Ripley Castle, Ripley, North Yorkshire

Description

RIPLEY RIPLEY PARK
SE 2860-2960

8/99 Ripley Castle
8.3.52

GV I

Large house. A mid C16 tower built for Sir William Ingilby, and ranges of
1783-86 for Sir John Ingilby, by William Belwood. Coursed squared gritstone
and ashlar with grey slate and stone slate roofs. Plan: the C16 tower of 3
storeys and 1 x 2 bays stands at the south-west corner as a projecting wing
to a 2-storey 4 x 3-bay block; the tower is balanced by a 3-storey 3 x 3-bay
projecting wing on the south-east corner of this block and an L-shaped
kitchen and service wing which projects to the north (2 bays) and east (3
bays, linking to the courtyard ranges, qv). The C16 tower, south front: a
horizontal board door, left, in a shallow pointed-arched doorway with
moulded surround and spandrels; a mullion and transom window of 3 round-
headed lights with a hoodmould to right,restored below transom level; a
corbelled chimney stack projects at first floor, right; a narrow stair
window to first and second floors, left. Diagonal buttresses; slightly
projecting crenellated parapets on each side of the tower, a stair turret
rises above parapet level left and has similar crenellations; 4 tall square
stacks also crenellated. The rear (north) wall of the tower is incorporated
into the C18 structure. Left return: a central projecting stack is flanked
by 3 tiers of 3-light mullion windows with square hoodmoulds, those to the
ground floor, with transoms, being C18 or C19 insertions. A narrow window
to right on each floor to the stair turret. Projecting buttress left,
diagonal buttress right. Tower, right return: Gothick porch conceals ground
floor with 2 blocked rectangular windows; first floor, left: a mullioned
window of round-headed lights with square hoodmould; a 3-light oriel
window above and a small blocked window within a deep bolection-moulded
architrave to second floor, centre. The C18 ranges are built in a Gothick
style; having deep chamfered plinth, sash windows with glazing bars, many
windows blind, roll-moulded copings to the battlemented blocking courses and
diagonal buttresses to the south-east wing. The south facade has a canted
Gothick porch of 5 arches to bay 1 with a wider central arch surmounted by a
shield; a moulded cornice and crenellated blocking course over all. The 4-
bay recessed central range has projecting sill bands and sashes, the south-
east wing windows all have 4-centred arches and hoodmoulds. The central bay
of this wing has a round-arched recess rising through 2 storeys, the first-
floor window within having a chamfered surround. Crenellated stacks. Right
return (forming the eastern facade): the 3-bay principal wing, left, has
paired sashes with hoodmoulds to centre of ground and first floors, the
ground-floor central mullion replaced by a steel prop at time of resurvey.
Remaining fenestration as south front; diagonal buttresses. Centre and
right: the service ranges are without ornament to windows or roofline. The
rear facade is composed of a right-hand 5-bay block,with central
semicircular bay,containing principal rooms and a projecting 3-storey, 5-bay
service range to left which is a continuation of the north wall of the
coach-house and service range of the courtyard (qv). The right-hand window
on the first floor of this range is a Venetian window; the crenellated
parapet does not continue across this facade. Hipped roofs and tall multi-
flue stacks. Western garden facade: to right the C16 tower projects
slightly,to centre the 4-bay C18 range with sashes and sills bands except
glazed double doors to right below a large Venetian window. Recessed to
left is the 3-bay service range; 2-storeys on this west face with segmental
windows in round-arched recesses to ground floor and 2 blind recesses and
one sash window to first floor; an inserted 16-pane window in the centre of
this wall exposes the fact that it is a 3-storey range. Interior: the
south-west tower contains much original mid C16 panelling and early C17
plasterwork. The ground-floor library was entered from the south-west
corner in the base of the stair turret which contains a stone newel
staircase; the first-floor room was originally divided into an antechamber
and inner room, both rooms being heated by fine Tudor-arched fireplaces; the
walls have square oak panelling, the ceiling has fine plaster decoration:
the underside of the beams ornamented in high relief with friezes of maize
