Knaresborough ( ) is a

market Market is a term used to describe concepts such as: *Market (economics), system in which parties engage in transactions according to supply and demand *Market economy *Marketplace, a physical marketplace or public market Geography *Märket, an ...

and

spa town A spa town is a resort town based on a mineral spa (a developed mineral spring). Patrons visit spas to "take the waters" for their purported health benefits. Thomas Guidott set up a medical practice in the English town of Bath in 1668. He ...

and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...

in the

Borough of Harrogate The Borough of Harrogate is a local government district with borough status in North Yorkshire, England. Its population at the census of 2011 was 157,869. Its council is based in the town of Harrogate, but it also includes surrounding towns and v ...

, in

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is the largest ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county (lieutenancy area) in England, covering an area of . Around 40% of the county is covered by National parks of the United Kingdom, national parks, including most of ...

, England, on the River Nidd. It is east of

Harrogate Harrogate ( ) is a spa town and the administrative centre of the Borough of Harrogate in North Yorkshire, England. Historic counties of England, Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, the town is a tourist destination and its visitor at ...

History

Market Place, Knaresborough (19th March 2013) 002

Knaresborough is mentioned in the

Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...

of 1086 as ''Chenaresburg'', meaning "Cenheard's fortress", in the

wapentake A hundred is an administrative division that is geographically part of a larger region. It was formerly used in England, Wales, some parts of the United States, Denmark, Southern Schleswig, Sweden, Finland, Norway, the Bishopric of Ösel–Wiek, C ...

of Burghshire, renamed

Claro Wapentake Claro was a wapentake of the West Riding of Yorkshire, England. It was split into two divisions. The Upper Division included the parishes of Farnham, Fewston, Hampsthwaite, Kirkby Malzeard and Pannal and parts of Aldborough, Knaresborough, ...

in the 12th century.

Knaresborough Castle Knaresborough Castle is a ruined fortress overlooking the River Nidd in the town of Knaresborough, North Yorkshire, England. History The castle was first built by a Norman baron in on a cliff above the River Nidd. There is documentary eviden ...

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

; around 1100, the town began to grow. It provided a market and attracted traders to service the castle. The parish church, St John's, was established around this time. The earliest identified Lord of Knaresborough is around 1115 when Serlo de Burgh held the

Honour Honour (British English) or honor (American English; American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, see spelling differences) is the idea of a bond between an individual and a society as a quality of a person that is both of socia ...

of Knaresborough from the King. Hugh de Morville was granted the Honour of Knaresborough in 1158. He was constable of Knaresborough and leader of the group of four knights who murdered Archbishop

Thomas Becket Thomas Becket (), also known as Saint Thomas of Canterbury, Thomas of London and later Thomas à Becket (21 December 1119 or 1120 – 29 December 1170), was an English nobleman who served as Lord Chancellor from 1155 to 1162, and then ...

Canterbury Cathedral Canterbury Cathedral in Canterbury, Kent, is one of the oldest and most famous Christian structures in England. It forms part of a World Heritage Site. It is the cathedral of the Archbishop of Canterbury, currently Justin Welby, leader of the ...

on 29 December 1170. The four knights fled to Knaresborough and hid at the castle. Hugh de Morville forfeited the lands in 1173, not for his implication in the murder of Thomas Becket, but for "complicity in the rebellion of

Henry the Young King Henry the Young King (28 February 1155 – 11 June 1183) was the eldest son of Henry II of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine to survive childhood. Beginning in 1170, he was titular King of England, Duke of Normandy, Count of Anjou and Mai ...

