New mayor elected but old wounds remain in RiponNew sustainable shop and wellbeing hub opens in RiponFireworks anticipated as Ripon mayor faces vote of no confidence on November 3Ripon City Council to elect new mayor after series of resignationsLocal history spotlight: Ripon’s chronicler John Richard WalbranRipon Canal to celebrate 250th anniversary with open day on Saturday
Ripon Canal, one of the city’s hidden historic gems, will celebrate its 250th anniversary on Saturday with a day of festivities, including displays and live music.
The festival is part of the Heritage Open Days programme running from tomorrow (September 8) until Sunday September 17, which will see dozens of venues across the Harrogate district take part, offering free entry to anyone wishing to visit.
Saturday’s open day at the canal basin runs from 11am until 3pm and at 1pm the Mayor of Ripon, Councillor Sid Hawke, will unveil a plaque to mark the waterway’s landmark anniversary.
The day, which has been organised by Richard Willis , owner of Ripon Scenic Cruises with support from Ripon Civic Society, will be attended by representatives from organisations including the Canal & River Trust, Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, the RSPB and civic dignitaries.
The picturesque approach to the canal basin
The history of Ripon Canal
The canal opened in September 1773, principally to bring coal by boat from the mines of West Yorkshire for domestic use in Ripon and to carry cargos of wool and lead ingots from the Dales for use in Yorkshire’s cloth and heavy manufacturing industries.
However, 75 years after its opening, the canal became virtually redundant overnight with the arrival in Ripon of the railway and the opening in June 1848 of a station to the north of the city centre.
Barges could not compete with the new rapid delivery service and with the loss of trade, the canal’s fate as a commercial enterprise was sealed.
Operators of the new mode of transport that caused the canal’s demise soon became its owner, as the waterway was purchased by the Leeds and Thirsk Railway in 1844, which subsequently became part of the North Eastern Railway in 1855.
Decades of dereliction followed and at one stage Ripon City Council mooted the idea of filling in the canal to create an extension for the Dallamires Lane Industrial estate.
Prior to this suggestion, the British Transport Commission had obtained Royal Assent for the abandonment of Ripon Canal in 1956.
Regeneration and conservation
Calls to regenerate the canal to realise its potential as a leisure and tourist asset for local residents and visitors proved successful, gaining momentum through the formation of the Ripon Canal Society, of which Mr Willis was appointed secretary in 1982.
The waterway reopened for navigation as far as Littlethorpe Road Bridge in 1986 and was officially reopened right into the centre of Ripon in September 1996, with the assistance of the society and local authorities and with funding from English Partnerships.
Further improvements have been brought about through work carried out by Ripon Motor Boat Club, which has its marina and clubhouse on a section of the canal at Littlethorpe.
The waterway is now managed by the Canal & River Trust, which is the charity that succeeded British Waterways. It was awarded a Green Flag for its water quality in July 2018 and the improvements brought about by conservation volunteers and the Environment Agency have attracted more wildlife to its banks, while otters are regularly spotted hunting for fish.
Mr Willis told the Stray Ferret:
“The festival provides the opportunity for people to find out more about Ripon Canal and the role it has played, first as an industrial transport route and now as a leisure and recreational asset that attracts both visitors and wildlife into the heart of the city.”
Ripon’s Royal Engineers, who have had the Freedom of the City since 1949, carried out their freedom March this morning.
In this video they can be seen marching towards the Cathedral for the Sung Eucharist Service .
The service saw the installation of the Mayor of Ripon Councillor Sid Hawke, following his election as mayor earlier this month.
The British Army Band based at Catterick, accompanied the Royal Engineers on the march.
Memoirs of former Ripon mayor to raise money for charity
The current Mayor of Ripon recommends that people have a hanky at the ready, when they read John Richmond’s keenly-awaited memoirs.
Councillor Eamon Parkin, First Citizen of the ancient city, received an advance copy of the former mayor’s book, Beyond the Farm Gate on Wednesday.
He told the Stray Ferret:
“I just couldn’t put it down, it is beautifully written and made me both laugh and cry and I’m sure it will similarly affect anyone fortunate enough to obtain a copy.”
