William Burges's High Victorian Gothic church in Studley Royal deer park, its interior lined with marble, gilding and stained glass
Open to visitorsan English Heritage site — check opening times and admission before you go
Substantial ruinsruined, but plenty survives above ground
The Marquess and Marchioness of Ripon built this church between 1871 and 1878, using money originally set aside as ransom after Frederick Vyner, the Marchioness’s brother, was killed by bandits in Greece in 1870. They commissioned William Burges, the architect behind the Gothic fantasies at Cardiff Castle, to design something in the spirit of 13th-century English churches. It stands in the deer park at Studley Royal, a short walk from Fountains Abbey’s ruins, and both share the same World Heritage Site designation. The finished building lines up along a lime-tree avenue running the length of the park towards Ripon Cathedral on the horizon beyond.
Marble columns, gilded and painted ceilings, sculpture by Thomas Nicholls and stained glass made by Saunders & Co fill the interior. Lord and Lady Ripon are buried in a vault beneath the chapel at the east end, marked by a pair of marble effigies. The church served the parish until 1969, was declared redundant soon after, and passed into state guardianship in 1973; under a 2008 agreement, English Heritage now maintains the building while the National Trust manages the deer park and visitor access around it.
The National Trust runs visitor access here, as it does across the rest of Studley Royal and Fountains Abbey, and the church only opens for part of the year.