", according to the Early Yorkshire Charters. The Honour of Knaresborough then passed to the Stuteville family. When the Stuteville line was broken with the death of Robert the 4th (son of Robert 3rd) in 1205, King John effectively took the Honour of Knaresborough for himself. The first

Maundy Money Royal Maundy is a religious service in the Church of England held on Maundy Thursday, the day before Good Friday. At the service, the British monarch or a royal official ceremonially distributes small silver coins known as "Maundy money" (legal ...

was distributed in Knaresborough by King John on 15 April 1210. Knaresborough Forest, which extended far to the south of the town, is reputed to have been one of King John's favourite hunting grounds. Although a market was first mentioned in 1206, the town was not granted a

Royal Charter A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, bu ...

to hold a market until 1310, by

Edward II Edward II (25 April 1284 – 21 September 1327), also called Edward of Caernarfon, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1307 until he was deposed in January 1327. The fourth son of Edward I, Edward became the heir apparent to t ...

. A market is still held every Wednesday in the market square. In Edward II's reign, the castle was occupied by rebels and the curtain walls were breached by a siege engine. Later, Scots invaders burned much of the town and the parish church. In 1328, as part of the marriage settlement,

Queen Philippa Philippa of Hainault (sometimes spelled Hainaut; Middle French: ''Philippe de Hainaut''; 24 June 1310 (or 1315) – 15 August 1369) was Queen of England as the wife and political adviser of King Edward III. She acted as regent in 1346,Strickla ...

was granted "the Castle, Town, Forest and Honour of Knaresborough" by

Edward III Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377), also known as Edward of Windsor before his accession, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring r ...

and the parish church was restored. After her death in 1369, the Honour was granted by Edward to their younger son,

John of Gaunt John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster (6 March 1340 – 3 February 1399) was an English royal prince, military leader, and statesman. He was the fourth son (third to survive infancy as William of Hatfield died shortly after birth) of King Edward ...

, the Duke of Lancaster and since then the castle has belonged to the

Duchy of Lancaster The Duchy of Lancaster is the private estate of the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, British sovereign as Duke of Lancaster. The principal purpose of the estate is to provide a source of independent income to the sovereign. The estate consists of ...

. After the accession of Henry IV the castle lost much of its importance in national affairs, but remained a key site in regional administration for another century. In the

English Civil War The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...

, following the

Battle of Marston Moor The Battle of Marston Moor was fought on 2 July 1644, during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms of 1639 – 1653. The combined forces of the English Parliamentarians under Lord Fairfax and the Earl of Manchester and the Scottish Covenanters und ...

in 1644, the castle was besieged by Parliamentary forces. The castle eventually fell and in 1646 an order was made by Parliament for its destruction (but not carried out till 1648). The destruction was mainly done by citizens looting the stone. Many town centre buildings are built of castle stone. The railway age began in Knaresborough in 1848 with the opening of a railway station on Hay Park Lane; this was replaced with the current one three years later in 1851. The town had a

railway line Rail terminology is a form of technical terminology. The difference between the American term ''railroad'' and the international term ''railway'' (used by the International Union of Railways and English-speaking countries outside the United Sta ...

to Boroughbridge until it closed to passengers in 1950; it was dismantled in 1964.

Historically History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

in the

West Riding of Yorkshire The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county County of York, West Riding (the area under the control of West Riding County Council), abbreviated County ...

, Knaresborough became part of

in 1974.

Culture and community

Knaresborough House on the High Street houses Knaresborough Town Council and the Yorkshire Federation of Young Farmers' Clubs. Knaresborough hosts the annual Bed Race, organised by the Knaresborough Lions Club. It is held on the second Saturday of June. The event was first staged in 1966. An annual town centre arts summer festival, the Festival of Entertainment and Visual Arts, has run since 2001. Knaresborough hosts a parkrun, Conyngham Hall parkrun, which started in May 2019. It takes place every Saturday at Conyngham Hall, with the exception of Bed Race day. The town was used in the opening election sequence in the first episode of the ITV comedy series ''

The New Statesman The ''New Statesman'' is a British political and cultural magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first connected with Sidney and Beatrice Webb and other leading members ...

'' and some exterior shots for the series were filmed around Knaresborough. The town also featured in the 2019 American television film ''A Very British Christmas'', for which it was a principal shooting location. The Frazer Theatre is just off High Street.

