Identification of the Book
Title: Ripley: Its History and Antiquities.
Author: John Thorpe
Publisher: Printed by Thomas Hollins; Whittaker and Co.
Place of Publication: London, United Kingdom
Year of Publication: 1866
MSU Library Call Number: DA690.R53 T5
Physical Description
This example of Ripley: Its History and Antiquities is a small 19 cm book bound in brown leather with visible wear along the edges and spine. The spine is decorated with thin gilded bands. The book is in good condition with no noticeable tears, rips, loose pages or missing pages. Various degrees of light wrinkling exist on many of the pages without significantly detracting from the book’s aesthetic presentation. The text is clear and legible throughout.
Contents and Author
Ripley: Its History and Antiquities is a history book written by John Thorpe (1811-1868). Thorpe was a British author, local historian, and regional guide for the Harrogate district in England during the 19th century. Ripley was the only book Thorpe published during his life. However, he authored one other work called Thorpe’s New Illustrated Guide to Harrogate and District published posthumously in 1895.
Ripley: Its History and Antiquities was printed by Thomas Hollins in London under the company name “Whittaker & Co.” The publishing business was located on Ave Maria Lane in London beginning from at least from 1834. I am unable to find anything about the business beyond 1840.
The contents of Ripley: Its History and Antiquities detail the history of the small town of Ripley, North Yorkshire from the early medieval period to the mid-19th century. Particular attention is given to the role of the local aristocratic family known as the Ingleby family (also spelled Ingilby) with respect to the politics and culture of the city. Some covered historical events include the village’s role in the English Civil War, local famines, and civil disruptions stemming from unpopular taxation policies. Along with the general history of the town, there is also a comprehensive list of people who lived in the town, when they died, and who they married. The style of the book is poetic with rhyming passages of historic narratives interspersed with factual information.
Provenance
Inscriptions and Notations
Three examples of handwriting appear in the book. The first appears on the pastedown and bookplate where the name Rodney Barrie is signed and evidence of prior historical research is present with page numbers directing the reader to references of the Barrie Family in the book. The second is the notations on pages 51 and 61 marking the textual evidence of the Barrie family. Finally, the last page includes a written family tree following the male line of descent of the Barrie family beginning with Robert Barrie.
Ownership History
Sir Robert Barrie
The strongest evidence of prior ownership derives from an armorial bookplate with the printed name “Robert Barrie.” Rear Admiral Sir Robert Barrie (5 May 1774 – 7 June 1841) was a British naval officer famous for his service during the War of 1812 and the maritime theater of the Napoleonic Wars. Barrie joined the Royal Navy at the age of 14 and quickly rose to the rank of captain. Some of Barrie’s achievements include the capture of Lucien Bonaparte, brother of Napoleon, who was attempting to escape from Italy to America in October 1810, the capture of 85 American vessels during the blockade of Chesapeake Bay between 1813 and 1814, and commanding a joint expedition that defeated American militiamen at the Battle of Hampden in 1814, capturing and looting the towns of Hampden and Bangor for the British.
After his successful service in Europe and America, Barrie returned to England where he married Ripley aristocrat Julia Ingilby of the Ingilby family. Together they would have five children totaling four daughters and one son. By the late 1830s Robert retired to the tiny hamlet of Swarthdale, Lancashire where he died at the age of 67. While his children continued to live in Swarthdale, Robert was buried at the All Saints Church in Ripley, North Yorkshire near Harrogate.
While Robert Barrie is an important individual, it would be incorrect to believe that this book belonged to Sir Robert Barrie because he died in 1841 – prior to Ripley’s publication in 1866. Instead, it is reasonable to conclude that this book was added to the Barrie family library under the ownership of Robert’s son William Barrie.
William Barrie
William Vincent Barrie (1817–1873) was the only son of Robert Barrie and Julia Ingleby. William, following in his father’s footsteps, reached the officer rank of commander in the Royal Navy. While not achieving the same military fame as his father, William’s privileged family background afforded him the inheritance to purchase this book.
