Ripon City Council has given its backing to plans designed to return Ripon’s iconic Spa Baths to its former Edwardian glory.

Ripon-based property investment and development company Sterne Properties Limited, is seeking planning approval from North Yorkshire Council for a mixed-used hospitality-led scheme that will see the restoration of the spa building, which includes ornate tiles, stained glass, period lighting and other features dating back to 1905, when it opened.

Many of the Grade II listed building’s decorative elements have not been seen for 88 years, as the spa was re-purposed in 1936 to accommodate a public swimming pool  and the addition of a pool hall saw the concealment of classical designs on windows, walls and ceilings.

Robert Sterne, pictured at the ornate main entrance to the Spa building

Director Robert Sterne, told the Stray Ferret:

“We are pleased to have the support of Ripon City Council, alongside that of Ripon Civic Society, for our proposed rejuvenation of Spa Baths.”

He added:

“Our objective, as a long-term investor in our home city, is  to deliver high quality developments that breathe new life into listed and historically-important buildings and bring redundant properties back into active use.

“This is achieved through a sensitive balance of residential and commercial space and the delivery of workable schemes that are financially viable and environmentally sustainable.”

Sterne’s plan includes four new-build apartments and the regenerated complex will provide public access to the Spa building along with a new pedestrian route into the adjacent Spa Gardens.

The city council voted in favour of the scheme at its full meeting  last week and its response to the proposed plans will be lodged with North Yorkshire Council planners.

Councillors Barbara Brodigan and Andrew Williams, who are members of the the North Yorkshire Council Skipton and Ripon Area Planning Committee, left the council chamber before the agenda item was considered by fellow councillors.

As required for all Ripon planning applications that include a new-build element, ground stability tests have taken place at the Park Street site and results from them will be supplied to the planning department.

Main image: An architect’s perspective of how the refurbished Spa building will look. Image: architecture:ab 

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George Egg’s culinary comedy act literally gave a tantalising taste of what’s to come at the 2024 Ripon Theatre Festival.

Before the performer served up the main course at Ripon Arts Hub, director Katie Scott and her colleagues revealed the full, mouth-watering festival menu to a packed audience at Thursday night’s launch.

Mr Egg used equipment ranging from a steam device for wallpaper stripping to a George Foreman grill disguised as a laptop, for an unconventional means of creating cuisine that was later consumed by some attendees.

George Egg got the 2024 festival off to a frying start

The full festival menu

What is set to follow the festival starter had many members of the audience licking their lips as they looked in the 28-page guide and listened to Ms Scott and her team of volunteers talk through the coming events.

The growing festival now in its third year and with the Stray Ferret as its media sponsor, stretches to six nights and five days packed with professional touring shows alongside colourful community performances.

Taking place from Tuesday, July 2 to Sunday, July 7, the festival promises an extensive and varied programme of drama, family entertainment, dance, circus, comedy, cabaret and spoken word events.

Theatre and fun will be popping up in unexpected places and making the most of the city’s attractive venues and open-air spaces.

Outdoor theatre fans can enjoy shows at Newby Hall and in the elegant gardens of The Old Deanery, or spend a leisurely Sunday in Ripon at the family day where puppet shows, street entertainment, music and dance run alongside visits from Wrongsemble and Rhubarb theatre companies.

Festival Saturday ( July 6) will see another whole day of pop-up shows, walkabout acts and street performers, kicking off with story-telling for breakfast, Morris dancing and fire-juggling.

Among the festival’s many free-to-watch street entertainers will be The Tea Cosies – Dorothy Dunker, Tippy Teapot and Barbara Bourbon.

Visiting acts will arrive in the city from across the four countries of the UK to join regionally-based theatre companies and performers.

The extended programme for 2024 includes a daytime Julie Andrews musical tribute, A Spoonful of Julie, a stand-up comedy-meets-storytelling event in the Storehouse Bar, an Opera Brunch at Valentino’s Ristorante and a digital theatre experience from Pilot Theatre Company taking place daily in Ripon Cathedral.

The 2024 festival also boasts its first storyteller-in-residence with Ilaria Passeri spending time in the city performing and running creative workshops for both adults and children.

As part of its developing outreach programme, the festival will also be taking theatre and music into care settings. Older people and those living with dementia will be able to enjoy non-verbal puppet theatre and mini concerts from specialist companies and practitioners.

Ms Scott said:

“We believe that theatre should be for everyone. Our varied and accessible programme of events provides real theatrical treats for seasoned theatre-goes, but also lively and low-cost opportunities for first-timers and families.

“We love bringing events to non-theatre spaces and working with local businesses and other partner organisations to create a buzz in the city which all can enjoy.”

Tickets are already selling fast for the hottest shows, including Red Ladder Theatre’s touching musical We’re Not Going Back which remembers the miners’ strike 40 years on.

Also much in demand is Barrie Rutter’s Shakespeare’s Royals in Ripon Cathedral and the music of Victoria Wood celebrated cabaret-style in Looking for Me Friend.

All ticketed events are now on sale and full details of the free shows and outdoor programme can be found here.

Main Image: As You Like it, Shakespeare’s comedy of love and disguise will be performed outdoors at the Old Deanery on Sunday July 7; All pictures Ripon Theatre Festival

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Ripon’s Spa Gardens with its stunning Mick Burns Alice sculpture and fine fir trees, has once again been transformed into a spectacular winter wonderland.