Landmarks

Sights in the town include the remains of

, the Courthouse Museum in the castle grounds,

Mother Shipton Ursula Southeil ( 1488 – 1561; also variously spelt as Ursula Southill, Ursula Soothtell or Ursula Sontheil), popularly known as Mother Shipton, is said to have been an English soothsayer and prophetess. She has sometimes been described as ...

Cave A cave or cavern is a natural void in the ground, specifically a space large enough for a human to enter. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. The word ''cave'' can refer to smaller openings such as sea ...

, the House in the Rock, St Robert's Cave (dating from the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

), and the

railway viaduct A viaduct is a specific type of bridge that consists of a series of arches, piers or columns supporting a long elevated railway or road. Typically a viaduct connects two points of roughly equal elevation, allowing direct overpass across a wide ...

over the River Nidd. Knaresborough town crier arp

The House in the Rock, also known as Fort Montague, is a local Knaresborough curiosity. In the early 19th century, a strange child appeared in the Hill family. This child had abnormal very blonde woolly hair resembling the fleece of a sheep and was known as the Woolly-Headed Boy of Fort Montague. He conducted visitors around the house and was a great curiosity himself. The Chapel of Our Lady of the Crag on Abbey Road is a Grade I

listed Listed may refer to: * Listed, Bornholm, a fishing village on the Danish island of Bornholm * Listed (MMM program), a television show on MuchMoreMusic * Endangered species in biology * Listed building, in architecture, designation of a historicall ...

shrine dedicated to the

Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother o ...

. It was built in 1408 by John the Mason after his son, who was presumed dead in a rockfall in a local quarry, was found alive, with the son's escape having been attributed to the mason's frequent prayers to Mary. Knaresborough is the site of the oldest chemist shop in England, opened in 1720. The principal areas of public open space are the

grounds, Horseshoe Field, the

King George V Playing Field A King George's Field is a public open space in the United Kingdom dedicated to the memory of King George V (1865–1936). In 1936, after the king's death, Sir Percy Vincent, the then-Lord Mayor of London, formed a committee to determine a ...

and Jacob Smith Park, a parkland on the edge of the town, bequeathed to Knaresborough by Miss Winifred Jacob Smith in 2003. Wildlife is protected in the former flooded quarry, Hay-a-Park Gravel Pit. Conyngham Hall is close to the town centre. Until the 1980s there was a small zoo in the grounds. Near to the castle are Bebra Gardens, formerly the Moat Gardens, renamed after Knaresborough's twin town in Germany. The Commercial (formerly Borough Bailiff) public house, owned by the

Samuel Smith Brewery Samuel Smith Old Brewery, popularly known as Samuel Smith's or Sam Smith's, is an independent brewery and pub owner based in Tadcaster, North Yorkshire, England. It is Yorkshire's oldest brewery, founded in 1758, and one of three breweries in ...

, is the oldest pub in Knaresborough. File:Knaresborough Castle ruins.jpg,

File:KnaresboroughDroppingWell.jpg, The Dropping Well in 1985, showing petrified toys File:House in the Rock.jpg, The House in the Rock File:Bodleian_Libraries,_The_woolly-headed_boy_detail.jpg, The Woolly-Headed Boy of Fort Montague

Amenities and commerce

The town has a large supermarket,

Lidl Lidl Stiftung & Co. KG (; ) is a German international discount retailer chain that operates over 11,000 stores across Europe and the United States. Headquartered in Neckarsulm, Baden-Württemberg, the company belongs to the Schwarz Group, whi ...

, which is located on the site of a former Co-Op store in Chain Lane, as well as smaller supermarkets in the town centre. The St James retail park on the outskirts of the town, off Wetherby Road, has retail chain units. The town has fifteen public houses, a wine bar, two

working men's club Working men's clubs are British private social clubs first created in the 19th century in industrial areas, particularly the North of England, Midlands, Scotland and South Wales Valleys, to provide recreation and education for working class me ...

s and several restaurants. There are a number of national retailers with branches in the town centre, mostly around the High Street, Market Place and Castle Courtyard (a shopping arcade in the old Town Hall). The town has a small public swimming pool.

