a market-town, parliamentary and municipal borough of England, in the West Riding of Yorkshire, on the right bank of the Ure, 23 miles N.W. of York, and 215 N.N.W. of London. It stands in the midst of a rich and well-wooded country, and consists of irregularly laid-out streets, many of which meet in the spacious marketplace near the centre of the town. Here there is a handsome town-hall, and an obelisk 90 feet high, surmounted by the city arms. The principal edifice is the cathedral, one of the best proportioned churches in the kingdom. Its whole length is 260 feet, that of the transept 132 feet, the breadth of the nave and aisles 87 feet, and that of the choir and aisles 66 feet. At the west front two uniform towers rise to the height of 110 feet; and in the centre is a large but lower one, called St Wilfrid's Tower. Under the chapter-house is a vault containing a great number of human remains in good preservation. The architecture of the church is partly Norman and partly early English; the building was begun in 1331, but not completed till 1494. Besides Trinity church, an early English cruciform building, erected in 1826, there are in Ripon Wesleyan, Primitive Methodist, and Independent churches. The educational establishments comprise a free grammar school, national and infant schools, a blue-cost school, &c. Here, too, are a mechanics' institute, subscription library, news-room, hospital, and dispensary. Ripon was once famous for the manufacture of spurs and of woollen fabrics. Many saddle-trees are made here; tanning, malting, and linen-weaving are also carried on. Near the town the Ure is crossed by a fine bridge. A short canal, constructed in 1767, brings the navigation up to the town. A weekly market and six annual fairs are held, chiefly for cattle, leather, and cloth. The borough is governed by a mayor, three other aldermen, and twelve councillors; and it sends two members to the House of Commons. It is a place of much antiquity, having existed in the time of the Saxons, who were here defeated by the Danes at an early period. A monastery was founded in 661, when there were only thirty houses in the place; and the town was made a borough by Alfred the Great. In 1069 it was wasted by William the Conqueror, and in 1319 and 1324 by the Scots under Bruce. In 1643 it was seized by the parliamentary party, but rescued for the royalists by Sir John Mollory. Pop. (1851) of the parish, 15,103; of the parliamentary borough, 6080.