Mother Shipton's Cave (or "Old Mother Shipton's Cave") is at

Knaresborough Knaresborough ( ) is a market and spa town and civil parish in the Borough of Harrogate, in North Yorkshire, England, on the River Nidd. It is east of Harrogate. History Knaresborough is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 as ''Chenar ...

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is the largest ceremonial county (lieutenancy area) in England, covering an area of . Around 40% of the county is covered by national parks, including most of the Yorkshire Dales and the North York Moors. It is one of four cou ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

, near the

River Nidd The River Nidd is a tributary of the River Ouse in the English county of North Yorkshire. In its first few miles it is dammed three times to create Angram Reservoir, Scar House Reservoir and Gouthwaite Reservoir, which attract a total of a ...

. Nearby is a

petrifying well A petrifying well is a well or other body of water which gives objects a stone-like appearance. If an object is placed into such a well and left there for a period of months or years, the object acquires a stony exterior. Nature If an object i ...

, also known as a dropping well. The latter is the oldest tourist attraction to charge a fee in England, and has been operated since 1630. The water of the well is so rich in

sulphate The sulfate or sulphate ion is a polyatomic ion, polyatomic anion with the empirical formula . Salts, acid derivatives, and peroxides of sulfate are widely used in industry. Sulfates occur widely in everyday life. Sulfates are salt (chemistry), ...

and

carbonate A carbonate is a salt of carbonic acid (H2CO3), characterized by the presence of the carbonate ion, a polyatomic ion with the formula . The word ''carbonate'' may also refer to a carbonate ester, an organic compound containing the carbonat ...

that artefacts may be put in the well to be "petrified" (encrusted) as a tourist attraction. The place is associated with the legendary

soothsayer Soothsayer may refer to: * One practicing divination, including: ** Fortune-telling ** Haruspex ** Oracle ** Prophet ** Precognition Music * Soothsayers (band), a London-based Afrobeat and reggae group * ''The Soothsayer'', an album by Wayne ...

and

prophetess In religion, a prophet or prophetess is an individual who is regarded as being in contact with a divinity, divine being and is said to speak on behalf of that being, serving as an intermediary with humanity by delivering messages or teachings f ...

Mother Shipton (), born Ursula Southeil, and reportedly the wife of Toby Shipton. According to

legend A legend is a genre of folklore that consists of a narrative featuring human actions, believed or perceived, both by teller and listeners, to have taken place in human history. Narratives in this genre may demonstrate human values, and possess ...

, she was born in the cave. The cave and dropping well, together with other attractions, remain open to visitors and are run privately by Mother Shipton's Cave Ltd. Mother Shipton's Cave 1975

References

External links

* * {{coord, 54.008691, -1.474705, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Tourist attractions in North Yorkshire Caves of North Yorkshire Yorkshire folklore Show caves in the United Kingdom Knaresborough Caves used for hiding