Cut across by the River Skell, these Cistercian ruins provide a wonderful record of monastic life in the Middle Ages. A long row of buildings (dormitory of the lay brothers) extends on the right-hand side of the abbey, with no cover. Note the tower ..

The Wakeman's House , a 14C, two-storeyed building, was the home of the last holder of the office, Hugh Ripley, who became the firs Mayor of Ripon in 1604, under the royal Charter granted by James I.

The Ripon Workhouse, a building dating from 1854, demonstrates the appalling living conditions (a display of 19C photographs) and the harsh workhouse regime, often the only resort for those on the fringes of Victorian society - beggars, orphans, old ..