A street scene showing Boots, the Army and Navy stores and the Studley Royal pub/hotel in August 1973.placeholder image
A street scene showing Boots, the Army and Navy stores and the Studley Royal pub/hotel in August 1973. | YPN

12 retro gems take you back to Ripon in the 1970s

Andrew Hutchinson
By Andrew Hutchinson

Specialist Reporter

Published 26th Nov 2023, 11:00 GMT

These wonderful photos celebrate a decade in the life of a cathedral city.

A host of landmarks showcase the best of what Ripon had to offer during the 1970s, a decade in which saw the Cathedral celebrate a major milestone.

The gallery, put together using photos from the YEP archive, also features Town Hall and marketplace as well as focusing on news stories making the headlines back in the day. READ MORE: Yorkshire football – 26 photos of Leeds, Harrogate and Wakefield Sunday league teams from the 1990s .

The scene in Ripon Cathedral during the dress rehearsal of Benjamin Britten's opera, "Noye's Fludde", which opened in May 1972 as part of the cathedral's 1,300th anniversary festival. Schoolchildren in animal costumes are crowded into the Ark, which is built round the ornate pulpit.

7. Ripon in the 1970s

The scene in Ripon Cathedral during the dress rehearsal of Benjamin Britten's opera, "Noye's Fludde", which opened in May 1972 as part of the cathedral's 1,300th anniversary festival. Schoolchildren in animal costumes are crowded into the Ark, which is built round the ornate pulpit. | YPN Photo: YPN

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Alderman and Mrs. W. R. Beaumont, Mayor and Mayoress of Ripon, in front of the Mayor's street lamp, set up according to a Ripon custom - in the garden of their home on Whitcliffe Lane.

8. Ripon in the 1970s

Alderman and Mrs. W. R. Beaumont, Mayor and Mayoress of Ripon, in front of the Mayor's street lamp, set up according to a Ripon custom - in the garden of their home on Whitcliffe Lane. | YPN Photo: YPN

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A couple planned to spend their retirement in prison. The Menheneott's, former licensees of an 18th century inn at Ribblehead in the Yorkshire Dales, had bought the Old Court House, jailer's quarters and debtor's and felon's jail. Pictured is Dorothy Menheneott at the entrance to the cells in June 1970.

9. Ripon in the 1970s

A couple planned to spend their retirement in prison. The Menheneott's, former licensees of an 18th century inn at Ribblehead in the Yorkshire Dales, had bought the Old Court House, jailer's quarters and debtor's and felon's jail. Pictured is Dorothy Menheneott at the entrance to the cells in June 1970. | YPN Photo: YPN

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Alma Weir in July 1974. Pictured are Florence Grice and her grandchildren, Helen, seven, and Alison, 10.

10. Ripon in the 1970s

Alma Weir in July 1974. Pictured are Florence Grice and her grandchildren, Helen, seven, and Alison, 10. | YPN Photo: YPN