William Barrie is the most likely member of the Barrie family to have purchased the book. He was 49 years old when the book was published and his newly born son Charles was only one year old.
Charles Barrie
Charles Nicholas Barrie (1865-1925) was born at the Barrie estate located at Swarthdale House, Lancaster. Not much is known about Charles’ life and no record exists of him pursuing a career in the Royal Navy. It is probable Charles inherited the book from his father as his name is directly linked in the handwritten family tree in the back of the book.
Rodney Barrie
Rodney Alban Barrie (1895-1974) was likely the last member of the Barrie family to own Ripley: Its history and Antiquities. One can assume that it stayed in the Barrie family’s possession until Rodney’s lifetime. Rodney was born in Croydon, Surrey and died in Kensington, London at the age of 79. Based on the very limited sources I could find, he was an actor of some kind. Rodney is the last listed person included in the handwritten family tree in the back of the book, and no evidence exists of him marrying or fathering any children. I speculate that with no children to pass his belongings on to, this book, along with his other possessions, entered an estate liquidation sale.
Albert John Coombes
The most recent provenance appears to point to Albert John Coombes (1 December 1933 – 12 February 2023). Coombes was an antiquarian bookseller and specialist in British topography and history. He lived in Betchworth, Surrey and married Hazel Coombs – raising three daughters. It remains uncertain how he acquired the book and how it entered Michigan State University Special Collections. However, a sticker with his name and bookshop address is stuck on the bottom of the page. Additionally, the frontispiece has the number 1996 written in pencil – it is possible this was the year Coombes acquired the book or sold the book to MSU. Coombes passed away in 2023 at the age of 89, and his funeral was held at Randalls Park Crematorium, Leatherhead, United Kingdom.
Bibliography
City of Barrie, Ontario, Canada. “History of Sir Robert Barrie .” City of Barrie, 2025. https://www.barrie.ca/community-recreation-environment/heritage/sir-robert-barrie.
Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/255624237/julia_wharton-barrie: accessed March 26, 2025), memorial page for Julia Wharton Ingilby Barrie (12 Feb 1794–23 Nov 1836), Find a Grave Memorial ID 255624237, citing All Saints Churchyard, Ripley, Harrogate Borough, North Yorkshire, England; Maintained by Michelle (contributor 50889256).
Funeral Guide. “Albert John Coombs Obituary.” Funeral Guide. Sherlock Funeral Service, March 16, 2023. https://www.funeralguide.co.uk/obituaries/109223.
Geni Family Tree. “William Barrie.” Accessed March 26, 2025. https://www.geni.com/people/William-Barrie/6000000000130110835.
Geni Family Tree. “Rodney Alban Barrie.” Accessed March 26, 2025. https://www.geni.com/people/Rodney-Alban-Barrie/6000000000321012211.
Library of Congress. “Thorpe, John, Active 19th Century,” March 18, 2013. https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n84160252.html.
Rindlisbacher, Peter . Robert Barrie and HMS DRAGON Off Tangier Island. 1814. May 4, 2021. Oil painting. Barrie Town Hall. Barrie, Ontario. https://www.facebook.com/SirRobertBarrie/posts/robert-barrie-and-hms-dragon-off-tangier-island-1814oil-on-canvas-36-x-48-by-pet/106342924949584/.
Thorpe, John. Ripley: Its History and Antiquities. Harrogate : London: Printed by T. Hollins; Whittaker & co., 1866.
Thomas L. Brock, “BARRIE, Sir ROBERT,” in Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 7, University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003–, accessed March 26, 2025, https://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/barrie_robert_7E.html.
The British Museum. “Collections Online.” British Museum. Accessed March 31, 2025. https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/term/BIOG163951.
‘Townships: Over Kellet’, in A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 8. Edited by William Farrer, J Brownbill (London, 1914), British History Online, accessed March 26, 2025, https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/lancs/vol8/pp140-151.
Wikipedia editors. “Ingilby Baronets.” Wikipedia, February 21, 2025. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ingilby_baronets.
Created by Miles Lindberg in Spring 2025 for Dr. Brockey’s HST 475.
