The Archbishop of York and the Bishop of Leeds will be at Ripon Cathedral on Sunday, October 16 for the culmination of the cathedral’s 1350th anniversary celebrations.
A ledger stone, honouring the cathedral’s founding father St Wilfrid, will be dedicated by Archbishop Stephen at the end of a service that will have celebrated the incredible life and mission of St Wilfrid of Ripon.
Throughout this year, in marking the 1350th anniversary of the dedication of Ripon’s crypt by St Wilfrid, the cathedral community has been telling the story of this remarkable missionary bishop with art installations, son et lumieres, lectures and worship.
Wilfrid, a man of great vision, motivation, courage and faith, not only built up the church and brought countless people to faith but also helped the church on the fringes of Europe become more up to date and better connected. This became symbolized in the way he brought Roman influence to bear on the building of a stunning church in Ripon.
The ledger stone has been created by letter carver Charlotte Howarth from Making Marks in Norfolk, who worked round the clock for four weeks to complete the work on time. Charlotte’s previous projects include the carving of the gilt lettering in to the oak for the Remember Me memorial portico entrance at St Paul’s Cathedral, dedicated to those who died as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Carving the ledger stone for Ripon Cathedral was highly skilled and physically demanding work, using an extremely hard stone called Stanhoe Framp.
Charlotte said, “You become emotionally involved with a project when you work on it. I do think it looks fabulous, there is an overwhelming feeling of relief to see it laid in the floor of the cathedral.”
