114 RIP 
which few difficulties are.entrusted; being what the French 
call complissage, or parts to fill up and complete the har¬ 
mony. 
RI'PIER, s. [riparius, low Lat. from the old Eng. rip, 
a basket. Cowel. ] One who brings fish from the sea-coast 
to the -inner parts of the land. Cowel. —I can send you 
speedier advertisement of her constancy by the next ><i/rier, 
that rides that way with macekrel. Chapman. 
RIPLEY, a market-town and parish, partly in the 
lower, and partly in the upper division of the wapen¬ 
take of Claro, West-riding of Yorkshire, five miles 
north-west from Knaresborough, and 214 miles north- 
riorth-west from London. The town had formerly a 
castle attached to it, some part of which is yet standing. 
The market here is held on Monday, weekly ; and there are 
annual fairs on Easter Monday, and the 25th, 26th, and 
27th days of August, for horses, homed cattle, and sheep. 
A free-school at this place, as appears from an inscription 
over its entrance, was built and endowed in the year 1702, 
by Mary and Catharine Ingilby, daughters of Sir William 
Ingilby, then lord of the manor. The church is ancient, 
and contains -many monumental erections in memory 
of that family. In the church-yard stands the pedestal 
of an ancient cross, which contains eight niches curiously 
ornamented, but the effigies are gone, as likewise the shaft 
of the cross. This parish, according to the parliamen¬ 
tary returns of 1811, contains 222 houses, and 1053 in¬ 
habitants. 
Ripley-castle, the seat of Sir John Ingilby, baronet, ad¬ 
joins the town. The chief part of it was built by Sir William 
Ingilby, in the reign of Philip and Mary, but the great 
tower is far more ancient, having belonged to a former 
structure. It has been much enlarged of late years; and 
is now a stately and commodious family mansion. Some of 
the apartments are finished with great elegance; and the 
staircase displays a large Venetian window of stained glass, 
on which is represented a series of shields, shewing the 
quarterings and inter-marriages of the Ingilby family, since 
their settlement at Ripley, towards the close of the fourteenth 
century. 
Eastward from Ripley is Copgrove, an elegant mansion 
belonging to H. Duncombe, Esq. which contains an excellent 
collection of paintings, busts, and prints from the most cele¬ 
brated masters. The pleasure-grounds are extensive, and are 
ornamented with a fine lake. Near this seat is that of Al- 
lerton-Mauleverer, the property of Lord Stourton. The house 
is a modem edifice, built by his royal highness the Duke of 
York. It is surrounded by a park, containing 400 acres of 
land, chequered by hills and dales. At this place was 
formerly a priory of Benedictines, subject to the abbey of 
Marmontier in France. It was founded by Robert Maule- 
verer, in the reign of Henry II., and was dissolved by 
Henry VI. who settled its revenues on King’s college, Cam¬ 
bridge. Beauties of England and Wales. 
RIPLEY, a township of England, in Derbyshire; 3| 
miles south-south-west of Alfreton. Population 1439. 
RIPLEY, a village of England in Kent; miles south 
of Sandwich. 
RIPOGONUM, in Botany, so called by Forster, from 
cuxf/, juwo?, a slender twig , and yovv, a joint, because of 
its slender, jointed, twining habit, was referred by the 
younger Linnaeus, to Smiiax : see that article. 
RIPOLL, a town of Spain, in Catalonia, on the river Ter. 
Population 2400; 52 miles north-by-east of Barcelona, and 
15 north of Vique. 
