Knaresborough Castle
© Victor Naumenko (view gallery)
In 1372 Knaresborough Castle came into the possession of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, thus becaming part of the Duchy of Lancaster - and this has remained so the present day. In 1399 Richard II confiscated the Lancastrian estates, banishing Henry of Bolingboke (John's heir) to France. Henry later returned, duly deposed King Richard who was held captive in Knaresborough Castle for a night, before being executed at Pontefract. After the accession of Henry IV the importance of Knaresborough Castle diminished and it continued purely in an administrative and judicial role.
Knaresborough Castle supported the Royalist cause during the English Civil War but it was besieged, and eventually fell, after the battle of Marston Moor in 1644. In 1646 Parliament ordered that the castle be slighted (blown up) and by 1648 demolition had commenced. Image cannot be loaded
Knaresborough Castle
© Victor Naumenko (view gallery)
Apparently the Castle was a firm favourite with King John (1166-1216), and he is known to have used it on many occasions whilst hunting in the Forest of Knaresborough. During his reign, large sums of money were spent on the expansion of Knaresborough Castle, and King John was responsible for the excavation of the dry moat, which is the earliest surviving visible feature of the ruins today. When Edward I had succeeded in his subjugation of the Welsh, his focus then centred on Scotland. Knaresborough Castle became strategically important in this quest, and the king commissioned further modernisation of the Norman castle. Surviving features from this period include the substantial twin towers of the East Gate, as well as some fragments of curtain wall. Image cannot be loaded
The Beech Walk, Knaresborough
© Karen Lee (view gallery)
The walk runs alongside the River Nidd in Knaresborough and has some of the tallest Beech trees in the country. They have grown very straight due to their location in the gorge.
The oldest were planted when the promenade was first created in 1739. It is Grade ll listed. Due to old age and disease several of the oldest trees have been lost, a replanting scheme has been started. Image cannot be loaded
The Viaduct, Knaresborough
© Karen Lee (view gallery)
The centrepiece of Knaresborough spans the River Nidd. It measures 300ft(91 metres) in length and 90ft(27.5 metres) in height. It was built to carry the first trains from Harrogate to York. The Viaduct was almost completed when on March 11th 1848 it collapsed during heavy rainfall. The local MP was showing a group around all narrowly escaped being crushed. The new bridge was redesigned and opened in 1851 at a cost of £10,000. There was great opposition to the Viaduct and its impact on the Gorge, it was described as 'One if the worst Railway crimes in all England'. It is now protected and Historic Grade ll listed. (Taken from information board) Image cannot be loaded
Knaresborough Viaduct from the Castle
© Victor Naumenko (view gallery)
This viaduct, which provided the town with a railway connection from 1851 is stone built, 24 metres (78 feet) high, and now Grade II listed. A half-hourly rail service in each direction still uses the structure. Mother Shipton predicted that the world would end if the bridge at Knarsborough collapsed. Whilst some of her other prophecies have come true, the viaduct has indeed collapsed twice... Image cannot be loaded
Blind Hack, Knaresborough
© Paul V. A. Johnson (view gallery)
The exact origins of the market town of Knaresborough are shrouded in mystery, but could well extend back to the Norman Conquest and possibly even to Roman times. The River Nidd sweeps the outskirts,providing boating facilities and relaxing riverside walks.
Famous for its breathtaking views of the Nidd Gorge, the town is made up of numerous ancient walkways, cobbled alleys and secret passages, all of which reward careful exploration.
A collection of colourful characters associated with Knaresborough, such as Blind Hack and Mother Shipton, lend certain individuality to the town. Mother Shipton's cave, believed to be England's Oldest attraction, is the birthplace of the renowned 15th century prophetess. Image cannot be loaded
Market Plase, statue of John Metcalf (Blind Jack)
© Victor Naumenko (view gallery)
A new (February 2009) statue of Knaresborough's most famous son, John Metcalfe - otherwise known as 'Blind Jack'. His eventful life was notable mainly for his ability to plan and construct turnpike roads, starting with the Ferrensby to Minskip stretch of the Knaresborough to Boroughbridge turnpike in 1765. Over the next 25 years or so he was responsible for the construction of around 180 miles of turnpike, setting the standard for people such as Telford and MacAdam. Image cannot be loaded
Knaresborough
© Paul V. A. Johnson (view gallery)
The exact origins of the market town of Knaresborough are shrouded in mystery, but could well extend back to the Norman Conquest and possibly even to Roman times. The River Nidd sweeps the outskirts,providing boating facilities and relaxing riverside walks.
