Ripon has three closely clustered museums along Saint Agnesgate, all worth visiting on the same ticket. The Prison and Police Museum is the most compelling: housed in the actual cells of a Victorian prison, it traces the history of law enforcement from stocks and pillories through the development of the modern police force. The Courthouse Museum next door occupies a Georgian magistrates' court still fitted with its original dock, benches, and jury box. The Workhouse Museum, a short walk away, uses the actual building of Ripon's Victorian workhouse to tell the story of Victorian poverty policy with unusual directness.
Together the three museums make a sharp and unsentimental portrait of 19th-century English provincial life. They are run by volunteers with genuine enthusiasm for the material, and the admission price covers all three. Allow two hours if you want to give each one proper attention.