Ripley School Chapel

The school was originally built as a charitable orphanage and school, known as the Ripley Hospital, and was intended particularly for children whose fathers had been lost at sea. It was paid for from the legacy of Thomas Ripley, a merchant who died in 1852, to build such a school along the lines of the Bluecoat School in Liverpool. The building was commissioned by Ripley's widow, Julia. The foundation stone was laid on 14 July 1856, and the building was completed eight years later, being opened on 3 November 1864 by the Rt Revd James Prince Lee, Bishop of Manchester. Julia Ripley died in 1881, having set up a trust to pay for extensions to the school, which included a chapel. The chapel was…

The chapel is the size of a parish church, seating 400 people. At the west end is a narthex, divided from the body of the church by an oak screen. The interior is asymmetrical, with a three-bay south arcade between the nave and the aisle. In the transept, the vestry is at the lower level, with the organ above. The furnishings were designed by C. Blades, and carved by John Jackson. The choir stalls are particularly elaborate, with traceried canopies, and the seats have finials in the shape of lollipops. The oak pulpit stands on a sandstone base, and the pews are also in oak.