Editing Ripon (section)

===Reformation and Tudor times===
[[File:FountainsAbbey-Wyrdlight 893.jpg|thumb|[[Fountains Abbey]]]]
Ripon, which relied heavily on its religious institutions, was badly affected by the [[English Reformation]] under the [[Tudor dynasty|Tudor]] king [[Henry VIII of England|Henry VIII]].{{sfn|Thomson|1978|pp=73–74}} The [[Abbot]] of Fountains, William Thirske, was expelled by Henry and replaced; Thirske went on to become one of the leaders of the [[Pilgrimage of Grace]] [[Popular revolt in late medieval Europe|popular rising]].{{sfn|Thomson|1978|p=74}} The people of Northern England were quite traditional in their beliefs and were unhappy about Henry's intention to break with Rome; the Pilgrimage of Grace was the manifestation of this sentiment.{{sfn|Thomson|1978|p=74}} The revolt failed and Henry followed through with the break from [[Roman Catholic Church|Rome]] and the [[Dissolution of the Monasteries]], which included [[Fountains Abbey]].{{sfn|Thomson|1978|p=74}}

After [[Mary, Queen of Scots]], fled Scotland to [[Northern England]] she stayed at Ripon on her journey.{{sfn|Thomson|1978|p=74}} The mainly Catholic North supported her, and there was another popular rising known as the [[Rising of the North]]; this began six miles (10&nbsp;km) away at [[Topcliffe, North Yorkshire|Topcliffe]] and was led by [[Thomas Percy, 7th Earl of Northumberland|Thomas Percy]], the 7th [[Earl of Northumberland]] and [[Charles Neville, 6th Earl of Westmorland|Charles Neville]], the 6th [[Earl of Westmorland]].{{sfn|Thomson|1978|p=74}} The rebels stayed at Ripon on 18 November 1569, but the rising eventually failed resulting in 600 people being executed, 300 of whom were [[hanged]] at Gallows Hill in Ripon during January 1570.{{sfn|Thomson|1978|p=74}}

Plans were drawn up to make Ripon a centre of education, a ''University of the North'', to rival [[Oxford]] and [[Cambridge]]. Although chief advisers [[William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley|Lord Burghley]] and [[Edwin Sandys, Archbishop of York|Archbishop Sandys]] supported the idea, [[Elizabeth I of England|Elizabeth I]] did not follow it through.{{sfn|Thomson|1978|p=75}} The scheme was revived in 1604 by Sandys' widow Cicely, under the patronage of [[Anne of Denmark]] and [[Bess of Hardwick]] without success.<ref>[[Francis Peck]], ''Desiderata Curiosa'', vol. 1 (London, 1779), p. 290.</ref>