Ripon Museum Trust has secured three-year funding from Arts Council England worth more than £400,000.
The trust operates the Workhouse, Prison and Police Museum and Courthouse museums, which welcome around 30,000 people per year.
The grant means the trust will continue to be funded through the Arts Council’s national portfolio scheme. It will receive £142,576 each year for the years 2023-26.
The funding will help pay for jobs as well as a programme of community engagement, creative programming and improvements.
Last week Harrogate Theatre , which had received just over £140,000 a year from the national portfolio scheme since 2015, announced it had missed out on an award this time.
Richard Taylor, chair of the trust, said:
“This crucial grant funding allows us not only to continue to provide a range of inspiring experiences but to also look ahead to how we can find new and innovative ways to inspire and engage our visitors both digitally and in person.
“This is good news for Ripon and the wider community of North Yorkshire. It will help to raise the cultural profile of our city and everything it has to offer.”
Applications for funding were determined against criteria laid out in the Arts Council’s Let’s Create strategy, which requires organisations to demonstrate how the work they do will contribute to the principles of inclusivity and relevance, ambition and quality, dynamism, and environmental responsibility.
Trust director Helen Thornton said:
“It is hugely exciting to be part of Arts Council England’s next portfolio and to be able to respond to Let’s Create. It’s a vote of confidence that what we are doing here has real impact and potential to grow our cultural offer.
“We hope to be able to reach out to and work with new communities, strengthen and develop what we do for our local communities, our volunteers and the general visitor – to ensure they have a really creative and inspiring time in our museums”.
City council opens funding scheme to more Ripon organisations
Community groups in Ripon are being invited to apply for funding up to a maximum of £3,500.
Ripon City Council has reviewed its partnership funding scheme to allow more organisations to apply for assistance covering an extended period, rather than making repeat annual applications via the council’s small grants scheme.
Funding will be approved for the council’s current term of office and will be subject to agreed outcomes defined in service level agreements and a regular review.
The partnership funding scheme will no longer be limited to those organisations who have previously benefited from it on a year-on-year basis.
Local not-for-profit, charitable and community organisation are invited to submit applications by November 30.
The partnership funding scheme, which was launched in 2016, was designed to provide core annual funding to a number of local organisations.
It has previously run alongside the small grants scheme, for which the council has regularly received repeat applications from other local groups and organisations that require additional funding to allow them to carry out their work.
The partnership funding scheme is designed to be a medium-term pledge of financial support to local organisations.
It is open for applications from any Ripon organisation which has charitable status or which runs as a not-for-profit, community organisation where membership is open (i.e. no discrimination on the grounds of gender, race, religion or sexuality).
Funding applications must clearly be of benefit to the people of Ripon as the scheme is funded by the precept money collected through the council tax levied on Ripon residents.
New films capture royal celebrations in village near Ripon over 70 years
Two films made by a local history group in a village near Ripon about jubilee celebrations during the late Queen’s reign are now available to view online.
The first film, called The Village Likes To Party, is a record of the many celebrations held in Bishop Monkton near Ripon during the reign of the late Queen, including the coronation in 1953, the jubilees of 1977, 2002, 2012 and this year’s platinum jubilee.
It contains archive film and interviews with people about their memories. It can be viewed here.
The second film, called Bishop Monkton Platinum Party Celebrations 2022, is a more detailed record of this year’s platinum jubilee celebrations, including both professionally shot film as well as videos and photos taken by people on their phones during the jubilee weekend. It can be viewed here.
Both films were funded in part with money from Harrogate Borough Council’s platinum jubilee community grants fund.
They were screened in the village hall in Bishop Monkton this year but the producers wanted to make them available for people everywhere.
Colin Philpott, co-producer of the films, said:
UK’s biggest outdoor holiday home show to come to Harrogate“Bishop Monkton Local History Group is delighted to make these films available for anyone, anywhere to enjoy forever.
“They may be about one small village but we believe they are a special record of royal celebrations in a Yorkshire community which will interest people everywhere and provide valuable historical material for future generations.”
The Great Yorkshire Showground in Harrogate has been chosen to host the UK’s biggest trade show for holiday homes, caravans and motorhomes next year.
The Great Holiday Home Show will see major manufacturers launch their latest models to the public as well as to parks, dealers and distributors from across the country.