Transport

Knaresborough railway station (19th March 2013) 004

Knaresborough is served by

Knaresborough railway station Knaresborough railway station is a Grade II listed station serving the town of Knaresborough in North Yorkshire, England. It is located on the Harrogate Line west of York and is operated by Northern Trains, who provide all passenger train ser ...

, on the Harrogate Line between

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...

and

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

. The town is from junction 47 of the

A1(M) motorway A1(M) is the designation given to a series of four separate controlled-access highway, motorway sections in England. Each section is an upgrade to a section of the A1 road (Great Britain), A1, a major north–south road which connects Greate ...

(Great North Road), and on the A59 which links

and

Wallasey Wallasey () is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, in Merseyside, England; until 1974, it was part of the historic county of Cheshire. It is situated at the mouth of the River Mersey, at the north-eastern corner of the Wirral Pe ...

. It is also served by

Transdev Transdev, formerly Veolia Transdev, is a French-based international private-sector company which operates public transport. It has operations in 17 countries and territories as of November 2020. History The group was formed by the merger of V ...

and Connexions who both run buses in the area that centre around Knaresborough bus station on the High Street. The closest airport is Leeds Bradford Airport with bus links from neighbouring Harrogate.

Economy

Knaresborough is mostly a commuter town but it also serves as a local centre for the surrounding rural villages. The town has a small tourism industry and service sector. There is a small industrial estate on Manse Lane in the east of the town. Knaresborough has a local weekly newspaper; the Knaresborough Post, although it borrows content heavily from neighbouring publications. Flying Colours Flagmakers, who hold a Royal Warrant to supply flags to the Royal Household, are based in Knaresborough.

Religion

The town has two

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

churches, a

Roman Catholic church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, St. Mary's,Diocese of Leeds
St. Mary - Knaresborough
accessed 10 September 2021

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...

and

United Reformed The United Reformed Church (URC) is a Protestant Christian church in the United Kingdom. As of 2022 it has approximately 40,000 members in 1,284 congregations with 334 stipendiary ministers. Origins and history The United Reformed Church resulte ...

churches, and a Church of the Latter Day Saints.

Knaresborough Primitive Methodist Chapel on High Street was built in the 1850s. The date of closure is not known; a plaque on the building states that it was built in 1851 but there is some debate about this. The chapel premises were used by a coat manufacturer for a good part of the 20th century. In 2001 the premises were converted into four flats.

Ecumenical Ecumenism (), also spelled oecumenism, is the concept and principle that Christians who belong to different Christian denominations should work together to develop closer relationships among their churches and promote Christian unity. The adjec ...

services take place at Our Lady of the Crag Shrine (1408). Knaresborough medieval synagogue plaque

A plaque in Market Place, placed by the Knaresborough Civic Society, commemorates the 13th century Synagogue to the rear of the Market Place. The plaque indicates that in the 13th century a Jewish community lived and worshipped in Knaresborough. The synagogue was situated at the exit to Synagogue Lane, the exact location of which is unknown. It is believed the Knaresborough Jewish community was dissolved in 1275, before people of the Jewish faith were expelled from England in 1290 on the orders of Edward 1.

Education

Knaresborough has five primary schools and one secondary school; King James' School. There is a further education college in nearby Harrogate and universities in Leeds and York. The town has a two-storey library on the Market Place.

Sport

Knaresborough Town F.C. is based at Manse Lane; they play in the Northern Counties East League Division 1. Youth football is catered for by Knaresborough Celtic with junior teams from Under 6s to Under 17s. Scotton Scorchers offer youth football for boys from the under 6s to under 12s and girls to under 17's. Knaresborough Town are developing youth football. Knaresborough Rugby Club play in the Yorkshire Leagues. The club was formed in 1982 and play at their Hay-a-park ground which opened in 2014. Unusually for a Yorkshire town, there is no

