During a recent visit to the North East of England, we were able to visit Ripon in North Yorkshire. Geographically, Ripon is just a short drive west of junction 50 of the A1 (M). The cathedral can be described as being both old (the first Church on the site, now the crypt of the cathedral building, dates from the 7th Century) and new (it was only in 1836 that it became the cathedral church of the then newly established Anglican diocese of Ripon). The location of the cathedral is quite central to the town of Ripon. It is adjacent to the branch of a major supermarket, and a narrow road leads from the west door up a gentle sloping hill to the town's market square. A history of the cathedral building, relating the various buildings and rebuildings of the church, can be found on the cathedral website: History timeline. An account of the life of St Wilfrid, responsible for building the first significant church on the cathedral site, the crypt of which still survives, can also be found on the website: St Wilfrid.
A visit to Ripon Cathedral today is deceptive, as what is visible now is the outcome of significant restorative work undertaken after the church was designated as a cathedral. Nothing remains of the shrine of St Wilfrid, which originally existed where the high altar now stands, at the east end of the choir - it was destroyed, and the relics of St Wilfrid discarded, at the time of the reformation in the 16th Century. One can gain the impression that the cathedral retains statues that in other cathedrals might have been destroyed either at the reformation or during a later intrusion of Parliamentary forces during the civil war - but all of those statues date from a Victorian restoration, and the reredos behind the high altar to 1926. The present cathedral does still include structures from the buildings earlier days - the crypt from the 7th Century and the choir screen from medieval times (though the statues are Victorian), for example. The outcome is a structure that appears coherent and unified, despite the several accidents and reconstructions it has experienced over the centuries.
A photograph of the reredos behind the high altar can be seen on flickr: Reredos. It was designed as a First World War memorial, and dedicated in 1922. At the centre of the reredos is a figure of the Virgin Mary and Child; the other figures show saints and Anglo-Saxon historical figures, contemporary to St Wilfrid. Above the reredos, the risen Christ is depicted as a young man, reflecting the youth of those who died in the First World War; On the right is St George and the left St Michael the archangel. The gilding, and its width across the full width of the altar, attracts the eye as you stand in the choir - or as you look through the choir screen, as in this photo on flickr: Reredos through choir screen.
The choir screen separates the main part of the nave from the choir, and dates from the 15th Century. It is thick enough to house a doorway that leads down to the crypt. The original statues in its niches were destroyed at the time of the reformation and/or the visit of Parliamentarian forces. The statues that are now there date from 1947. The stone statues have been painted with the intention that they would convey a sense of how they might have looked at the time the choir screen was first constructed. They feature eight carved and painted kings and bishops who played a part in the history of the cathedral, with another 24 statues of angels in niches above. A full account of the statues, and photographs, can be found here: Choir screen figures.
The stained glass windows in the cathedral are extensive, though I found it difficult to "read" them during our visit. That is, I suspect, something that is of the nature of Victorian stained glass (the original windows were destroyed in the 15/17the Centuries). The windows at the eastern and western ends of the cathedral are particularly impressive. The cathedral bookshop had a small booklet, including photographs, that explained the main features of the stained glass - it is worth purchasing it to inform your visit!
The presence in the cathedral of some more contemporary representations, such as one of the pieta and a chapel with a representation of the actions of the Holy Spirit, are a sign of a cathedral that is still "living", so to speak, rather than of it being a cathedral that is just a historic building. Perhaps we should be positive about that, though I did not find these more contemporary representations to my own taste. Raising a more fundamental question of principle was the fact that, at the time of our visit, the walls along the length of the nave were occupied by paintings/photographs from the Great North Art Show. In other words, the space was functioning as a significant display gallery. I came away with the impression that the nave of the cathedral functions somewhat as an events venue, while it is the choir that retains the dedication to worship more usually associated with a church building.
A final thought: Ripon Cathedral has a very "square" architecture, shown in the shapes of its towers and in the flat eastern wall with its great window. This contrasts, for example, with any expectation that a visitor might have of a semi-circular apse at the eastern end of the church.
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