Cllr Parkin, added:
“Poignant passages, telling of sad events in John’s life, are balanced with comical episodes, told with a Tyke’s sense of humour. As I read the book, I was wiping tears of sorrow and laughter from my eyes.”
Adding to the poignancy of the work, by 86-year-old first-time author John, is the fact that it is dedicated to his late and beloved wife, Barbara, to whom he was married for 55 years. She died of breast cancer in July 2013.
Supporting Breast Cancer UK
All proceeds from the sale of the limited edition book will go to Breast Cancer UK and it is hoped that £6,000 will be raised for the charity.
John, who was awarded a British Empire Medal for services to the community in the 2021 New Year’s Honours, has been working on the book for four years and said:
“I received considerable help from Sheila Whitfield, an expert in memoir writing, who gave me advice after I met her through the University of the Third Age.“
The 280-page book, which includes highlights from John’s work in business and local politics, starts by taking the reader on a transatlantic journey from rural North Yorkshire to the streets of San Francisco.
In the mid 1970s, he was invited to represent the world’s first and foremost city of Ripon, at the USA’s bi-centennial celebrations, attended by the mayors of the younger Ripons in America.
In stark contrast to the glitz of California, John turns the clock back to the 1930s, to give an insight into the hard labours of life at Carr House farm on the edge of Dallowgill, where he was born in 1935.
He pointed out:
“There was no running water, no electricity or gas, no bathroom or inside toilet and we washed the muck from our scalps and skin while sitting in a big cast iron bath in the side scullery.”
A heart-breaking tragedy on the farm
A heart-breaking event from John’s childhood has lived with him for 80 years and still brings tears to his eyes.
“We had a wonderful black mare that we called Old Bess. She was a war horse, who served her country in France during the the first world war and came to us with a bullet hole in her front left foot.
“A special shoe was made, so that she was able to pull wagons without feeling pain, but tragically, one day, when she was drinking water from a ditch on the farm, she slipped and fell in.
“It was a pitiful sight for my parents, seeing her struggling to get up and she eventually had to be pulled out with harnesses attached to two horses, but she had suffered terrible injuries.
“My mother comforted her in her final hours and Old Bess was humanely put to sleep the following morning.”
A life-long animal lover
That ingrained memory has shaped John’s life as an animal lover and to this day he, and fellow volunteers, are involved in the daily feeding of stray cockerels that have been abandoned on the moors near Kirkby Malzeard.
Animal lover John and a team of like-minded volunteers feed the stray birds
Making history as a hornblower
On a much happier, though at the time flat note, John’s memoirs recount the story of a hastily-made offer that he soon regretted.
It was winter 1975 and Ripon’s sole hornblower told the city council that he wanted to take a Christmas break. But who would take over during his absence to ensure that the nightly ceremony of setting of the watch was maintained?
John made history when he became the only Mayor of Ripon to act as a hornblower while in mayoral office
John said:
“With all other councillors sitting on their hands as I chaired the meeting, in a fit of pique, I said, if none of you will do it, I’ll have to do it.”
He made an offer that he wasn’t sure he could properly fulfil, particularly after he attempted his first blow in the privacy of the mayor’s parlour.
However, after secret practice sessions in the bowels of the town hall under instruction from the city’s then Sergeant at Mace and former hornblower, Cyril Hawley, John perfected the pout and summoned up the necessary puff to get a blast out of the horn.
Beyond the Farm Gate, which costs £15, is available at various outlets, including The Little Ripon Bookshop, on Westgate, the Mason’s Arms, Bishop Monkton and from Kirkby Malzeard historian Tony Sinfield.
On Thursday lunchtime John will be at Ripon Golf Club signing copies of the book for club members and members of the public.
His memoirs can also obtained by calling 01765 607096.
Harrogate Convention Centre investment ‘obscene’, says Mayor of Ripon
The Mayor of Ripon has denounced a £46.8 million investment in Harrogate Convention Centre as a waste of money which will not benefit people elsewhere in the district.
It comes as senior councillors on the borough council will decide on Wednesday whether to spend £1 million to develop plans for the upgrade and spend £155,000 over three years to appoint a project manager.
