R I P 



Ripon church is dedicated to St. Peter and St. Wilfrid, 

 and has, attached to it, a peculiar jurifdiction, under the 

 archbifhop of York. The king is patron of the deanery ; 

 and the fubdean is nominated by the dean from among the 

 prebendaries. When a vacancy occurs in the number of the 

 latter, the dean and chapter prefent three perfons to the 

 archbifhop, who collates one of them. As a building, this 

 church has confiderable claims to the notice of the anti- 

 quary, though its appearance has been much injured by ad- 

 ditions and alterations executed at different periods and in 

 different ftyles of architecture. Its general form is that of 

 a crofs, having two uniform fquare lowers, each 1 10 feet 

 high, at the welt end, and a third, called St. Wilfrid's great 

 tower, in the centre of the tranfept. From the laft, there 

 formerly rofe a very noble fpire, which was blown down 

 Dec. 8th, 1660. 



The fepulchral monuments in the church are too numerous 

 to be mentioned in detail. There are many in commemo- 

 ration of different branches of the principal families in the 

 neighbourhood, efpecially the Blackets ', the Kitchenmans ; 

 the Ridfdales ; the Wanleys ; the Oxleys ; the Nortons, of 

 Sawley ; the Weddels, of Newby ; the Mallories and 

 Aiflabies, of Studley ; and the Markenfields, of Marken- 

 field. Among thefe may be noticed a beautiful monument 

 to the memory of W. Weddel, efq. the delign of which 

 was taken from that curious relic of antiquity, the Lantern 

 of Demofthenes, at Athens. An altar-tomb, of grey marble, 

 fituated in the fouth aide of the nave, is faid to commemo- 

 rate an Irifh prince, who died at Ripon on his return from 

 the Holy Land. On the entablature are reprefented the 

 fculptured figures of a man and a lion in a grove of trees. 



The environs of Ripon are rich, fertile, well wooded, in 

 a high ftate of cultivation, and interfperfed with villages, 

 and feats of the nobility and gentry. Among the latter the 

 principal are, Studley-Royal, and Nevvby-Hall. The firlt 

 is the property of Mifs Laurence, and is fituated at the 

 diftance of nearly three miles S.W. from Ripon. The 

 houfe is commodious and elegant, and contains many ex- 

 cellent piftures, and portraits by the befl mafters. But 

 the chief objedts of attention here, are the park and plea- 

 fure-grounds, which are generally ranked among the hnelt in 

 England. The park, which is fituated neareft the houfe, is di- 

 vcrfified with gentle fwells and declivities, and is adorned with 

 ranges of lofty trees. The entrance to the pleafure-grounds 

 difplays a mats of the mod luxuriant foliage, and the widely 

 extended plantations which compofe them, are judicioufly 

 varied, and finely adapted to the different fituations. On one 

 hand the hills gradually afcend with tufts of fhade,interfpcrfed 

 over the verdure ; on the other fide they precipitately rife with 

 lofty woods covering their brows, below which the rivulet, 

 in one place, glides with a filent ttream, and in another falls 

 in cafcades. Near the entrance is a building, called the 

 Cold Bath, which is conftantly fupplied by a lpring of 

 pure water. Adjoining is the figure of a dying gladiator, 

 and further on is a fine ruftic bridge with the river ruffling 

 through it, and the back-ground fo darkened by trees as 

 to excite the idea of a cafcade foaming through a cavern. 

 Near this is a llatue of Hercules deltroying Antxus. The 

 view now opens with a beautiful alfeinblage of new objefts, 

 molt charmingly diveriified. From a little grotto not far 

 diftant a fine expanfive lake is feen winding round the bale 

 of an eminence, called Tent Hill, encircled by a magnifi- 

 cent amphitheatre of hanging wood. The lawn is laid out 

 with exquifite tafte, and here the water divides itfelt into 

 various and beautiful forms, embellilhed at different points 

 by itatuesof Neptuue, Bacchus, Galen, a dying gladiator, 

 and Romr..-. wreftlers. On rifing grounds arc fituated a 



RIP 



temple of Piety, a Chinefe temple, a temple of Fame, a 

 banquetting-houfe, and various other ornamental buildings. 