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

club, the closest being in Wetherby. The town has two cricket clubs. Knaresborough Forest Cricket Club were Nidderdale League Division 3 winners in 2005, afterwards promoted from Division 2 as runners-up in the following season. Knaresborough Cricket Club have a ground on Aspin Lane, where adult teams play in the Airedale & Wharfedale Senior Cricket League and junior teams play in the Nidderdale Junior Cricket League. On 6 July 2014, Stage 2 of the 2014

Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage bicycle race primarily held in France, while also occasionally passing through nearby countries. Like the other Grand Tours (the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España), it consists ...

from York to Sheffield, passed through the town. Each June, there is a famous

bed race A bed is an item of furniture that is used as a place to sleep, rest, and relax. Most modern beds consist of a soft, cushioned mattress on a bed frame. The mattress rests either on a solid base, often wood slats, or a sprung base. Many beds ...

at Knaresborough.

Notable people

Blind Jack statue, Knaresborough (19th March 2013)

William de Vesci William de Vesci (c.1125–1184) was an Anglo-Norman feudal lord and Sheriff. Born William fitz Eustace at Knaresborough Castle, Yorkshire, the son of Eustace Fitz John and Beatrix de Vesci, he took his mother's surname. He was appointed Sher ...

(ca.1125 – 1184), Anglo-Norman feudal lord, born at

* St. Robert (ca.1160–1218), 12th-century hermit whose cave is near the River Nidd * Ursula Southeil (ca.1488–1561), known as ''Mother Shipton'', a medieval seer, may have been born in a cave south of the town. *

Robert Byerley Robert Byerley (1660–1714), of Middridge Grange, Heighington, County Durham, and Goldsborough, Yorkshire, was an English soldier and Tory politician who sat in the English House of Commons, English and House of Commons of Great Britain, Br ...

(1660–1714), soldier and politician, lived at

Goldsborough Hall Goldsborough Hall is a Jacobean stately home located in the village of Goldsborough, North Yorkshire, England. It is a member of the Historic Houses Association. The house itself is a Grade II* listed building. The Hall was built for Sir Ri ...

Eugene Aram Eugene Aram (170416 August 1759) was an English philologist, but also infamous as the murderer celebrated by Thomas Hood in his ballad ''The Dream of Eugene Aram'', and by Edward Bulwer-Lytton in his 1832 novel '' Eugene Aram''. Early life Ar ...

(1704-1759), scholar and murderer lived here. * John Metcalf (1717–1810), known as "Blind Jack", lost his sight in childhood; a violin player, local guide, bridgebuilder and roadmaker. * John Walton (1784–1862), entomologist * William Hargrove (1788–1862), historian of York, owner of the ''

York Herald York Herald of Arms in Ordinary is an officer of arms at the College of Arms. The first York Herald is believed to have been an officer to Edmund of Langley, Duke of York around the year 1385, but the first completely reliable reference to such a ...

'' *

Richard Popplewell Pullan Richard Popplewell Pullan was an architect and brother-in-law of William Burges. He is known for his work in archaeology including the discovery of the Lion of Knidos. Life Pullan was born at Knaresborough on 27 March 1825. He was articled to Ri ...

(1825-1888), architect, discovered the

Lion of Knidos The Lion of Knidos is the name for a colossal ancient Greek statue erected near the ancient port of Knidos, south-west Asia Minor (now near Datça in Turkey). Although there is some debate about the age of the sculpture, in general, scholarly opin ...

. *

William Stubbs William Stubbs (21 June 182522 April 1901) was an English historian and Anglican bishop. He was Regius Professor of Modern History at the University of Oxford between 1866 and 1884. He was Bishop of Chester from 1884 to 1889 and Bishop of O ...

(1825–1901), English historian and Anglican bishop. * Charles Farrar Forster (1848–1894), the first vicar of Beckwithshaw Church. * Squadron Leader

James Harry Lacey James Harry Lacey, (1 February 1917 – 30 May 1989), was one of the top scoring Royal Air Force fighter pilots of the Second World War and was the second-highest scoring RAF fighter pilot of the Battle of Britain, behind Pilot Officer Eric Lock ...

