Ripon Cathedral, Anglican cathedral in Ripon, England
Ripon Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in Ripon, England, rising on a hill above the town with tall pointed towers visible from afar. Inside, long stone pillars run along the nave while the geometric east window casts colored light through its Gothic tracery.
Irish monks founded a monastery here in the 660s, and the current church emerged through rebuilding between the 13th and 16th centuries. The different building phases left a mix of early and late Gothic elements still visible in the stonework today.
Ripon derives from the Old English Hrype, meaning tribe or people, and the church drew pilgrims to the shrine of Saint Wilfrid for centuries. Today, regular choral rehearsals and organ concerts let visitors experience the living Anglican tradition firsthand.
The church opens daily from morning until late afternoon with no ticket needed, and visitors can move freely through the interior. Those wishing to visit the crypt should be able to descend narrow stairs, as access is not step-free.
The Anglo-Saxon crypt beneath the floor dates from 672 and is the oldest surviving structure of any English cathedral, a small vaulted room with bare stone walls. Visitors can descend through a narrow passage and enter the space where early medieval worshippers prayed.
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