The show will be held from Friday, September 8 to Sunday, September 10 for the public, followed by a trade-only show from Tuesday, September 12 to Thursday, September 14.
The event, which was first held as The Lawns Show in 1976, is organised by the Hull and East Riding of Yorkshire Caravan Manufacturers’ Association.
The show is moving from Hull, which is the epicentre of the UK caravan industry, to the 250-acre Great Yorkshire Showground to allow more manufacturers to attend than in previous years.
Richard Jones, chairman of HERCMA, said:
“This is an exciting time for the industry as we bring everyone together to put on a comprehensive show, in a central location for an industry that is constantly evolving. The show will be managed for us by the organisers of the Great Yorkshire Show, one of the UK’s biggest events.”
Heather Parry, managing director of the Great Yorkshire Showground, said:
“We are delighted to be hosting and managing The Great Holiday Home Show, this is a significant event for the industry, set in the heart of the UK at a venue that boasts acres of outdoor space along quality indoor space too. Happily, David Ritchie, who has managed the event for over 20 years, will continue to work with us as the show adviser as the show moves to its new venue.”
Event manager David Ritchie said:
“This show is in my blood and it is wonderful to see it develop at a new venue and work with a new team as it continues to expand”.
According to the National Caravan Council, there are more than a million caravan and motor homes in the UK, and around 50 million nights are spent in them each year. The caravan industry contributes more than £6 billion a year to the UK economy.
Ripon woman sets up dyspraxia support groupA Ripon woman who believed she was “broken”, but went on to graduate from university after being diagnosed with dyspraxia, has launched a not-for-profit company to help others who may share the condition.
Carol Turnbull set up Chrysalis Dyspraxia Awareness last year with a view to providing one-to-one support for people pre- or post-diagnosis and helping them to understand their potential.
She has also given a talk to a government department and hopes to expand this side of the business, speaking to companies and organisations about neurodivergency and its workplace implications.
Dyspraxia is a condition affecting physical co-ordination and causes children to perform less well than expected in daily activities for their age, and appear to move clumsily.
How people make plans and decisions, organise their lives and regulate their emotions may also be affected. The condition is closely associated with dyslexia, autism, ADHD, and dyscalculia.
Carol Turnbull
Carol was 47 before she was diagnosed with the condition, but says she had always known there was something wrong.
“I had a life of thinking I was broken; I could feel something wasn’t right,” she says.
“As a child, I was always looked on as different and was picked on a lot. I always wondered why people didn’t like me, and that lasted right through till adulthood.”
After more than 30 years working in the care industry, Carol happened to take her son to an open evening at York College, but ended up herself enrolling on an access course. That led to her taking a psychology degree at Leeds Beckett University, where she was first diagnosed.
She says:
“It changed my life. Learning about myself and how I function neurologically and socially has greatly improved my confidence and this directly contributed to the development of Chrysalis.”
Now, she wants to pass on that knowledge, giving others the support that she missed out on. Contact can be made via her website here. She says:
Guide to bonfire and fireworks displays in the Harrogate district“A lot of people with dyspraxia pigeonhole themselves, and it can feel quite disabling if people around you don’t know why you are the way you are if you yourself don’t know why.
“Giving others this power and supporting them to understand themselves and their dyspraxia better can open up the world to so many people who may feel their wants and desires are beyond their capabilities. This is something I am passionate about. I strongly believe that, given the right support, people can achieve absolutely anything!”
This story is sponsored by Belmont Grosvenor School which will be holding a Bonfire Night Party on Friday, November 4. There will be s’mores round the campfire, music, hot food, a licensed bar, stalls and more. Gates open at 6pm, the bonfire will be lit at 6.30pm and the firework display starts at 7.20pm.
Tickets can be purchased at the gate and cost £10 for adults (children under the age of 18 are free). Get them in advance by emailing kaye.walker@bewonder.co.uk.
Bonfire night is fast approaching so we have put together a list of events coming up in the Harrogate district.
They all take place over the weekend of November 4, 5 and 6.
Let us know if we have missed your event and we will add it to the list. Email contact@thestrayferret.co.uk or call us on 01423 276197.
