CHAPTER XIV
RIPON AND FOUNTAINS ABBEY
We have come out of Wensleydale past the ruins of the great Cistercian
abbey of Jervaulx, which Conan, Earl of Richmond, moved from Askrigg to
a kindlier climate, and we have passed through the quiet little town of
Masham, famous for its fair in September, when sometimes as many as
70,000 sheep, including great numbers of the fine Wensleydale breed,
are sold, and now we are at Ripon. It is the largest town we have seen
since we lost sight of Richmond in the wooded recesses of Swaledale,
and though we are still close to the Ure, we are on the very edge of
the dale country, and miss the fells that lie a little to the west. The
evening has settled down to steady rain, and the market-place is
running with water that reflects the lights in the shop-windows and
the dark outline of the obelisk in the centre. This erection is
suspiciously called 'the Cross,' and it made its appearance nearly
seventy years before the one at Richmond. Gent says it cost L564 11s.
9d., and that it is 'one of the finest in England.
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