Fodor's Expert Review Ripon Cathedral

The site's original 7th-century church was destroyed by the Vikings, though its Saxon crypt (AD 672), the oldest structure in any English cathedral, remains. The Romanesque transepts of the current cathedral date from the 12th century, while the west front (circa 1220) is an outstanding example of Early English Gothic. The nave was rebuilt in 1500 in a Perpendicular Gothic style. Note the recently restored, finely carved choir stalls—one carving, of a rabbit going down a rabbit hole, is said to have inspired Lewis Carroll, whose father was a canon here.