<< Our Photo Pages >> Ripon Cathedral - Ancient Cross in England in Yorkshire (North)
Submitted by TimPrevett on Sunday, 18 October 2015 Page Views: 10212
Early Medieval (Dark Age)Site Name: Ripon CathedralCountry: England
NOTE: This site is 0.3 km away from the location you searched for.
County: Yorkshire (North) Type: Ancient Cross
Nearest Town: Ripon
Map Ref: SE31457112
Latitude: 54.134968N Longitude: 1.52016W
Condition:
5 | Perfect |
4 | Almost Perfect |
3 | Reasonable but with some damage |
2 | Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site |
1 | Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks |
0 | No data. |
-1 | Completely destroyed |
5 | Superb |
4 | Good |
3 | Ordinary |
2 | Not Good |
1 | Awful |
0 | No data. |
5 | Can be driven to, probably with disabled access |
4 | Short walk on a footpath |
3 | Requiring a bit more of a walk |
2 | A long walk |
1 | In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find |
0 | No data. |
5 | co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates |
4 | co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map |
3 | co-ordinates scaled from a bad map |
2 | co-ordinates of the nearest village |
1 | co-ordinates of the nearest town |
0 | no data |
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External Links:
I have visited· I would like to visit
Anne T visited on 5th Sep 2015 - their rating: Cond: 3 Access: 5 Anglo Saxon Stones, Ripon Cathedral: Visit by arrangement with the Head Verger, 5th September 2015.
I'd made enquiries about the Anglo Saxon stones and received the following reply: "There is in fact little at Ripon by way of sculptured remains from the Anglo Saxon period. Clearly the Crypt itself is entirely Anglo Saxon, but there are no carvings here and some at least of the stones are Roman in origin. What remains otherwise are two stones built into the outer wall of the North Transept which are said to have come from Wilfrid’s 7th Century church. They have distinctive Celtic interlaced patterns. Also, in the Chapel of the Resurrection below the Chapter House there is a substantial drumstone which was one of two discovered in the 1990s under the tower. They are thought to be column bases from Wilfrid’s church. They are shaped with three stepped bands, but otherwise not decorated. One remains where it was found, the other now serves as an altar stone in the Chapel. (I wonder if these are the ‘imposts’ you have heard about?) The Chapel is not normally accessible, but it might be possible to arrange with a verger to see it.
The other early piece of stonework is the Sigurd Stone which is part of a stone cross which bears the image of the legend of Sigurd who was a Norse hero who sucked his thumb after a burning encounter with a dragon - though there are various interpretations of the story. The representation of this story on a Christian cross is of course remarkable, but this may not be of so much interest as it probably comes from a slightly later period. The stone fragment itself is currently in store."
In fact the Sigurd stone was largely obscured by staging, which hadn't been removed, so the verger on duty had to bring a torch to illuminate the three fragments, and I had to move fire extinguishers and clamber on top of staging to be able to see it at all. What a shame - this is a fantastic example of Anglo-Scandinavian carving. The verger also took me down to the Resurrection Chapel to see the large drumstone which now forms the altar; then we dived across into the north aisle to another small chapel to see another drumstone, worked into a font in the distant past but now topped with a modern circular mirror. We then went outside to see the stones in the external wall of the north transept (west end), then to the south nave where we'd spotted what looked like the remains of an ancient preaching cross (which I've also enquired about - yet to see a reply).
The cathedral was exceptionally busy, with the Great North Art Show being on, and the Northern Philharmonic Orchestra rehearsing for a concert that evening. Well worth going! Many thanks to the vergers for their time and patience.
First visit, 28th August 2015: Anglo Saxon Stones at Ripon Cathedral: I was intrigued by this page on the Portal, as I've been to several events here and not noticed any Anglo Saxon cross fragments , so when passing through decided to stop and have a look.
We were greeted by a guide and asked him if he knew of the whereabouts of any Anglo Saxon stones or sculptures and were told they were probably down in the Anglo Saxon Crypt. I also had to pay £3 in order to take photographs within the Cathedral.
The crypt has been white-washed since I last saw it (which is probably how it would have been in Anglo Saxon times) and this somewhat spoiled the ambience for me. There was a piece of wall left in its original condition, and you could see the remains of well worn scratches (possible runes and a small dedication cross?). I wasn't convinced this is what I was looking for.
Since coming home, I've researched what this stone(s) might be and found reference to a 'roman-looking' carved pillar and some imposts on the Corpus of Anglo Saxon Stone Sculpture web site. We certainly didn't find these, although we had a good scout round. I have since sent off an email to one of the senior admin team at the Cathedral, and will report back when I get a reply.
MartinJEley visited on 6th Apr 2015 - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 5 Access: 5 A beautiful cathedral with the Saxon Crypt and the library on the upper floor being the most interesting from my perspective.
grunge619 visited - their rating: Amb: 5 Access: 5 I was lucky enough to visit Ripon Cathedral many times. I visited back in 1985 and the queen was visiting that day so there was lots of people.I cant remember the actual date. I was a young man from country Nsw australia and my mind was blown many times with the sheer beauty and magnitude of North Yorkshire.
hevveh have visited here
Average ratings for this site from all visit loggers: Condition: 3.5 Ambience: 5 Access: 5
Two fragments are built into the exterior west wall of the north transept. A substantial drum stone, with three stepped bands, now serves as an altar stone in the Resurrection Chapel underneath the Chapter House. A second drum stone was re-modelled as a font in the past, but is now topped by a modern glass mirror and is used as an altar in a chapel in the north aisle.
The Sigurd Stone, now in three separate pieces, is said to date from the 10th century and described by a Cathedral guide as "part of a stone cross which bears the image of the legend of Sigurd who was a Norse hero who sucked his thumb after a burning encounter with a dragon - though there are various interpretations of the story. The representation of this story on a Christian cross is of course remarkable, but this may not be of so much interest as it probably comes from a slightly later period. The stone fragment itself is currently in store."
The Anglo-Saxon crypt is open to the public, although there are steps down into and out of the crypt. The Cathedral guide said there are "no carvings here and some of the stones are of Roman in origin."
It is possible to view the pieces housed inside the Cathedral by pre-arranging a visit with the Vergers (email address can be found on the Cathedral web-site), although it is understood at some point in the future they may be on open display within the body of the Cathedral.
Note: A visit to the Sigurd Stone in storage in Ripon Cathedral, photos by Anne T
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