prison Museum – one of the three heritage attractions run by Ripon Museum Trust
This additional funding comes as visitor attractions and tourism destinations aim to make the most of the relaxation of lockdown restrictions and boom in staycations.
Helen Thornton, director of Ripon Museum Trust, said:
“The Arts Council’s cultural recovery funding has been an absolute lifeline during a very challenging time.
“This grant puts us in a strong and positive position to reopen our museums again and welcome visitors back – which is what we love doing and what we are all about.
“It will be so wonderful having our doors open again on 17 May.”
The Workhouse Museum gardens will also be open between 11am and 3pm on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, plus Bank Holiday Monday 3 May.
To manage numbers and ensure social distancing, people should book timed ticket slots online for this and the ‘Inside Out’ Museum Trail. Visit riponmuseums.co.uk for bookings.
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Sir Nicholas Serota, chairman of Arts Council England, said:
“Investing in a thriving cultural sector at the heart of communities is a vital part of helping the whole country to recover from the pandemic. These grants will help to re-open theatres, concert halls, and museums and will give artists and companies the opportunity to begin making new work.
“We are grateful to the Government for this support and for recognising the paramount importance of culture to our sense of belonging and identity as individuals and as a society.”
Last autumn, the trust was awarded £117,500 from the Culture Recovery Fund.
Ripon should be ‘meeting place of choice’ says Civic SocietyRipon Civic Society (RCS) has welcomed the move by Harrogate Borough Council to appoint consultants who will draw up a masterplan for the city.
RCS chair Christopher Hughes told the Stray Ferret:
“As one of the founder signatories of the Neighbourhood Plan for Ripon, we look forward to sharing our thoughts with the selected consultants.”
The society believes that people with an informed knowledge of the city, its planning issues and opportunities, should play a key role in guiding Ripon’s future direction. The city has suffered this year with the pandemic, with both the Ripon Spa Hotel and the Old Deanery closing down.
With a fee of £85,000 for a 12-month contract, consultants will be tasked with devising an “inspiring and innovative” vision that will be at the heart of the Ripon Renewal Project.
The contract is due to start on January 10.
Ripon Civic Society believes heritage attractions can help make the city a meeting place of choice
The move to develop a masterplan for the city comes at a time when future growth is on the horizon.
The major Barracks scheme known as Clotherholme will see Homes England deliver 1,300 homes in a number of phases on the outskirts of Ripon.
In the city centre, Ripon’s ancient Cathedral is planning its most significant development in centuries, with a £6 million extension, designed to provide modern facilities and additional space.
Mr Hughes pointed out:
“The society has always believed in adopting an holistic approach, which takes account of the things that make Ripon special, such as its heritage assets, Market Square and spa quarter.”
He added:
“There is also a need to look at how people arrive in Ripon – and how they move around when they get here in this very walkable city.
“If we get it right, there is the opportunity to position our city as the meeting place of choice.”
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The appointed consultants will have to set out “clear and robust” delivery timescales, funding options and a business case for Harrogate Borough Council to use to bid for money for projects.
The contract brief says:
“The aim of this project is to maximise the opportunities within Ripon which will regenerate the city and boost the local economy.”
Ripon museum volunteers involved in major workhouse exhibitionRipon Museum Trust has been involved in a major new online exhibition presented by The Workhouse Network called ‘More Than Oliver Twist.’
Volunteers from the Workhouse Museum in Allhallowgate – one of three heritage attractions operated in the city by the trust – worked on the project presented on the Google Arts & Culture platform.
The exhibition sets out to discover the real stories of people in the workhouse system through the 1881 census returns.
Researched and interpreted by volunteer researchers at six sites across The Workhouse Network, the stories have been used to create an online exhibition, with work from artists Morgan Tipping and Mel Rye, exploring six of these lives and the contemporary echoes of their historic experiences.
The immersive exhibition combines audio narrative and visualisations, enabling audiences to encounter the multidimensional lives of people then known as ‘paupers.’ The work is drawn directly from the research, museum collections, workhouse buildings, volunteers’ experiences and related contemporary lives.