Belmont Grosvenor School Bonfire Party
Where: Belmont Grosvenor School, Swarcliffe Hall, Birstwith, Harrogate, North Yorkshire, HG3 2JG
When: 6pm start, 6.30pm fire lit, 7.20pm firework display
Tickets: £10 with children under the age of 18 entering for free
Ripon Rowels Rotary Charity Bonfire and Firework Display
Where: Ripon Racecourse, Boroughbridge Road, Ripon, HG4 1UG
When: 5.30pm start, 7pm fire lit, 7.30pm firework display
Tickets: adults £6, children £3, family (2 adult, 2 child) £12, under 3s free
Spofforth Village Firework Display
Where: Spofforth Cricket Ground, School Lane, Spofforth, HG3 1BA
When: Gates open 5pm, 7pm-7.15pm firework display.
Tickets: Family pre-paid £12:50 and on the gate £15. Adult pre-paid £4 and on the gate £5. Child pre-paid £2:50 and on the gate £3.
Swinton Bivouac Silent Bonfire Night
Where: Swinton Bivouac, Masham, Ilton, Ripon, HG4 4JZ
When: 6.30pm bonfire lit. There will be no fireworks or loud bangs.
Tickets: free entry, food and drinks available from the Bivouac Café
Aspin Park Academy Fireworks Night, Knaresborough
Where: School grounds
When: 5.15pm start, 6.30pm firework display
Tickets: Advance online booking – adults £4, children £3, family ticket £12, preschoolers free. On the gate – adults £5, children £4
Harrogate Stray Bonfire and Fireworks, Harrogate Round Table
Where: Oatlands Stray, Harrogate, HG1 1BJ
When: 5pm start (there will be entertainment), bonfire lit 5.30pm, 7.15pm firework display
Tickets: free entry, donations welcome
Upper Nidderdale Scouts Group Pateley Bonfire
Where: Pateley Bridge Showground
When: 6pm start, 6.30pm torchlit procession and bonfire lit, 7pm fireworks
Tickets: free entry, donations welcome
Kirkby Malzeard community village bonfire
Where: North Close Farm, Ripon Road, Kirkby Malzeard
When: 6pm start, 6.30pm bonfire lit, 7pm fireworks
Tickets: Free entry but donations welcome to fund next year’s event. Parking is available at North Close Farm. No sparklers allowed. Bring a torch.
Yolk Farm Bonfire and Burger Night – dog-friendly
Where: Yolk Farm, Minskip Road, Minskip, York, YO51 9HY
When: 5.30pm start, 6.30pm bonfire lit, no fireworks
Tickets: free entry for the event, advanced bookings only for Burger Night in the restaurant – 5:30pm and 8pm sittings
Staveley Arms Bonfire
Where: The Staveley Arms, Greenfields, North Stainley, Ripon, HG4 3HT
When: 6pm
Tickets: £5 per person to include a choice of hot dog or cup of soup
This story is sponsored by North Blinds.
With so many styles of blinds and shades to choose from, finding the right one for your needs can sometimes feel a little overwhelming.
However, using their vast knowledge and expertise, Lucas and his business partner Chris can help you find the perfect window covering.
Since launching their business, North Blinds, in 2018, the team have commissioned and installed thousands of blinds.
Their unrivalled customer service has earned them hundreds of five star ratings on review sites including Google and Trustpilot.
This is thanks to their personal face-to-face approach, which includes bringing their unique ‘mobile showroom’ to customers’ homes.
Lucas said:
“We bring the showroom to customers, so they don’t need to leave the comfort of their homes.
“We, as an independent family business, have got large collections of books of different swatches and types of blinds, so they can see what the actual material or fitting is going to look like against the wall or against the furniture.
“This really helps customers to find what they are looking for.
“We are always friendly and our free no-obligation consultations are carried out in a relaxed way. We keep the best interest of our customers at heart.”
Lucas, from North Blinds.
Lucas, Chris and the team personally offer advice on what blinds would be suitable for customers’ needs.
For example, a heavy wooden blind might not necessarily be suitable for a large window and a motorised blind might be a more preferable option for a skylight.
Lucas said:
“Using our expertise and our experience, we advise them so they get the results they want. Sometimes as a customer, you have something in mind but you don’t know the full range or what options you have. So we can help solve this.”
The company also offers a unique lifetime aftercare service. As well as a standard two-year warranty on all blinds, North Blinds stay on standby to help customers with any future issues.
Lucas said:
“Our lifetime aftercare helps you to keep your blinds in tip-top shape, even when they get accidentally damaged. So if your dog took too much of a liking to your bone print kitchen blinds, we will fix the damage for free. We only charge for replacement parts if needed. You can’t say fairer than that!