 Near Studley-Royal are the venerable ruins of the once 

 celebrated Abbey of Fountains, which was founded in the 

 year 1 132, for the monks of the Ciftertian order, but foon 

 afterwards fuffered total demolition by fire. It was rebuilt, 

 however, in 1204, in the early pointed flyle of architecture, 

 which then began to prevail; this houfe continued to ffourifh 

 till the general diffolution in the reign of Henry VIII., 

 when its annual revenues, according to Speed, were valued 

 at 1073/. o.r. i\d. This abbey, with all its offices and ap- 

 pendages, covered about twelve acres of ground. The 

 church, the walls of which are ftill almofl entire, appears 

 to have been a very large and magnificent itrufture. The 

 nave, in particular, is a mofl majeitic fpecimen of building, 

 uniting iimplicity with lightnefs and elegance. The An- 

 cient and Modern Hiftory of the Loyal Town of Rippon, 

 by Thomas Gent of York, Sto. 1733. Hiftory of Ripen, 

 i2mo. 1801. Beauties of England and Wales, vol. xvi., 

 by John Bigland. Drake's Eboracum, folio. 



RIPOSTE, in the Manege, is the vindi£ti»e motion of 

 a horfe that anfwers the fpur with the kick of his foot. 



RIPOUR, in Geography, a town of Hindooftan, in the 

 circar of Gohud ; 40 miles S.S.W. of Gwalior. 



RIPPACANOT Creek, a river of America, near the 

 weltern branch of the river Wabafh. 



RIPPERDA, John William, in Biography, baron of, 

 was born in 16S0, of a noble family, in the province of Gro- 

 liingen. He was educated in the principles of the Catholic 

 religion, but upon marrying a Proteltant heirefs, he con- 

 formed to the Proteftant faith. He appears to have en- 

 tered the army while he was young, and for fome time he 

 was in the fervice of the States-General a) colonel of the 

 infantry, which poit he occupied in the yea* 1715, when he 

 was lent from the States to the court of Spain, to negociate 

 a commercial treaty. Having ingratiated himfelf with the 

 king, Philip V., he returned to the Catholic religion, and 

 took up his abode at Madrid. His firft wife being dead, 

 he married, in 1721, a Caftilian lady of high birth, and 

 rapidly rofe in the confidence of the king. In 1 725 he 

 Was fent to Vienna to negociate an accommodation with 

 the imperial court. In the fame year he iigned a treaty at 

 Luxembourg with the emperor's plenipotentiaries; and on 

 his return to Madrid he was created a grandee of the third 

 clafs, and duke of Ripperda. He alfo obtained the office 

 of fecrelary of ftate for foreign affairs ; and the manage- 

 ment of the war, marine, and financial departments, was 

 entrufted to him, fo that he had all the power, without the 

 name, of prime minilter. In a (hort time he was not only 

 difmifTed from his employments, but confined in the cattle 

 of Segovia, where he remained two years, when, having 

 found means to make his efcape into Portugal, he palled 

 from thence into England, where he remained till 1730, 

 when he went to the Hague, and refumed the Proteffant 

 religion. After this he formed a connection with an envoy 

 from Morocco, and in 1731 embarked for that country. 

 He was favourably received by the fovereign, Muley Ab- 

 dallah, to whom he propofed a fcheme of uniting the Bar- 

 bary itates againft Spain, and of invading that country. 

 He engaged the Moors to undertake the liege of Ceuta, 

 and having declared himfelf a convert to the Mahometan 

 religion, and affumed the name of Ofman, he was nomi- 

 nated to the chief command of the army employed for that 

 purpofe. By his military talents he infpired the Moors 

 with confidence in their enterprize, when the arrival of a 

 Spanifh army in Africa, which laid fiege to Oran, difcon- 

 certed his plans. Neverthelefs, he perfuted in the fiege of 



Ceuta, 



