Ripponden
| Ripponden | |
 St Bartholomew's Church |
|
  Ripponden |
|
| Population | 7,421 (2011) |
|---|---|
| OS grid reference | SE035195 |
| Civil parish | Ripponden |
| Metropolitan borough | Calderdale |
| Metropolitan county | West Yorkshire |
| Region | Yorkshire and the Humber |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | SOWERBY BRIDGE |
| Postcode district | HX6 |
| Dialling code | 01422 |
| Police | West Yorkshire |
| Fire | West Yorkshire |
| Ambulance | Yorkshire |
| EU Parliament | Yorkshire and the Humber |
| UK Parliament | Calder Valley |
Coordinates: 53°40′19″N 1°56′46″W / 53.672°N 1.946°W
Ripponden is a village and civil parish within the Metropolitan Borough of Calderdale, in West Yorkshire, England, near Halifax, on the River Ryburn. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is the site of a Roman settlement, and there is a Roman road over nearby Blackstone Edge, a rocky ridge of Millstone Grit. It has a population of 6,412,[1] increasing to 7,421 at the 2011 Census.[2]
Ripponden is the main settlement in a small group of villages; Barkisland, Ripponden, Rishworth and Soyland. The citizens of Ripponden are represented on Ripponden Parish Council. The area is a substantial part of the Ryburn Ward, itself part of Calderdale metropolitan borough.
Ripponden and its villages were formerly served by the Rishworth branch line from Sowerby Bridge; Ripponden and Barkisland railway station closed to passengers in 1929 and the line was closed completely in 1958.
The area is of archaeological note for the Roman road at Blackstone Edge alone and is also rich in neolithic and bronze age remains. At nearby Ringstone Edge can be found a small stone circle and neolithic settlement. Upon Rishworth Moor, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and home to many rare animals, can be found the 'Cat Stones', a series of ancient round barrow burial sites.
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Ripponden is the terminus of the annual Sowerby Bridge Rushbearing Festival.
The village is on the route of the Calderdale Way. This is a 50 mile circular walk around the hills and valleys of Calderdale. A detailed route description can be found at www.crewheartsupport.co.uk/calderdaleway.
The town is the home of an annual pork pie competition. [3][4]
On 6 July 2014, Stage 2 of the 2014 Tour de France from York to Sheffield, passed through the village. After leaving the village at the 112.5 kilometres (69.9 mi) point, was the third climb of the stage, the Category 3 Côte de Ripponden. It was 1.3 kilometres (0.81 mi) long with an average gradient of 8.6%. The first rider over the top to claim 2 points in the King of the Mountains competition was Cyril Lemoine of Cofidis. The other point available was claimed by David De La Cruz Melgarejo.[5]
Notable people
Sir Norman Howard Bottomley, Air Chief Marshal of the RAF and Commander-in-Chief of RAF Bomber Command in 1945, was born in Ripponden in 1891.
Nobel Prize–winning physicist Prof Richard Feynman was a regular visitor to the village in the 1960s-1980s, with his wife who was born locally. He also spent significant time in nearby Mill Bank.[6]
References
- ↑ Office for National Statistics : Census 2001 : Parish Headcounts : Calderdale Retrieved 2 September 2009
- ↑ "Civil parish population 2011". Office for National Statistics\Neighbourhood Statistics. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
- ↑ "Pork Pie Battle Hits Ripponden". Porkpieclub.net. 15 January 2010. Retrieved 1 March 2014.
- ↑ "Events & Festivals". Visitcalderdale.com. Retrieved 1 March 2014.
- ↑ "Tour de France Stage 1". Retrieved 15 July 2014.
- ↑ Richard P. Feynman (2005). Perfectly Reasonable Deviations from the Beaten Track: The Letters of Richard P. Feynman. Basic Books. ISBN 978-0465023714.
External links
Media related to Ripponden at Wikimedia Commons
- Ripponden Parish Council
- Ryburn Ward 2004 population statistics and maps
- Ripponden In Bloom
- St. Bartholomew's Church Ripponden
- Ryburn Valley History Society
- Sowerby Bridge Chronicle newspaper website