From October 2007 to November 2018 inclusive the Society’s current (2023) Co-Chairman, historian David Winpenny, composed these Heritage articles for publication in the Ripon Gazette, part of the Johnson Press local newspaper Group.

  • JOINED UP THINKING

    March 6, 2008 Why do we have laws and rules that govern the way buildings look? asks David Winpenny, Co-Chairman of Ripon Civic Society. What is the point of rules for how a building or a local area should look? Why does the government encourage local authorities to set up conservation areas? Why list buildings? These are questions promoted by ...Read more...
  • A FUTURE FOR THE SPA BATHS?

    February 29, 2008 Where has the debate on the Spa Baths got to? There have been various meetings on the subject – Ripon City Council has considered the matter, Cllrs Kenn Hart and David Parnaby have held a public meeting about the form that the replacement pool should take, and Ripon Civic Society held a meeting last week ...Read more...
  • TIME TO ACT ON CABMEN’S SHELTER

    February 22, 2008 There is increasing concern in Ripon over the condition of the cabmen’s shelter in the Market Square. Nine years ago Ripon Civic Society presented the shelter to Ripon City Council. The Council, accepting the gift to the city, formally undertook to look after the structure. That undertaking has not been fulfilled. The shelter is now rapidly ...Read more...
  • TEXTURE AND ARCHITECTURE

    February 15, 2008 A building’s texture is almost as important as its architecture, says David Winpenny, Co-Chairman of Ripon Civic Society. The quality of a building’s surfaces, the shade created by its materials and its carvings, the variation in the colours of its bricks and the way they are laid all have a major role play in deciding whether ...Read more...
  • “GARDEN-GRABBING” SHOULD STOP, SAYS CIVIC SOCIETY

    February 8, 2008 ‘Garden-grabbing’ is all around us, as David Winpenny, Co-Chairman of Ripon Civic Society points out. Do you have a large garden? Here’s a good way to make a few thousand and do away with the troublesome upkeep – sell off part of it and squeeze in some little houses and apartments. Easy! Too easy under the present ...Read more...
  • WITH A VIEW TO MAKING IT BETTER

    February 1, 2008 David Winpenny, Co-Chairman of Ripon Civic Society, looks at the need to protect both the distant views of Ripon and the inner approaches to the city. In autumn 2003 the front page of Ripon Civic Society’s Newsletter was headed ‘A Sensitive Site’. The article that followed warned that the development then just about to begin on ...Read more...
  • WE SHOULD BE VIGILANT IN CARING FOR RIPON’S TERRACES

    January 25, 2008 The late Vera Duckworth (in the TV soap Coronation Street for those not in the know) was renowned, among many other things, for the cladding on her terraced house. Proud of the multi-hued addition to the rather humble brick street, she failed to appreciate that terraces need to maintain uniformity if they are to be attractive. The ...Read more...
  • THE SPACES IN BETWEEN

    January 15, 2008 David Winpenny, Co-Chairman of Ripon Civic Society, considers some of Ripon’s open spaces – and the neglect or developments that might threaten them. In any built-up area, space is important – green space in which to play or relax, or just to enjoy as you pass, doubly so. In Ripon we have many such spaces, but ...Read more...
  • THE BATTLE TO SAVE THE BATHS

    January 8, 2008 David Winpenny, Co-Chairman of Ripon Civic Society, reflects on the meeting held last Monday to discuss the future of Ripon’s Spa Baths. The public meeting to discuss the future of a swimming pool for Ripon and the use of the Spa Baths building on Monday evening showed that there is a great deal of support both ...Read more...
  • SETTING THE WATCH AND FLYING THE FLAG

    January 1, 2008 A new national scheme has been launched to improve the attractiveness of towns and cities after dark. David Winpenny, Co-Chairman of Ripon Civic Society, considers how Ripon might benefit. When you think about Ripon after dark, what is your image? Is it a place that you hurry through, back to your home or to your car ...Read more...

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