“We focus on the experience and the customer service so they feel they have got value for money. We want to take away all the stress of ordering blinds, fitting them and making sure they are ok.”
North Blinds is based in Skipton, however they offer their top-class service across the Harrogate district, including Knaresborough and Ripon.
The firm works with the best manufacturers to supply a complete range of blinds, including blackout blinds, motorised, ‘perfect fit’, pleated, Venetian, roller, day and night, conservatory, skylight Roman and vertical. As well as the huge variety window blinds on offer, the business also offers a wide range of curtains and shutters.
Lucas added:
“Customers expect excellent quality materials, a high-level of workmanship, professionalism and excellent customer service, and that’s exactly what we believe in too.”
Ripon auction to sell paintings of Derby winners found after 180 years
Two miniature paintings of Derby winners are to be auctioned in Ripon next month after lying unnoticed for 180 years.
The oil on metal paintings belonged to John Bowes, founder of the Bowes Museum and one of the greatest-ever racehorse owners.
They make up a set of four identically presented paintings depicting all of Mr Bowes’ Derby winners.
The other two are held by and are on view at the Bowes Museum in Barnard Castle, and until recently art experts knew nothing about the whereabouts of the missing pair.
The two paintings show Mundig and Cotherstone, who won the Derby in 1835 and 1843 respectively.
They are being offered for sale by auction house Elstob & Elstob as part of its pictures and sculpture sale on November 30, together with a portrait of Issac Walker, who was head groomsman at the Streatlam Stud owned by Mr Bowes, who died in 1885.
Head groomsman, Issac Walker, with the two paintings.
Mr Elstob said:
“It is remarkable that these paintings have finally come to light.
“They have come forward from a client in Matlock, Derbyshire, who has had them in the family for as long as can be remembered.
“The family originated from Weardale in County Durham – close to the Bowes Museum – and the client remembers them hanging in his grandparents’ cottage in the village of Howden le Wear. His grandfather was friendly with Issac Walker’s family, which may explain how the paintings came to be in their hands.”
Each painting measures only 12.5cm x 13cm and are presented in horse shoe frames known as racing plates and would almost certainly have come from the Derby winners themselves.
The two paintings, together with the oil on board portrait of Issac Walker, carry a price estimate of £1,000 to £1,500.
It is not known who painted them but they are attributed to the circle of Henry Thomas Alken (1785-1851).
The paintings are particularly significant to the equestrian world due to John Bowes’ fame as one of the most successful racehorse owners this country has ever known.
During his career he had four Derby winners, a feat matched by only five other breeders in the history of the race and only exceeded by the Aga Khan III with five
John Bowes earned a fortune from racing, which played a major part in funding the Bowes Museum; built in an elaborate French Chateaux style to house the art collection of John and Josephine Bowes and opened to the public after their deaths in 1892.
Mundig was the first of Bowes’ hugely successful horses. He was foaled in 1832, the year that John Bowes turned 21 and indeed Mundig is German for mature or ‘of age’.
He was in the first batch of horses that Bowes sent to trainer John Scott, known as ‘the wizard of the north’, who had the Whitewall training stables at Malton, near York.
When Mundig won the 1835 Derby, he became the first northern-bred horse ever to do so, despite relatively poor odds.
Cotherstone was another outstanding champion, again trained by John Scott and ridden by his brother William Scott to victory in the 1843 Derby. He won the Two Thousand Guineas and came second in the St Leger in the same year, earning Mr Bowes more than £12,000 (£1.2 million in today’s values), and securing his position as one of the most valuable horses in the country.
Issac Walker was head groomsman at the Streatlam Stud from 1833-1872.
Mr Elstob said:
“These paintings represent a snapshot of one of the most remarkable success stories in racing history and, together with the links to the renowned collection of art in the Bowes Museum, we are expecting them to attract worldwide interest from equestrian enthusiasts and art collectors alike.”
The sale will take place at Elstob & Elstob’s Ripon salerooms on November 30 at 10am, with viewing on November 29 between 10am and 7pm.
For further information, contact Rohan McCulloch on 01765 699200 or email: rohan@elstobandelstob.co.uk
Grantley Hall appeals council order preventing it from using helipad
Grantley Hall has appealed a council order to prevent it from using a helipad after an alleged planning breach.
