RIPON CIVIC SOCIETY

NEWSLETTERSummer/Autumn 2010

OUR BOUNDARIES- your views, please!

How wide a geographical areashould Ripon Civic Societycover?

This subject has recently been dis-cussed in committee and we'd likeyour views, please.

Our society's constitution limitsthe area upon which RCS can com-ment formally - for example in con-nection with planning matters, listedbuildings and conservation areas - tothe city itself. If the boundaries areextended, then the RCS constitutionwill have to be amended, subject toapproval, at the next Annual GeneralMeeting on 4 November.

A widening of its boundarieswould tie in with the new GreaterRipon Improvement Partnership(GRIP: see page 7) - which has awider geographical influence than itspredecessor, Ripon City Partnership- and with sentiments of many peo-ple in surrounding villages that they

'belong' to Ripon. How exactly todefine new boundaries will have tobe looked at, but we should welcomeyour views on this.

If villages around Ripon areincluded they will be able to consultRCS for help and advice - and RCSwill be able to comment on theirplanning or conservation matters.

That could include controversialsubjects such as motorway servicestations and quarrying, and industrialsites at Roecliffe and Melmerby.RCS would be able to commentwhere necessary, but it wouldn't haveto comment on everything.

It's worth mentioning thatHarrogate Civic Society's constitu-tion allows it to comment on a verywide area.

Please e-mail your views to info@riponcivicsociety.org.ukor telephone 01765 608320.

Special offer - free NT entry!This first year of our society's membership ofCivic Voice entitles each RCS member to afree National Trust day pass.

It provides free access for one day to anyNational Trust property during normal openinghours, subject to a small number of restrictions.

The free pass is available to download at this link:www.civicvoice.org.uk/nationaltrustcivicvoiceoffer

The pass is transferable and can be given tofriends or family if a member is already a member ofthe National Trust.

Details of all the National Trust�s properties opento the public are at www.nationaltrust.org.uk. We'revery fortunate to have Fountains Abbey (right) on ourdoorstep.

If you don't have internet access the free day passis available by sending a stamped addressed envelopeto Civic Voice, Unit 101, 82 Wood Street,The TeaFactory, Liverpool L1 4DQ, requesting one and pro-viding contact details and our name - Ripon CivicSociety.

New Yorkshire & Humber list will highlight buildings at risk

Spurred on by concern about thefuture of the disused Grimsby IceFactory (left), thought to be theonly one surviving in Europe (andused in the film �Atonement�), theYorkshire and HumberAssociation of Civic Societies(YHACS) has asked committeemember David Winpenny,Chairman of Ripon Civic Society,

to organise the production of a list of buildings at risk that member societies inthe region are particularly concerned about.

This will help supplement the annual national list, the �Heritage at Risk�Register (www.english-heritage.org.uk/protecting/heritage-at-risk) which alreadyincludes some endangered buildings in the Yorkshire and Humber area. The newlist will help to highlight what local people think about what�s threatened in theirlocal area, whether it�s listed or not. There are quite a few in Ripon that we canadd to get the list rolling, of course!

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Some interesting corners ofRipon will be open to the publicfree of charge again this year, aspart of Heritage Open Days.

On the afternoon of Sunday 12September from 2 pm to 4 pm theCathedral bell tower will be open forthe first time, and the Masonic Hall onWater Skellgate and the Gazebo onBlossomgate will be open, as last year.

RCS is responsible for the open-ing of the Gazebo and we shouldwelcome help there, please. If youcan volunteer to help for just half anhour, it will be greatly appreciatedand will mean that you still have timeto visit the other venues.If you can help, please telephone

01765 608320 or send an e-mail toinfo@riponcivicsociety.org.uk, sug-gesting a time that will suit you.

New Plaques nearly in place The two new plaques reported inthe last Newsletter have now arrivedand they will be in place very soon.One is destined for the canal basinand one for Clova House onClotherholme Road, once the homeof Charles Piazzi Smyth - 'pyramid-iot', photographer and formerAstronomer Royal for Scotland.