A confidential cabinet report leaked to the Stray Ferret warns the HCC “will not survive” unless councillors approve a £46.8 million project, which includes full renovation of the venue.
But, the decision has raised concern among those in the wider district who feel that the investment is centred on what economic benefit can be increased in Harrogate and not in the surrounding areas.
Cllr Eamon Parkin, Mayor of Ripon.
Cllr Eamon Parkin, independent mayor of Ripon, said the city and its residents will not benefit from the investment. He added that few visit the convention centre.
Cllr Parkin said:
“It’s an obscene amount of money.
“We never benefit from it here in Ripon. In my opinion, there is never anything worth going to.
“My background is in entertainment and a building like that should be attracting big names, but there is never anything on. I think it is shambolic.”
He added that the HCC suffered from better events and entertainment being held at Leeds Arena.
Meanwhile, opposition Liberal Democrat councillors said years of underinvestment has damaged the HCC and council officials need to “bite the bullet” and invest in the venue.
Pat Marsh, leader of the Lib Dems and board member at the HCC, said the future of the centre was a stark decision between spending money on the centre and walking away from it.
Despite the coronavirus pandemic, Cllr Marsh said people will still want to meet at events in person and attend conferences which the HCC needed to be prepared for.
But, she added that any move to spend money on the centre needed to be value for money for taxpayers.
Cllr Marsh said:
“It is a stark decision between investing in the centre or selling it and walking away.
“It is valuable to the local economy. We have to bite the bullet and unless someone can come forward with another way, I cannot see any other way than investing for our people.
“What we need to do is make sure that there is value for money. We have got to make sure that this investment is key for the taxpayer.”
Harrogate Borough Council was approached for comment to respond to the concerns of those in the wider district, but did not respond.
However, the authority has always maintained that the venue has a benefit to the district and that the renovation will help to improve the economy.
Cllr Graham Swift, cabinet member for economic development, said last week:
“Harrogate Convention Centre makes such an important contribution to the district’s economy.
“It is central to the viability of many hundreds of businesses and our recent experience of lockdown shows just what a positive difference it makes locally.
“Redeveloping the centre will make it a much more flexible space that can attract a broader customer base and will have the potential to substantially increase its economic contribution.
“It will also enable us to create a unique facility we can all be proud of which also attracts new events to Harrogate, the district and North Yorkshire.
“I hope my fellow councillors will support this initial investment that will enable us to get the ball rolling on design and construction plans.”
Bishop’s blessing for new Ripon M&S store
The Bishop of Ripon, The Rt Revd Dr Helen-Ann Hartley, has given her blessing to the new M&S Food store opening in Ripon tomorrow morning.
Dr Hartley, who joined the Mayor of Ripon Councillor Eamon Parkin for a preview visit, said a prayer of blessing as members of M&S staff gathered at a safe distance with their heads bowed.
The preview was arranged because tomorrow’s planned opening ceremony, due to be carried out by Cllr Parkin, had to be called off because of the coronavirus crisis – which itself saw the original April 29 opening rescheduled.
Cllr Parkin told The Stray Ferret:
“This is a fabulous development for Ripon and a vote of confidence in our city at this difficult time for the retail sector. It gives us hope and brings us very welcome new jobs.”
Paul Nicoll, centre, showed Mayor Eamon Parkin and Bishop Helen-Ann Hartley around the new Ripon store
Before he showed them around the store, which is part of the £10 million St Michael’s Retail Park development, manager Paul Nicoll said almost 60 jobs had been created and 90% of the workforce has been recruited from the Ripon area.
As the Bishop and Mayor looked around, they saw a hive of activity among staff putting the finishing touches to the filling of shelves where thousands of items are already in place.
Mr Nicoll added:
“We’ve gauged from what we’ve seen on social media that local people have been looking forward to us opening.”
M&S is returning to the city years after it closed a small shop unit in The Arcade. It joins a line-up of supermarkets in the city including Aldi, Booths, Morrisons and Sainsbury’s, while Lidl has recently announced that it is also looking for a suitable site in Ripon.
John made history when he became the only Mayor of Ripon to act as a hornblower while in mayoral office