Harrogate Borough Council issued an enforcement notice against the hotel for using the helipad for take off and landings without planning permission.
The luxury hotel, which is located five miles west of Ripon, withdrew plans to operate the helicopter landing pad in June 2021.
The authority then ordered the hotel to “cease the use of the land for the taking off and landing of helicopter flights” and remove the helipad from the land.
According to the notice, the helipad’s location causes damage to the area and the significance of a heritage asset in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
The order adds:
“It fails to protect or enhance those features which contribute to the special architectural or historic interest of the heritage asset and does not make a positive contribution to the character of the area.”
A picture of the helipad in the Grantley Hall grounds submitted to the Planning Inspectorate.
However, Grantley Hall has since appealed the order and requested that permission is granted for the helipad.
The hotel said that 70 flights took place at the hotel between October 2021 and September 2022, with visitors coming from Jersey, Bournemouth and Melrose in Scotland.
It added that all the flights took place during the day time and it was “clear evidence for the demand for this facility”.
In documents submitted to the government’s Planning Inspectorate, which deals with appeals, the hotel said it had met with the council in September 2022 and confirmed it had stopped taking helicopter bookings.
The hotel said it was happy for conditions to be placed on its proposals and was willing to meet with the council to discuss mitigation measures.
It said in its planning documents:
“The appellant is eager to work with Harrogate Borough Council to ensure that Grantley Hall’s ability to deliver a first-class service and contribution to the local and regional economy does not compromise the local amenity and setting and significance of Grantley Hall.”
The Stray Ferret approached Grantley Hall for comment, but did not receive a response by the time of publication.
A government planning inspector will make a decision on the proposal at a later date.
The hotel withdrew plans for the helicopter landing pad for a third time in June 2021 after council officers recommended rejecting the proposal.
Nidderdale AONB (Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty), Grantley and Sawley Parish Council and several residents objected to the plans, with one local describing the application as “totally unnecessary” and “self-fulfilling”.
The hotel has withdrawn three applications and had another rejected since first asking for permission to use an existing helipad in 2018.
Grantley Hall opened as a hotel after a £70 million refurbishment in 2019.
It was once used by West Riding County Council between 1947 and 1974 as an adult education residential college, as well as a training and conference centre by North Yorkshire County Council.
Business Breakfast: More than half of units let at Ripon Business ParkBusiness Breakfast is sponsored by Harrogate law firm Truth Legal.
More than half the units under construction on a Ripon business park are now pre-let ahead of the project being completed.
Canalside Business Park, which was previously used by Econ Engineering to store its 900-strong gritter hire fleet, is looking to help redress the shortage of small-scale industrial units in the district.
Owned by Canalside Developments and being constructed by HACS, it is a 25,000 sq ft development located opposite Ripon racecourse, off Navigation Way opposite Travis Perkins, and is scheduled for completion in spring next year.
Jonathan Lupton, Canalside Developments director, said:
“Canalside Business Park will help meet the growing demand for industrial units for start-ups and growing business in our district.
“We are delighted by the fact that 65% of the units are now pre-let. Built to a modern specification, they will provide much-needed industrial space for micro businesses and SMEs.”
Ripon Business Improvement District is inviting businesses to enter their Christmas window competition, which has adopted a theme of peace and sanctuary.
The BID hopes as many businesses as possible get involved and make Ripon’s Christmas windows a magical spectacle.
A judging panel, consisting of the Mayor and Mayoress of Ripon Councillor Sid and Mrs Linda Hawke, the Dean of Ripon the Very Revd. John Dobson and The Stray Ferret, will be judging all the windows during the week beginning November 21.
The winning window will receive £200 in advertising from one of the BID’s media partners.
Locals and visitors will be invited to vote via social media and will have the chance to win a Ripon Hamper Company hamper.
The BID will be running its Christmas marketing campaign using the #christmasinripon and will include video footage of the windows and festivities.
The Visit Ripon website will have a dedicated Christmas page highlighting the businesses Christmas windows, offers and events.
Businesses are asked to confirm whether they wish to enter by November 14 via info@riponbid.co.uk and be ready for judging by the panel during the week beginning November 21.
The Ripon Christmas brochure, whose production is being supported by the BID, will be available to businesses and the public both in print and online at the beginning of November and Seasonal music in Market Square will complement the BID’s ‘Free After Three’ car parking on Friday November 25, and on December 2, 9 and 16.