Help needed for HODs

There was good news for Riponwhen plans were announced fora new cinema at the formerAbbott�s shop premises onNorth Street.

The plans, which also includes anew bar on the North Streetfrontage (which will be kept and

enhanced) with apartments above,will entail the demolition of the rearpart of the building. While theSociety acknowledges that this maybe a loss to the historic fabric ofRipon, we feel that the benefit thatwill be brought to the area will out-weigh the loss. We have some pointsto make on the details of the pro-posal, which is currently out for con-sultation, and we shall stress that fullconsideration needs to be given tonearby residents and businesses.

Lights, Cinema, Action!

SETTING THINGS RIGHT ON KIRKGATE

North Yorkshire County Council(NYCC) is now going to restorethe damaged setts at the top ofKirkgate and Duck Hill.

Its original intention was to re-surface with tarmac, but this wouldincur a penalty - repaying theHeritage Lottery Fund grant.

RCS objected to the proposal,pointing out that a great deal ofmoney and effort was expended intrying to make the streets of the citymore attractive. To go backwards inthis matter would have been to denyall the progress that the city hasmade. We also pointed out that thepurpose of paving Kirkgate all theway from the Square to theCathedral was to create an obviouslink between the two historic cen-tres of the city.

Correspondence in the RiponGazette has highlighted the fact thatthe new setts in Ripon are inferiorto any Victorian ones surviving inseveral towns and cities. The latterare more robust and bigger; Ripon's

modern ones are smaller and lighterand are easily dislodged. Theyhaven't been fixed with concretebecause access was said to berequired by archaeologists and utilitycompanies. Whatever the method offixing the setts, the main culprits toblame for the damage - heavy lorriesand the 36 bus - need to be re-rout-ed away from Kirkgate, Duck Hill andthe Market Square.

Cabmen�s Shelter -almost there!A contractor has been chosen torepair the Cabmen�s Shelter andwork will begin in October, for com-pletion over the winter,

Negative newsWe received disappointing newsfrom English Heritage (EH); it hasrefused to list the WW1 army hutsbecause, in its view, they are not spe-cial enough and they might have beenmoved at some point.

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On a mid-week trip to Helmsley inMay, we had a guided tour of theextensive Walled Garden, set in astunning position below the ruinedcastle keep.

Originally part of the DuncombePark estate and then a thriving com-mercial enterprise, the garden even-tually became derelict.

Its restoration is the result of theinspirational and hard work of thelate Alison Ticehirst, who wanted itto be a healing garden offering horti-cultural therapy for disabled and dis-advantaged people.

A team of paid gardeners and vol-unteers has continued with what isobviously a labour of love. There isstill more work to do but it's defi-

nitely worth a visit if youhaven't been yet; there areglasshouses - one of themhome to a café adorned with a variety of vines -and plants on sale, and itshould soon rank along-side Scampston as a trulygreat walled garden.

After lunch we gath-ered at the utilitarianEnglish Heritage archae-ology store on the edgeof town where two ofits very enthusiasticcurators told us thestories behind some ofits artifacts - from the

stones of Monk Bretton Priory,blackened with coal dust, to the finelimestone effigy of Sir Henry Percyfrom Fountains Abbey.

chapels and a crypt chapel and there'sa fine four-manual organ that supportsa strong choral tradition and concerts.

And Courtney was keen to showus the library of the nearby King'sSchool, where schoolboy IsaacNewton scratched his name.

After lunch at 'The Gregory' in thevillage of Harlaxton (left - picture cour-tesy of member Michael G Bell)), we vis-ited the Manor. Best described as'Victorian Baroque' this dramatic andexuberant feat of architectural deco-ration was built for Gregory Gregory.It had a variety of owners and uses inthe twentieth century, but has beenrestored very well by its currentowners, the University of Evansville,Indiana, which sends its students for a

semester atHarlaxton. Itwould be interest-ing to ask themwhat they make ofit. Our excellentguides made it defi-nitely worth a tripdown the A1 - andit's probably wellworth a trip acrossthe Atlantic!

We are grateful to ourcommittee member,

Visits CoordinatorDaphne Allen, for

arranging these excellent outings.

