Ripley Castle, a place with a fascinating history!
Ripley Castle in 2015
Ripley castle and the lake created in the 1840s.
Sunday, 19th April 2015
Our trip started with lunch at Ripon. The town was busy as it was both a market and a race day. Some members chose to explore the Cathedral and the Georgian Town Hall.
Our arrival at Ripley Castle was delayed by a wedding party which was blocking the road. This did at least give us a chance to walk through the very picturesque village of Ripley itself. The Ingilby family have lived at Ripley Castle since at least the fourteenth century. Sir Thomas Ingleby was knighted and given lands in 1362 after saving King Edward III from a wild boar in the Forest of Knaresborough.
Our guide related the colourful (to say the least!) history of the family to us during our tour. The family were staunchly Catholic and Royalist through the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The tower, built in 1555, contains a priest hole. The Blessed Francis Ingleby was confessor to Saint Margaret Clitherow - both of them became martyrs of the Catholic Church.
The castle was largely rebuilt in Georgian Gothick style by Sir John Ingilby in the 1780s. His son, Sir William, Amcotts Ingilby, Bt. rebuilt much of the village in the early nineteenth century and landscaped the grounds. The walled garden contains the national hyacinth collection, which was in full bloom and smelt glorious.
More Photographs may be seen on our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1046748422006519.1073741854.209661439048559
Ripley Castle, North Yorkshire
A fortified manor house owned by the Ingily family for nearly 700 years, with a 15th-century gatehouse, 16th-century pele tower with priest-hole, and some good Georgian interiors. (read more...)
Ripon Cathedral
National Hyacinth Collection
