The Old Courthouse

SE 3171 RIPON MINSTER ROAD 1/10 (north side) 27.5.49

The Old Courthouse GV II

Probably mediaeval, although neither the roof structure nor any masonry details offer secure evidence for its dating. Hammer-dressed stone. Pantiled and sprocketed roofs. Extension to south has timber-framed first floor. Two storeys. Three bays plus the extension. One round-arched doorway at north end, probably C18 or C19, now blocked, but formerly with an iron studded door. C19 2-centred arched door on first floor approached by flight of steps with simple iron balustrade. One old slit window on ground floor, otherwise C18 or C19 casements and sashes.

Interior. Court room remaining on first floor. Ground floor cells with iron-plated ceilings, and 2 iron studded doors.

History. Probably built as the Court house of the Archbishop of York's Liberty of Ripon, close by the Archiepiscopal Palace (see 27 Kirkgate, qv). In the C18 it had become the Liberty gaol (earliest reference 1713: see Ripon Millenary). In the C19 it may have become the Debtors' Prison (to which there are various references in the 1830s and 1840s) as the name of Thomas Harrison, who was gaoler of the Debtor's Prison, appears scratched on the walls.

Listing NGR: SE3137271171