�Why on earth do you want tovisit Grantham?� asked our bemusedneighbours. Having lived close by formany years, the joys of the town wereobviously lost on them - but not on us.

St Wulfram's, a fine mediaeval churchgiven a five-star rating by Simon Jenkins,has a noble spire that is one of thehighest in Britain and canbe seen from many milesaway.

Our guide on a sunnySaturday was CourtneyFinn, a member ofGrantham Civic Societyand Treasurer of StWulfram's PCC. Hewas a mine of informa-tion, whisking groupsof us up to the Triggechained library andinto the bell tower -we grabbed our cof-fee and cake whenwe could!

Good informationpanels told us plentyabout the church. Ithas little side

SPREADING OUR WINGS - out and about with RCSHopping across to Helmsley . . . . . . and down to Grantham

Get to grips with GRIPThere�s a new acronym to learn- GRIP. It stands for the GreaterRipon ImprovementPartnership.

GRIP is the successor the theRipon City Partnership and its Boardincludes representatives from allthree tiers of local government -North Yorkshire County Council,Harrogate Borough Council andRipon City Council - along with oth-ers from business, tourism and thevoluntary sector. The chairman isJudith Donovan.

GRIP�s main aim is to ensure thevitality and prosperity of Ripon,recognising that the city and the sur-rounding area rely a great deal oneach other.

RCS Chairman David WInpenny ison the Main Board of GRIP, and onits Executive Board. He has specialresponsibility for Infrastructure.

Stay longer! GRIP wants to encourage shoppersand visitors to stay longer in the citycentre. It it asking HBC to make thecar parking charges more flexible,both in the main car park behindSainsbury's and at Booth's, so thatpeople can choose their length ofstay, up to all day.Another proposal is to make thesecar parks free of charge after 3 pmMonday to Friday and to use the oldgas works site on Stonebridgegatefor parking. A few shops, includingBooths and Philip Hall, are stillinvolved in the scheme to refund upto 80p in car parking charges.

Air quality controlsGRIP has received a letter from JillReeves, the Environment ProtectionManager at Harrogate Borough

Council (HBC), stating that measure-ments of pollution - in particularnitrogen dioxide - from vehicleexhausts in Low Skellgate (below) andHigh Skellgate are above the legallevel.The problem is exacerbated by thetraffic�s being stationary at the twosets of traffic lights.

Jill Reeves told David Winpennythat the streets are now to be desig-nated an air quality managementarea: it is not clear beyond thatexactly what will be done.

Pollution levels in Kirkgate andDuck Hill should also be measuredand traffic problems throughout thecity centre need to be addressed.

Diary Dates - September to JanuaryTHURSDAY 2 SEPTEMBERTalk - The Wensleydale Railway

Ruth Annison

THURSDAY 7 OCTOBERAwards CeremonyWe roll out the redcarpet again for ourstar-studdedCeremony at theSpa Hotel. Comealong (drinks recep-tion from 7.00pm)and find out whoand what has won!

THURSDAY 4 NOVEMBERTalk - English Heritage Listing

Eric Branse-Instone,English Heritage

Followed by our Annual General

Meeting - come andmake your voice heard!

THURSDAY 2 DECEMBERTalk - Historic Houses around Ripon

Maurice Taylor (note change from printed programme)

THURSDAY 6 JANUARY 2011Talk - Ripon in Old Maps

Richard Taylor

All meetings at Allhallowgate Methodist Church Hall,Victoria Grove, Ripon, start-ing at 7.30 pm, unless otherwise stated.

Amending your ordersIf you pay your subscription bystanding order you will need toamend it, please, by contacting yourbank. There is an increase in the sub-scription payment from January 2011to £12 for single membership and£18 for dual membership.

To streamline the payment of sub-scriptions we're requesting, please,that all standing orders are paideach January, so we�d be mostgrateful if you could amend the dateof your standing order so that yoursubscription for a new year is alwayspaid on or before 15 January.Thank you!

Ripon Civic Society is a Registered Charity, No: 517434

www.riponcivicsociety.org.uk

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