Sir William Amcotts Ingleby developed and erected the village of Ripley in Lower Nidderdale, on the leeward side of the Yorkshire Dales, in the 1830s. Sir William was so fascinated by a model estate village he saw in France that he returned home and dismantled the existing structures in Ripley, starting over with a traditional French style from the ground up. The community is small and pristine today, with a lovely Castle in the centre (which is still home to the Ingleby family) and huge gardens open to the public, including waterfalls, bridges, and a lake. Deer roam in the grounds, and the Castle has a shop and tea rooms. The village is centred on a wide cobbled market square, which is overseen by the Boar’s Head, a historic coaching inn with an excellent restaurant, bar, and café. There is a village store and ice cream parlour, as well as a butcher’s, an art gallery, and much more, where tourists may sample the famous Ripley ice cream.