RIPON, or Rippon, a market-town and borough of 
England, in the West Riding of Yorkshire. It is situated 
on a rising ground, between the river Ure and the small 
river Skell, not far from their confluence. Over the former 
is a handsome stone bridge of 17 arches, near the town; and 
within little more than a mile there are five other bridges 
over these rivers. The town consists almost entirely of 
narrow and crooked lanes, the street leading from the mar¬ 
ketplace to the church, being the only one which exhibits 
RIP ' 
any degree of regularity. The church here is collegiate: i': 
has a dean and chapter, and sends a proctor to the convoca¬ 
tion of the province of York, It is also in some respects 
parochial, as the inhabitants have the benefit of its use, with¬ 
out the charge of a church rate. It is dedicated to St. Peter 
and St. Wilfred, and has attached to it a peculiar jurisdiction, 
under the archbishop of York. The king is pal ion of the 
deanery, and the subdean is nominated by the dean from 
among the predendaries. When a vacancy happens among 
the latter, the dean and chapter present three persons to the. 
archbishop, who collates one of them. The building is a 
large and venerable Gothic structure, and possesses many 
claims to the attention of the antiquary, although its appear¬ 
ance has been much injured by additions and alterations, 
made at different periods, and in different styles of architec¬ 
ture. Its general form is that of a cross, having at the west 
end two uniform square towers, each 110 feet high ; and in 
the centre of the transept, a third of the same height, called 
St. Winifred’s Great Tower. From the last, there formerly 
arose a very noble spire, which was blown down on the 8th. 
December 1660, demolishing in its fall the arched roof of the 
choir. A few years afterwards, the two spires at the west end 
were taken down, to prevent such accidents, and preserve 
the uniformity of the fabric. The whole length of the 
church within is 270 feet. It contains a great number of 
sepulchral monuments, some of which are deserving of at¬ 
tention. Of the other buildings in the town, the market¬ 
place is a handsome and spacious square, surrounded with 
well built houses, and ornamented with a beautiful obelisk, 
90 feet high, erected in the year 1781, by William Aislabie, 
Esq. of Studley, who represented this borough in parliament 
during 60 years. An elegant town-hall was built in 1801, 
from designs by Mr. Wyatt. Here is also a free grammar 
school, endowed in 1553, by king Philip and Mary; a public 
dispensary, Sunday school, and a school of industry, besides 
four hospitals, three of which are of very ancient foundation, 
viz. St. Mary Magdalen, inhabited by six poor women; St. 
John, a small building, appropriated to two poor women ; 
St. Anne, for eight poor women; and Jepsom hospital, for 
twelve poor boys. Here is also a theatre, opened in the 
year 1792, and which has generally a respectable company 
of performers. The town is well supplied with water from 
an excellent stream, which is conveyed into every house by 
means of an engine. Ripon was once celebrated for its 
manufacture of spurs, and “ as true steel as Ripon rowels’" 
became a proverbial expression for a man of fidelity and 
intrepidity. The manufacture of w'oollens likewise flourished 
here at one time; and some attempts to revive it have lately 
been made, but without success. The town, however, is still 
a staple for wool, which is brought up here every week by 
the clothiers from Leeds, Wakefield, Halifax, &c. A navi¬ 
gable canal comes up near to the town, which communicates 
with York, Hull, London, &c. Ripon may be ranked 
among the most ancient boroughs of England, as it sent 
members to parliament in the 23d of Edward I. The pri¬ 
vilege was soon after discontinued, but was restored in the 
time of Edward VI. The borough is the property of Miss 
Laurence of Studley Royal, who possesses the burgage 
tenures, in which the right of election is vested. The num¬ 
ber of voters is about 146, and the mayor is the returning 
officer. The corporation consists of a mayor, recorder, 12 
aldermen, and 24 assistants. The archbishop of York has 
his court and prison here for the liberty of Ripon. The dean 
and chapter have also a prison, and hold a court for the deci¬ 
sion of causes arising within their manor. Whether Ripon be 
of British, Roman, or Saxon origin, is wholly uncertain. 
The first historical notice of it occurs in 661, when Eata, 
abbot of Melrose, in Scotland, founded a monastery here, 
the town then consisting of 30 .houses. During the wars and 
devastation to which the kingdom was exposed in subsequent 
ages, Ripon suffered severely, and its history presents a series 1 
of alternate renovation and disaster. The monastery ap¬ 
pears to have attained considerable celebrity. After the 
destruction of the original buildings, in the reign of Alfred, 
