As well as its racecourse and cathedral, Ripon is a tourist destination because of its proximity to the UNESCO World Heritage Site which consists of the Studley Royal Park and Fountains Abbey.

[6] Solid evidence for the origins of Ripon can be traced back to the 7th century, the time of the Anglian kingdom of Northumbria.

[6] The first structure built in the area, known at the time as Inhrypum, was a Christian church dedicated to St Peter, with the settlement originating in 658.

[7] The earliest settlers were stonemasons, glaziers and plasterers that Wilfrid brought over to help construct the Ripon monastery, from Lyon in Francia and Rome which was then under Byzantine rule.

After the invasion of the Great Heathen Army of Norse Vikings in Northumbria, the Danelaw was established and the Kingdom of Jórvík was founded in the Yorkshire area.

[11] One of his successors was less well-disposed: after the Northumbrians rebelled against English rule in 948, King Edred had the buildings at Ripon burned.

[10] Prosperity was restored by the end of the 10th century, as the body of Saint Cuthbert was moved to Ripon for a while, due to the threat of Danish raids.

[14] Ripon's proximity to Fountains Abbey, where the Cistercians had a long tradition of sheep farming and owned much grazing land, was a considerable advantage.

[15] Ripon had a wakeman to make sure the residents were safely home by curfew and law and order was maintained; however, it was forced to pay 1,000 marks to the Scots to prevent them from burning down the town on one occasion.

[15] Ripon, which relied heavily on its religious institutions, was badly affected by the English Reformation under the Tudor king Henry VIII.

[17] The people of Northern England were quite traditional in their beliefs and were unhappy about Henry's intention to break with Rome; the Pilgrimage of Grace was the manifestation of this sentiment.

[18] The scheme was revived in 1604 by Sandys' widow Cicely, under the patronage of Anne of Denmark and Bess of Hardwick without success.

[21] At the time, spurs did not just serve as functional riding accessories, they were also fashionable; an expensive pair was made for King James I when he stayed at Ripon in 1617.

[18] By the time of the English Restoration, several strains of non-conformist Christian practices had appeared, although they were not common in Ripon, the majority of people being Anglicans with a Catholic minority.

[23] After the Revolution of 1688, which overthrew James II, there were Jacobite risings in the British Isles; some Riponmen were jailed in February 1746 upon "suspicion of corresponding with Prince Charles Edward Stuart".

[29][30] The town had a similar though smaller role during the Second World War and, in recognition of this, the Royal Engineers were presented with the Freedom of the City in 1947.

[39] Ripon was represented by the Member of Parliament for Yorkshire until it had its own parliamentary borough established on a permanent basis in 1553.

Water has dissolved the gypsum, leaving the area prone to sinkholes, especially north of the city and on the northern side of the Ure.

[50] The main feature of Ripon is an English Gothic style cathedral, originally founded by Irish monks but refounded by Saint Wilfrid in 672.

Originally, spa water was pumped from Aldfield a village to the north of the city, but later, the baths were opened on site too.

[58] In the modern day the school hosts around 800 pupils, gaining engineering status in 2006,[59] it receives favourable reports from the Ofsted, being either good or outstanding.

[67] One of York St John's buildings on its Lord Mayor's Walk campus was renamed 'Ripon' in June 2018 to commemorate Ripon Training College's "contribution to women's education" over 123 years of service.

Spring Hill is owned by Cambian group PLC which is a large UK provider of specialist provision for children and adults.

[41] Ripon Cathedral is the main religious building in the city and contains a tomb said to contain the bones of Saint Wilfrid who founded a monastery here and with it the town.

[75] There is a Roman Catholic parish in Ripon called St Wilfrid's; it is covered by the Diocese of Leeds in the Harrogate deanery and the church is an architecturally significant building.

[79] In celebration of the city's founder the Wilfrid Procession is held every year; it originated in 1108 when King Henry I granted the privilege of holding a fair for him.

[84][85] It originates with the wakeman of Ripon, whose job in the Middle Ages was similar to that of a mayor, although he had more responsibilities in the keeping of law and order.

The sport has a long history in Ripon, with the first recorded meeting on Bondgate Green in 1664, while its current location has been used as a racetrack since 1900.

[93] The city was previously served by Ripon railway station on the Leeds-Northallerton Line that ran between Leeds and Northallerton.

[94] Reports suggest the reopening of a line between Ripon and Harrogate would be economically viable, costing £40 million and could initially attract 1,200 passengers a day, rising to 2,700.