Ripon’s Workhouse Museum
Within the exhibition, audiences will find The Life of Hannah Wade, a creative interpretation of the life of an inmate at Ripon Union Workhouse, now Ripon Workhouse Museum and Garden.
Helen Thornton, director of Ripon Museum Trust, which also runs the Police & Prison Museum and Old Courthouse museums, said:
“We’re delighted to see the results of this project, which our volunteers worked incredibly hard on. The content that has been created is remarkable: moving, thought-provoking and central to what we are trying to do here – to use the past to consider more deeply the issues of today.”
Sharon Heal, director of the Museums Association says:
“This fantastic project brings the stories of people who lived and worked in workhouses alive. I was fascinated by the story of Louisa Ledger and her struggle, that many women past and present have faced, to raise her children against the odds.
“The contemporary reflections help us explore the lives of invisible people who would otherwise be forgotten and have special resonance as we live through a pandemic that is hitting those worst off in society hardest.”
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The project has also created the largest database of poor individuals and families yet constructed to shed light on the diverse experience of the poor.
More than 325 biographies of these everyday people who experienced hardship and support under the very first system of national welfare have been created – the largest national database of biographies of people known at the time as “paupers”.
The project is funded by Arts Council England and supported by Nottingham Trent University and The National Archive.
Rare cabmen’s shelter returns to Ripon
Ripon’s rare cabmen’s shelter is back in place on Market Square.
The Grade II listed building, dating back to the days of horse-drawn hansom cabs and Hackney carriages, has been refurbished and re-installed at a cost of £22,000.
Apart from times of restoration work, the distinctive craftsman-built Edwardian structure has stood there for 109 years.
It was constructed in 1911 by Boulton and Paul of Norwich – the company that also built huts for Scott’s ill-fated Antarctic expedition of 1910-13.
Paid for with a £200 legacy from Sarah Carter, whose father was a former mayor of Ripon, the shelter has been restored on a number of occasions, including in 1980, when the city’s Royal Engineers fitted a wheeled chassis, so that it could be moved.
Councillor Andrew Williams, the leader of Ripon City Council, told the Stray Ferret:
“It’s great to have this piece of the city’s heritage back in place. We believe that it is Britain’s only moveable listed building.”
The council took ownership of the shelter from Ripon Civic Society in 1999.
It is a historically-significant structure and one of numerous heritage attractions that help to tell the story of Ripon’s past.
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In the days before motorised taxis, hansom cab and Hackney carriage drivers were exposed to the elements and in 1875 the 7th Earl of Shaftesbury formed the Cabmen’s Shelter Fund, so that a place of shelter and hot food could be provided for drivers as they waited to pick up fares.
The charitable fund was used to pay for shelters initially in London, but they were subsequently paid for through other means as they were installed in cities and towns across the UK.
Ripon’s cabmen’s shelter was built predominantly from timber, with ironwork balustrade and guttering and a beechwood shingled roof. In addition to its benches, an internal feature is a decorative mini-balustrade of iron fretwork in Chinese Chippendale style.
At the time of its Grade II listing in February 2009, Historic England stated:
“It is a nationally rare and well-preserved example of a cabmen’s shelter, an important reminder of the importance of horse-drawn transport in the early 20th century, supplied by the well-known firm of Boulton and Paul of Norwich.”
Rare cabmen’s shelter to return to RiponA rare Grade II listed building, dating back to the days of horse-drawn hansom cabs and Hackney carriages, is coming back to Ripon.
Following refurbishment by specialists, the cabmen’s shelter will soon be ready for its return to Market Place.
Apart from times of restoration work, the distinctive craftsman-built Edwardian structure has stood there for 109 years.
It was constructed in 1911 by Boulton and Paul of Norwich – the company that also built huts for Scott’s ill-fated Antarctic expedition of 1910-13.
Paid for with a £200 legacy from Sarah Carter, whose father was a former mayor of Ripon, the shelter has been restored on a number of occasions, including in 1980, when the city’s Royal Engineers fitted a wheeled chassis, so that it could be moved.
