natureoncam aka Greg's photos with the keyword: Ripon

In the grounds of Ripon Cathedral

Currently undergoing some major refurbishment , this part of the building is dominated by the organ of which details follow. The cathedral has a fine organ by Harrison and Harrison, which is a rebuild of the original Lewis instrument dating from 1878. The organ is on the screen and has casework by Gilbert Scott. A specification of the organ can be found on the National Pipe Organ Register. The organ last underwent a major refurbishment in 2013. These works included a thorough cleaning and repair of all pipe work; selective re-leathering of reservoirs and drawstop motors; reconstruction/rationalisation of the wind distribution system; refurbishment and updating of the screen console; and cleaning of the case. The only minor tonal changes during these works were the replacement of Great Larigot 1 1/3 (1972) by a Flûte harmonique 8 (in Lewis style) and the recasting of Choir Cimbel III at a lower pitch. Best in large.

There has been a stone church on the site since 672 when Saint Wilfrid replaced the previous timber church of the monastery at Ripon (a daughter house of Saint Aidan's monastery at Melrose) with one in the Roman style. This is one of the earliest stone buildings erected in the Anglo-Saxon Kingdom of Northumbria. The crypt dates from this period. People have been coming to worship and pray at Ripon for more than 1,350 years. The cathedral building is part of this continuing act of worship, begun in the 7th century when Saint Wilfrid built one of England's first stone churches on this site, and still renewed every day. Within the nave and choir, you can see the evidence of 800 years in which master craftsmen have expressed their faith in wood and stone. Today's church is the fourth to have stood on this site. Saint Wilfrid brought stonemasons, plasterers and glaziers from France and Italy to build his great basilica in AD 672. View in large for scale

The font is apparently made from bronze though many believe it to actually be copper, either way it stands on marble columns and is a very distinctive item in a beautiful cathedral.