Ripley Castle - Ripley, North Yorkshire (Pvt)
Ripley Castle has been in the possession of the Ingilby family for 660 years, and is still the family residence. The first Ingilby to arrive at Ripley was Sir Thomas, who married the only surviving daughter of the Thweng family sometime in the early 1300's. It was Sir Thomas who was granted the family emblem of the Boar's Head as a reward from King Edward III. In 1355, the King was taking part in a hunt from the Royal Hunting Lodge of Knaresborough, and was cornered by an injured boar. Luckily Sir Thomas was close by and killed the boar before it could attack the King on the ground. He was knighted for his service and granted permission to hold a weekly market at Ripley, bolstering the village's prosperity. The effigies of Sir Thomas and Edeline can be seen in the church nearby. Their original resting place was destroyed when the old church was undermined by a dramatic change in the course of the river Nidd, and the present church was built by his son, the second Sir Thomas. The Rood Screen from the old church was also saved, and by the initials of King John on the screen, it can be estimated to date from around 1200.
Ripley Castle
The fortified Gatehouse was built by Sir John Ingilby under permission by the King around 1450, as both a display of status and for very real defensive purposes. Under Henry VI the country was turbulent and the Ingilby's remained staunch Lancastrian supporters. The main castle building of this date was a fortified manor house, mainly of wood and plaster, with a Great Hall and Chapel. Sir John's son, Sir William, fought with the future Richard III during his campaigns into Scotland and was knighted by him on the battlefield at Mitton Field. However, he remained a Lancastrian supporter, and was part of the welcoming party of knights who greeted Henry VII when he rode victorious into York in 1486. William purchased the land within the parish of Ripley from the Abbot of Fountains Abbey, thus expanding his estate.
Sir William's grandson, also William, fought against the Scottish King James IV at Flodden Field, but the family loyalty to the Crown was tested when Henry VIII set about changing the religion of the country in the first half of the sixteenth century. Sir William remained Catholic and had to tread a fine line, but proved his loyalty again during the battle of Pinkie against the Scots. He then busied himself with building a new tower to his house at Ripley, the Tudor Tower that we see today. The work took seven years and was completed in 1555. The Tower was both defensive and comfortable, with bow windows providing fine views over the estate. In the Knights Chamber the inscription he had written is still there, proclaiming his pride in the building, but also his Christian humility. In 1567, Sir William converted from Catholicism, in line with the Protestant Queen Elizabeth. One of his sons however, Francis Ingilby, went to France and became a priest. These were dangerous times and Francis was hung, drawn and quartered at the Knavesmire (now York Racecourse) and he was Beatified in 1987.
The main branch of the family remained Protestant and King James VI of Scotland stayed at Ripley Castle in 1603 on his way down to London for his English coronation. The ceiling of the Tower Room was put up in his honour. During the Civil War, the Ingilby's remained loyal to the Crown and Sir William fought at Marston Moor. Cromwell reached Ripley in 1644 and demanded quarters for the night. Sir William's sister Jane, who had ridden to the battlefield in armour with her brother, sent a note back to Cromwell that he wasn't welcome. She spent the night in the opposite armchair to Cromwell, retaining her pistols in case of attack. The next morning, Cromwell ordered the execution of some royalist prisoners and the musket balls have left their marks on both the Gatehouse and the Church walls.
The Castle at Ripley was substantially rebuilt during the 1780's by Sir John Ingilby, who ran up so many debts that he fled abroad from his creditors and eventually this caused a split with his wife, Lady Elizabeth. The work at Ripley was done by William Belwood, who had worked at Harewood House under Robert Adam and the elegant neo-classical elements of large parts of the Castle reflect this pedigree. Sir John's son William, given a taste for travel during his time on the Continent with his father, eventually came home with eccentric ideas. He rebuilt the village of Ripley in the style of one he had seen and admired in Alsace Lorraine. He also built the huge expanse of hothouses in the garden and landscaped the grounds, forming the lake in 1844.
The great-grandfather of the present owner was also a bit eccentric; he closed down the three village pubs on Sundays as he thought they had a bad influence on the Sunday congregation at church. The Landlords promptly left and there were no licensed pubs in the village until 1990.