Famous for its breathtaking views of the Nidd Gorge, the town is made up of numerous ancient walkways, cobbled alleys and secret passages, all of which reward careful exploration.
A collection of colourful characters associated with Knaresborough, such as Blind Hack and Mother Shipton, lend certain individuality to the town. Mother Shipton's cave, believed to be England's Oldest attraction, is the birthplace of the renowned 15th century prophetess. Image cannot be loaded
Knaresborough
© Paul V. A. Johnson (view gallery)
The exact origins of the market town of Knaresborough are shrouded in mystery, but could well extend back to the Norman Conquest and possibly even to Roman times. The River Nidd sweeps the outskirts,providing boating facilities and relaxing riverside walks.
Famous for its breathtaking views of the Nidd Gorge, the town is made up of numerous ancient walkways, cobbled alleys and secret passages, all of which reward careful exploration.
A collection of colourful characters associated with Knaresborough, such as Blind Hack and Mother Shipton, lend certain individuality to the town. Mother Shipton's cave, believed to be England's Oldest attraction, is the birthplace of the renowned 15th century prophetess. Image cannot be loaded
Knaresborough
© Paul V. A. Johnson (view gallery)
The exact origins of the market town of Knaresborough are shrouded in mystery, but could well extend back to the Norman Conquest and possibly even to Roman times. The River Nidd sweeps the outskirts,providing boating facilities and relaxing riverside walks.
Famous for its breathtaking views of the Nidd Gorge, the town is made up of numerous ancient walkways, cobbled alleys and secret passages, all of which reward careful exploration.
A collection of colourful characters associated with Knaresborough, such as Blind Hack and Mother Shipton, lend certain individuality to the town. Mother Shipton's cave, believed to be England's Oldest attraction, is the birthplace of the renowned 15th century prophetess. Image cannot be loaded
Mother Shipton's Cave information board
© Victor Naumenko (view gallery)
Mother Shipton (1488 - 1561) was a Yorkshire witch who prophesied about future events in the form of poems. Her prophecies predicted the fates of several rulers within and just after her lifetime - the invention of iron ships, a planes, mobile phones, Great Fire of London in 1666, the defeat of the Spanish Armada... and even the end of the world! Image cannot be loaded
Knaresborough
© Paul V. A. Johnson (view gallery)
The exact origins of the market town of Knaresborough are shrouded in mystery, but could well extend back to the Norman Conquest and possibly even to Roman times. The River Nidd sweeps the outskirts,providing boating facilities and relaxing riverside walks.
Famous for its breathtaking views of the Nidd Gorge, the town is made up of numerous ancient walkways, cobbled alleys and secret passages, all of which reward careful exploration.
A collection of colourful characters associated with Knaresborough, such as Blind Hack and Mother Shipton, lend certain individuality to the town. Mother Shipton's cave, believed to be England's Oldest attraction, is the birthplace of the renowned 15th century prophetess. Image cannot be loaded
Mother Shipton's Cave
© Victor Naumenko (view gallery)
The legend goes that she spent her early life living in the cave that now carries her name. When she was about two years old, her mother apparently gave her into the care of a foster mother. Agatha herself is said to have spent the rest of her life in a convent in Nottingham. Mother Shiptons’s Cave is located along the River Nidd, in the heart of Knaresborough, on the opposite bank of the Castle. The cave sits right next to the Petrifying Well. Image cannot be loaded
Image of Mother Shipton
© Victor Naumenko (view gallery)
In 1488, Agatha, a young girl of only fifteen, gave birth to an illegitimate child, in a cave in Knaresborough, North Yorkshire. Baptised Ursula Sontheil, she would become known as Mother Shipton, after she married an ordinary carpenter called Toby Shipton at the age of 24. She looked like the archetypical witch. And as England’s primary prophetess, she has equally been considered England’s primary witch. Her prophecies were printed in 1641. When the Great Plague ravaged London in 1665, there was talk of Mother Shipton’s image: “Triumphant death rides London through.” What are we to make of these statements, which seem to apply to our own age? “Carriages without horses shall goe,
And accidents fill the world with woe.
Around the world thoughts shall fly
In the twinkling of an eye....
Under water men shall walk,
Shall ride, shall sleep and talk;
In the air men shall be seen,
In white, in black and in green....
Iron in the water shall float,
As easy as a wooden boat.” Image cannot be loaded
