Ripley Castle

Last weekend, we visited Ripley Castle, which is located just 10 minutes by car from our home. Neither Bill nor I had ever heard of Ripley Castle prior to living here, but we now know it has a long and rich history (as do most places around here). 

We learned that the same family has lived in the house/castle since the 1300 - I think our tour guide said the current owner is the 27th generation of Ingilbys to live in the house - Wow! We toured what felt like a pretty large area, but the family lives in the private area comprised of eight bedrooms, living rooms, bathrooms, etc. etc. Needless to say, they've still got plenty of room, even with tours and the like happening all the time. 

Three major events took place at Ripley Castle. Shortly after it was built, King Edward III was seriously injured while hunting boar nearby. One of the rich (crown tax collectors) Ingilby brothers killed the boar, King Edward recovered, and the brother was knighted for his bravery. The boar's head is still mounted in the visitor's entry way. 

Jane Ingilby held Oliver Cromwell prisoner overnight (girl power!!) in the castle's library after the Battle of Marston Moor. But the next morning, Oliver Cromwell executed several Ingilby supporters in the courtyard, where you can still see the bullet dents in the stone wall. 

And lastly, James I stayed the night at Ripley Castle while on route from Scotland to London for his coronation, the first time England & Scotland were united by one crown.

... Can you tell I was a history major and get off on all this stuff? :-)

We couldn't take any pictures inside the castle during our tour, so you'll just have to settle for outside facade and garden pictures.  

There was a lovely pond with an aqueduct feature. Right behind where I took this picture was a large stone "eel tower." The pond was fed into the tower which was kept stocked with eel, a delicacy. So even if the pond ran low, the Ingilby family would always have a supply of yummy, yummy eel for their feasts.  

There were beautiful moss-covered wrought iron details, and lovely walking and cart paths throughout the gardens. There were a lot of birds as well, but we weren't able to get close enough to identify most of them. We did get a great picture of a Mom & Dad goose with their wee goslings. 

 

We enjoyed our visit so much we converted our one-day tickets into a couple's annual pass for just a few extra pounds. So we'll be able to go back any time to walk the gardens, re-take the tour, or get discounted tickets to their many special events. In fact, we've already got tickets for Ripley Castle's Shakespeare in the Park in June!