The latest refurbishment work and re-installation in Market Place is costing approximately £22,000.
This is where the Grade II Listed Building will be located.
Councillor Andrew Williams, the leader of Ripon City Council, told the Stray Ferret:
“We believe that it is Britain’s only moveable listed building.”
He added:
“It’s extremely rare and the city council, which took ownership of the shelter from Ripon Civic Society in 1999, is delighted that this historically-significant structure will shortly be back on Market Place, adding to our numerous heritage attractions.”
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In the days before motorised taxis, hansom cab and Hackney carriage drivers were exposed to the elements and in 1875 the 7th Earl of Shaftesbury formed the Cabmen’s Shelter Fund, so that a place of shelter and hot food could be provided for drivers as they waited to pick up fares.
The charitable fund was used to pay for shelters initially in London, but they were subsequently paid for through other means as they were installed in cities and towns across the UK.
Ripon’s cabmen’s shelter was built predominantly from timber, with ironwork balustrade and guttering and a beechwood shingled roof. In addition to its benches, an internal feature is a decorative mini-balustrade of iron fretwork in Chinese Chippendale style.
At the time of its Grade II listing in February 2009, Historic England stated:
“It is a nationally rare and well-preserved example of a cabmen’s shelter, an important reminder of the importance of horse-drawn transport in the early 20th century, supplied by the well-known firm of Boulton and Paul of Norwich.”
Hotel closures deliver blow to Ripon tourismThe Old Deanery Hotel’s closure early next year, combined with the closing of Ripon’s Spa Hotel, is a double blow to the city’s tourism sector.
As the city slowly emerges from lockdown, concerns have been raised about its future tourism prospects with a reduced choice for overnight visitors.
Tourism in Yorkshire and Humber is worth more than the whole tourism expenditure in Ireland or Denmark, while the number of people in the region employed in the sector is approximately 250,000.
Visitors are drawn to Ripon’s ancient church of St Peter and St Wilfrid, known as the Cathedral of the Dales, and the city’s heritage includes the world-famous nightly Hornblower ceremony.
As operators of visitor attractions look to the future, there are concerns about the loss of the bed spaces that they provided.
Ripon’s Prison and Police Museum
Helen Thornton, director of Ripon Museum Trust, which runs The Workshouse Museum, The Prison & Police Museum and Old Courthouse Museum, told the Stray Ferret:
“Covid-19 has impacted all tourism sectors and it is perhaps too early to say what the long-term picture will be. The closure of two hotels in Ripon is very sad and the decision must have been really hard but understandable given the circumstances we have all faced.
“I think it has long been acknowledged that a tourism city like Ripon could do with more hotel beds to develop the cultural and heritage tourism offer further. Undoubtedly Ripon as a whole would benefit from more hotel beds.”
The trust re-opened its heritage attractions in mid-July and secured the Visit England’s ‘Good to Go’ kitemark for all the Covid-19 safety measures put in place to keep visitors, staff and volunteers safe.
Helen added:
“We are cautiously pleased with our performance in August. We didn’t know what to expect in terms of numbers but so far so good! We certainly did have tourists visiting who were ‘staycationers’, staying in the area in a variety of accommodation types.”
The trust has benefited from Heritage Lottery funding and works with organisations including Welcome to Yorkshire, Visit Harrogate and we other attractions in Ripon and the surrounding area, to promote the city-wide offer.
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Richard Compton, the owner of Newby Hall on the outskirts of Ripon, is also saddened by the loss of two hotels, but remains optimistic.
He said:
“There are many new ways nowadays through which people stay in a particular place to enjoy the tourism offer – AirBnB for example – and I hope that the hotels will re-emerge in some form or other as places that welcome visitors to stay so that they can service Ripon’s tourism offer.”
The Stray Ferret asked Ripon’s MP Julian Smith if he had any support to offer to operators of tourist and visitor attractions in his constituency, but no response was received by the time of publication.