Yesterday (Saturday) was the second of three days that have seen parents, grandparents and children  flock to see a fantasia of festive decorations and imaginative displays created by community groups across the city and supported by businesses and the council.

Adding to the atmosphere, was special lighting effects that illuminated trees, the war memorial and statue of  George Frederick Samuel Robinson, the first Marquess of Ripon and the city’s most high profile politician, who also served as Viceroy and Governor-General of India from 1880 to 1884.

The trees were lit.

The winter wonderland, with its free family fun and music, is run by volunteers and continues today (Sunday) between 2pm and 8pm.

Organiser Caroline Bentham, who is chair of the Friends of Spa Gardens, which organises the event, told the Stray Ferret:

“This is the fourth time that we have staged it and it has grown year on year, as we add new features and activities.

“Over the three days we will see around 2,000 people through the gates, most of them in family groups, who come to enjoy the sights and sounds of our pre-Christmas winter celebration.”

Children look at the knitted figures produced by members of the Ripon Community Poppy Project

This year has seen the introduction of an environmentally-friendly art show featuring more than 50 works created by members of the Littlethorpe Arts Group, which meets every Tuesday in the village hall,

Caroline Bentham (pictured left) and Caroline King, display some of the festive themed works featuring the Grinch, Santa and reindeer in the snow.,

The pieces have been produced on recycled roof tiles donated by Ms King,  who said:

“I had the roof on my house replaced and instead of having the slate tiles taken to the tip, I thought they could be put to good use, by providing the art group with a new medium for their work.

“They are such a good material to work with and the results have been spectacular.”

The Cheshire Cat , which is part of the Alice in Wonderland sculpture, had red light and a smile on his face.

The event, which costs around £7,000 a year to organise, is made possible by donations, grants and volunteers.

Ripon City Council, North Yorkshire Council, the Ripon Inn, and Ripon’s community scrap fund have all given money.

Crowds gathering for an evening of entertainment at Spa Gardens

Musical performances over the first two days were given by Holy Trinity Church Choir, local singer-songwriter Lily Worth, Masham Handbell Ringers, Brackenfield School Choir, and the All For One Ripon Choir.

Ms Worth will perform again today and the Spa Gardens bandstand will also provide the platform  for Yorkshire Voices, the  Jolly Wassailers, and a ukulele band.

Although the event is free, visitors are encouraged to make a donation or buy refreshments. The Sun Parlour cafe in Spa Gardens will be open

Main image: The Alice in Wonderland sculpture was looked spectacular bathed in red light.

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Ripon Spa Gardens will be transformed into a winter wonderland from tomorrow until Sunday.

The free public event will see the trees in Spa Gardens decorated with illuminations to bring the magic of Christmas.

There will also be activities, including Christmas carols and bellringing, from 2pm to 8pm from Friday, December 15 to Sunday, December 17.

Organiser Caroline Bentham hopes the event will ease financial pressure on families in the run up to Christmas as there is no charge to enter.

She said:

“When it gets to Christmastime everything gets so expensive.”

The event, which costs around £7,000 a year to organise, is made possible by donations, grants and volunteers.

Ripon City Council, North Yorkshire Council, the Ripon Inn, and Ripon’s community scrap fund have all given money.

All those involved are volunteers and all the crafts are made by local people.

The winter wonderland will host local performers, including Yorkshire Voices, Masham Hand Bell Ringers, Jolly Wassailers, and Brackenfield School.

Ms Bentham said:

“It really is a community event.”

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While the event is free, visitors are encouraged to make a donation or buy refreshments. The Sun Parlour cafe in Spa Gardens will be open.

This is the fourth year the wonderland has taken place.

Other free attractions in Ripon this week include a giant snow globe display.

The snow globe, which even has biodegradable snow, is popular for social media images.

The Greenhouse’s Christmas window entry.

There is also a Christmas window competition in town this week.

Visitors can vote for their favourite display among 34 entries.

Voting is open until Sunday, December 17.

Nearby 17th century house Grantley Hall will also be hosting jazz nights throughout the Christmas period.

Remembrance Sunday is three weeks away and Ripon is wrapped in a ribbon of red, with poppy displays at key locations and routes into the city.

Ripon Community Poppy Project, founded by Hazel Barker and former mayor of the city Stuart Martin, created its first display in 2018 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the armistice signed in November 1918.

Every year since then thousands more poppies have been produced by a team of tireless knitters, whose painstaking work adds to the displays that respectfully honour the dead of two world wars and other conflicts.

In addition to Ripon Town Hall, the knitted poppies adorn the bandstand (pictured above) and gates (below) at Spa Gardens, where a Remembrance Sunday Service will be held at 11am on November 12.

The display at the junction of Kirkgate and Duck Hill.

The poppy displays can also be seen on planters outside the cathedral, railings in the city, at roundabouts and all access routes.

On November 9 the Community Poppy Project is holding a Concert of Remembrance at Ripon Cathedral.  Starting at 7pm, it will feature Ripon City Band, the Dishforth Military Wives Choir and a performance from Brackenfield School, Harrogate.

Tickets costing £13.50 are available from Stuff 4 Offices on Fishergate and the Wakeman’s House Cafe at Market Place South. Proceeds from the event will help to support the project’s continuing work.