Alumni and their guests are invited to join the Cambridge Society of North and West Yorkshire on a guided tour of Ripon Cathedral. Before we undertake our guided tour of the wonderful Cathedral we will meet at the award winning restaurant, Lockwoods, for an early light supper.

The tour of the Cathedral will take place immediately after Evensong, at this time in the evening, we will have the Cathedral to ourselves and will be able to do far more justice to the building than we might with a day-time visit, when time is shorter, and there might be an inter-play with other things going on.

Ripon Cathedral:

Founded by St. Wilfrid (c. 634 - 709 AD) and dedicated to St. Peter in 672. Of the original building only the Saxon Crypt remains, but its survival makes the Cathedral one of England's oldest church buildings still in use. Since that time the building has been subjected to constant re-builds, extensions, destruction and restoration, including work in the C19 by Sir George Gilbert Scott, right up to the present day; and all of which will be evidenced in our tour. It also houses high quality work by skilled craftsmen from the original stone masons who built the crypt, medieval wood carvers, a metal-smith from the arts and crafts movement, Leslie Durbin, one of the leading silver-smiths of the C20, and stained glass from the work-shops of Goddard and Gibbs, and others. We will also consider the connections with Lewis Carroll and Wilfred Owen. The church, which was known as Ripon Minster, became a Cathedral in 1836 on the creation of a new diocese.

Our guide:

John Sayer, graduate of Oxford, has been involved with the Cathedral for over 40 years and is also a knowledgeable organist.

Details for the evening:

• 4.30pm - 5pm: early light supper at Lockwoods Restaurant where we have our own area booked. Menu choices are from the Early Bird Menu - 2 course £13.95 or 3 courses £16.95
• 6pm: those who wish can attend Evensong
• 6.30pm: for those who don't wish to attend Evensong, leave the restaurant and make their way to the Cathedral for the start of the tour, entering by the main West door
• 8:15pm: the tour finishes and we will leave by a door on the North side of the Cathedral, as the West door may be closed.