Heritage Hub
From this page you can access two prestigious heritage projects in which Ripon Civic Society has recently been involved as well as other heritage articles and links:
Ripon Re-Viewed, the result of many years of work by a group of Ripon Civic Society volunteers, is an ambitious, ongoing project to preserve and digitise thousands of historic photographic images, revealing almost a century and a half of life in and around the City of Ripon.
Dating from the 1840s to the 1980s, this remarkable archive records the people, places, shops, schools, traditions, celebrations, events and the everyday life of our community.
A small selection from this diverse library of images is shown below. The full story of the archive project can be viewed and images purchased for download here.
This Ripon Civic Society project has enjoyed financial support from the Heritage Lottery Fund and been supported by North Yorkshire County Council.
From October 2007 to November 2018 inclusive the Society’s Current (2023) Co-Chairman, historian David Winpenny, composed a weekly Heritage article for publication in the Ripon Gazette, part of the Johnson Press local newspaper Group.
This extensive and fascinating archive on a remarkable range of topical and historical subjects can be viewed here. Please use the search facility at the top of the page for specific subjects.
Ripon Conservation Area
Previous Ripon Civic Society Chairman, Chris Hughes, writes …….
“In 2018 Ripon Conservation Area had been designated for half a century. We took a stall on the Market Place in June 2019, to tell Ripon people about the conservation area and at our October members’ meeting at the Spa Hotel I presented a history of those fifty years.
For a relative newcomer to the city I enjoyed tracking back how the conservation area had been brought about. The threats and opportunities were surprising, the roles of individuals and organisations fascinating. The conservation area has been enhanced from time to time and the way this was achieved is worthy of a novel.
Instead, I’ve re-written my presentation into an essay which is now available to read on our website.”
Click here to access it.
The following independent heritage links may also be of interest:
North Yorkshire County Record Office
Listed Buildings – Historic England – This is a searchable database – just add the address or view a map. Improve the list by adding information
Historic Photos – Historic England – In addition to those on our own site, Ripon Re-Viewed (see above), you can visit this photographic database. Search for Ripon and there are nearly 500 entries to view online. A few aerial photos of Ripon can also be found here.