, DFM & Bar (1917–1989), WWII RAF fighter pilot, attended school in Knaresborough. *

Robert Aagaard Robert Aagaard ( ; 27 June 19321 April 2001) was an English furniture maker and conservator, magistrate, and founder of the youth movement Cathedral Camps. Early life The son of Villien Valdemar Aagaard and Florence Aagard (née Brooke), Aagaa ...

(1932–2001), local furniture maker, founded the youth movement Cathedral Camps *

Gorden Kaye Gordon Irving Kaye(7 April 194123 January 2017), known professionally as Gorden Kaye, was an English actor, best known for playing womanising café owner René Artois in the television comedy series Allo 'Allo!''. Early life Kaye was born o ...

(1941–2017), actor and singer, best known for playing René Artois in the British comedy series '' 'Allo 'Allo!.'' *

Grant Kirkhope Grant Kirkhope is a Scottish-American composer and voice actor for video games and film. Some of his notable works include '' GoldenEye 007'', '' Banjo-Kazooie'', ''Donkey Kong 64'', and ''Perfect Dark'', among many others. He has been nominate ...

(born 1962), musician and composer best known for his work with

Rareware Rare Limited is a British video game developer and a studio of Xbox Game Studios based in Twycross. Rare's games span the platform, first-person shooter, action-adventure, fighting, and racing genres. Its most popular games include the ''Bat ...

, was raised here and attended King James's School. *

Tim Kellett Tim Kellett (born 23 July 1964 in Knaresborough, Yorkshire, England) is an English musician, songwriter and record producer. Biography Kellett has worked in the British music industry for the past twenty eight years. His professional career b ...

(born 1964), trumpeter and keyboardist from

Simply Red Simply Red are a British soul and pop band formed in Manchester in 1985. The lead vocalist of the band is singer and songwriter Mick Hucknall, who, by the time the band initially disbanded in 2010, was the only original member left. Since the ...

and

Olive The olive, botanical name ''Olea europaea'', meaning 'European olive' in Latin, is a species of small tree or shrub in the family Oleaceae, found traditionally in the Mediterranean Basin. When in shrub form, it is known as ''Olea europaea'' ...

* Bill Callahan (born 1966), American singer-songwriter and guitarist * The Paul Mirfin Band (formed in 2015), a local folk rock band

Sport

* Jonathan Joy (1826–1889) first-class cricketer * Francis Prentice (1912–1978), first-class cricketer who played 241 matches *

Darren Manning Darren Manning (born 30 April 1975) is a British motor racing driver who has raced in the IRL IndyCar Series for Chip Ganassi Racing and Dreyer & Reinbold Racing. Career history Early career Manning was born in Knaresborough, North Yorkshire, ...

(born 1975),

motor racing Motorsport, motorsports or motor sport is a global term used to encompass the group of competitive sporting events which primarily involve the use of motorized vehicles. The terminology can also be used to describe forms of competition of two ...

driver * Dan Linfoot (born 1988), former

Grand Prix Grand Prix ( , meaning ''Grand Prize''; plural Grands Prix), is a name sometimes used for competitions or sport events, alluding to the winner receiving a prize, trophy or honour Grand Prix or grand prix may refer to: Arts and entertainment ...

motorcycle road racer now competing in the

British Superbike Championship The British Superbike Championship (BSB), currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Bennetts British Superbike Championship, is the leading road racing superbike championship in the United Kingdom, and was once widely acknowledged as the p ...

Greg Minikin Greg Minikin (born ) is an English professional rugby league footballer who plays as a er or for Warrington Wolves in the Super League and the England Knights at international level. He has previously played for the York City Knights in the ...

(born 1995), rugby league footballer with 173 caps

Geography

References

External links

Video footage of the House in the RockChapel of Our Lady of the CragSt Robert's Cave and Chapel
*
English Heritage, Aerial Photo Explorer
(Enter "Knaresborough" in search box) {{authority control Market towns in North Yorkshire Civil parishes in North Yorkshire Nidderdale Spa towns in England Towns in North Yorkshire