Bishop begins his historic move

The bishop is moving out of the shadow of Ripon Cathedral

The Bishop of Ripon and Leeds has ended a 172-year residence in Ripon with a move to Leeds.

The Rt Rev John Packer started the historic move from Bishop Mount to Hollin House in Weetwood on Thursday, which is due to take three days.

The Bishop chose to move because almost 500,000 of the 786,000 people in the diocese live there.

A spokesman for Bishop Packer said: "The Bishop has always felt a calling to urban areas."

Bishop Mount has been the residence of the Bishop of Ripon and Leeds since the diocese was formed in 1836.

Planning permission

The spokesman added: "The bishop will continue to serve the entire diocese, it will not affect anything."

Hollin House is "modest" compared to six-bedroom Bishop Mount, which comprises of two properties and stands in a large area of private land.

Bishop's Mount will be put up for sale soon and could fetch up to £1m, according to a diocese spokesman.

The move to Hollin House, decided four years ago, was delayed while planning permission was sought for its outbuildings to be converted into office space.

Structural renovations were also needed on the property's coach house to install a bat-run to protect two species of bats, the pipistrelle and long-eared, living in the roof area.