and pomegranites in foliage, the panels between divided by mouldings into
geometric shapes containing coats of arm, crowned heads and lions. The
upper room has early panelling composed of vertical plants set in a square
framework; to right of the stair door a hidden door opens inwards into a
crudely excavated recess dug out of the wall structure, probably a hide
away. C17 fragments of a carved wooden frieze mounted on the wall include
one in situ, dated 1555 and the remains of 3 or 4 more in Latin and English,
including the Ingilby motto, Mon Droit and the date 1549. The roof is
ceiled with planks fastened behind moulded purlins and ridge to form a wide
waggon-roof construction. The C18 principal rooms are entered from the
Gothick porch on the south front; the entrance hall has round-arched opening
to the staircase hall to left and an arched recess right containing doorway
to the morning room, right; deep Classical frieze and ceiling cornice; the
fluted Doric columns in antis at the north end of the hall are painted in
imitation of marble. The oval inner hall has walls painted in imitation
of ashlar and the south-east rounded corner contains a hidden door
giving access to the service passage. North of the inner hall the Round
Drawing Room has round-arched alcoves and delicate plaster ceiling frieze.
To left of the Round Drawing Room is the Large Drawing Room, which has an
elaborate plaster ceiling with winged sphinxes and figures possibly
representing Sir John and Elizabeth Ingilby. To right of the Round Drawing
Room,the Dining Room with a fine fireplace in veined and white marble; the
flanking Ionic columns supporting an entablature with acanthus leaves and
reclining figure. The Morning Room is entered across the passage from the
dining room via a concealed door and from the door on the right of the
entrance hall. The north wall contains an arched recess in an architrave
which meets the ceiling cornice and frieze with swags and figures in relief.
The cantilevered staircase in the semicircular hall has slender cast-iron
balusters and moulded handrail. The walls are painted similarly to the
entrance hall. It is lit by the fine Venetian window which contains
armorial glass by William Peckitt made in 1784-85. The window is
constructed of paired fluted columns in antis with a deep entablature with
triglyphs and modillioned cornice. The ground and first-floor doors are 6-
panels, of pine painted to imitate mahogany, in Classical doorcases. The
Ingilby family had estates in Lincolnshire when Thomas Ingilby married
Edeline Thweng in 1320. The medieval buildings were recorded in 4 painting
in cl780 and followed approximately the lines of the C18 house; the west
walls of the entrance hall and the north and east walls of the Morning Room
are thought to be the fabric of the earlier hall. Sir William Ingilby was
Treasurer of Berwick in 1557 and spent much of his time in the Borders
during the 1540's and 50's during a period of extensive political upheaval.
The tower reflects the style of building in that area at that time, although
the existing openings do not suggest a defensive purpose. The plasterwork
in the first-floor room dates from 1603 when King James II of Scotland
stayed at the castle on the way to his coronation as James I of England.
Sir John Ingilby undertook the transformation of the medieval buildings with
some regret at the destruction of the ancient house; the Gothick style of
the exterior reflects his and Belwood's interest but the interior is
Classical in the style of the time. William Belwood (1738-SO) was paid for
work at Ripley throughout the 1780's; he designed the entrance hall,
staircase and drawing rooms, following the style of his work at Newby Hall.
Sir John borrowed £12,000 to pay for the work and in 1794 he fled to Berne
to escape his creditors and the newly built house was boarded up until 1803.
The renovation begun on his return was continued after his death in 1815 by
his son William (d1854), who made extensive alterations to the grounds and
village. Sir Thomas Ingilby, personal communication. J Low, 'William
Belwood, Architect and Surveyor', Yorkshire Archaeological Journal, 56
(1984), p 148-151.

Listing NGR: SE2822760558

External Links

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British Listed Buildings

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Ripley Castle

A Grade I Listed Building in Ripley, North Yorkshire

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