Coordinates: 54°00′30″N 1°28′01″W / 54.0084°N 1.467°W / 54.0084; -1.467

Knaresborough
View of the River Nidd from the ruins of Knaresborough Castle
Knaresborough  Knaresborough shown within North Yorkshire
Population	14,740
OS grid reference	SE350570
District	Harrogate
Shire county	North Yorkshire
Region	Yorkshire and the Humber
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	KNARESBOROUGH
Postcode district	HG5
Dialling code	01423
Police	North Yorkshire
Fire	North Yorkshire
Ambulance	Yorkshire
EU Parliament	Yorkshire and the Humber
UK Parliament	Harrogate and Knaresborough
List of places: UK • England • Yorkshire

Knaresborough is an old and historic market town, spa town and civil parish in the Borough of Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England, located on the River Nidd, four miles east of the centre of Harrogate.

History[link]

Knaresborough is mentioned in the Domesday Book^[1] as Chednaresburg or Chenaresburg. Knaresborough Castle dates from Norman times;^[2] around 1100, the town began to grow and provide a market and attract traders to service the castle. The present parish church, St John's, was established around this time. The earliest name for a Lord of Knaresborough is from around 1115 when Serlo de Burgh held the 'Honour of Knaresborough' from the King.^[3]

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 Beckett at Canterbury Cathedral 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 young Henry", 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 de Stuteville the 4th in 1205, King John effectively took the Honour of Knaresborough for himself.^[4] The first Maundy Money was distributed in Knaresborough by King John on 15 April 1210.^[5][6] 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 to hold a market until 1310, by Edward II. A market is still held every Wednesday in the market square. During 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 was granted "the Castle, Town, Forest and Honour of Knaresborough" by Edward III and the parish church was restored. After her death in 1369, the Honour was granted by Edward to their younger son, John of Gaunt.

During the Civil War, following the Battle of Marston Moor 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 Bishop of Knaresborough is a suffragan bishop in the Diocese of Ripon and Leeds.

The impressive Knaresborough House on the High Street is the home of Knaresborough Town Council and of The Yorkshire Federation Of Young Farmers Clubs.[1]

Attractions and events[link]

Sights in the town include the remains of Knaresborough Castle, Mother Shipton's petrifying well, The House in the Rock, and several cave dwellings, one a chapel, dating from the Middle Ages. Knaresborough is also the site of Ye Oldest Chymist Shoppe in England, opened in 1720. There is also the Courthouse Museum in the castle grounds.

The Dropping Well in 1985, showing a selection of petrified toys

Knaresborough Castle

Every year the town hosts a number of large social events, chief among them being the "Knaresborough Bed Race". Every summer since 1966, teams comprising six runners and one passenger, decorate special tube frame 'beds' for a parade through the town. Then, once the beds have been stripped of their non-essential decorations, they compete to push the bed on a race through the town. Although most teams are local, competitors often come from as far as Germany and the United States have taken part. The 2011 event attracted 25,000 people to the town.^[7][8]

There is also a yearly arts festival, FEVA (Festival of Entertainment and Visual Arts), which has been running since 2001. This takes place in the summer in various parts of the town centre.^[9]

The town was used to film the opening election sequence in the first episode of the ITV comedy series The New Statesman and some exterior shots for the series were also filmed around Knaresborough.

The Borough Bailiff Pub is known to be the oldest pub in Knaresborough. It is currently under ownership of Samuel Smiths Brewery

Public open spaces[link]

The principal areas of public open space in the town are the Knaresborough Castle grounds, the nearby Bebra Gardens (formerly Moat Gardens) named after Knaresborough's twin town in Germany, the Conyngham Hall grounds, Horseshoe Field, the King George V Playing Field and Jacob Smith Park, a 30-hectare parkland on the edge of the town bequeathed to Knaresborough by Miss Winifred Jacob Smith. There is currently a project underway to revamp the Bebra gardens

Transport[link]

Knaresborough is served by Knaresborough railway station, on the Harrogate Line to Leeds and York and is serviced by Northern Rail. The town lies some four miles from junction 47 of the A1 (M) Motorway (Great North Road). It is further served by the Harrogate and District bus company.

Sport[link]

Knaresborough Town F.C. are the town's predominant football team and are based at Manse Lane; they play in the West Yorkshire Football League. Knaresborough Celtic also provide youth football with junior teams from Under 6s to Under 17s.

Knaresborough Forest Cricket Club were crowned Nidderdale League Division 3 winners in 2005 then promoted from Division 2 as runners-up in the following season.

Another club, Knaresborough Cricket Club, have a ground along Aspin Lane. Various adult and junior teams play in the Nidderdale Cricket League. Coaching and net practice facilities for juniors (7 – 15 years age groups) are available on Friday evenings from late April to late July every year. There are bar facilities and rooms available for hire.

Notable people[link]

River Nidd and Knaresborough

• St Robert, a 12th-century hermit. St Robert's cave can be found near the river Nidd.
• Ursula Southeil, better known as Mother Shipton, was a medieval seer who is said to have been born in a cave south of the town.
• John Metcalf, otherwise known as "Blind Jack". Lost his sight in childhood, violin player, local guide, bridgebuilder and roadmaker. A public house in the market square bears his name.
• Philip Inman, 1st Baron Inman, former Chairman of the BBC, was born here.
• Guy Fawkes once lived in Scotton, near Knaresborough.
• Richard II was imprisoned in the town.
• Robert Aagaard, a Knaresborough manufacturer, founded the youth movement Cathedral Camps.
• The four knights accused of murdering Thomas Becket were said to have taken refuge in Knaresborough.
• Eugene Aram, the noted 18th-century scholar and murderer lived here.
• Squadron Leader James Harry "Ginger" Lacey DFM & Bar. One of the top scoring RAF fighter pilots of the Second World War.
• Terence Alexander. English film and television actor, best known for his role as Charlie Hungerford in the TV drama Bergerac.
• Bill Callahan, American singer-songwriter, spent eight years of his childhood in Knaresborough.
• Danny Mills former Leeds United and England Football player spent many years living in Knaresborough

Location grid[link]

		Boroughbridge
	Harrogate		York
		Knaresborough    East
		Wetherby

Gallery[link]

• 

  Chapel of Our Lady of the Crag, Knaresborough

• 

  House in the Rock

• 

  Kirkgate, Knaresborough

• 

  War Memorial, Knaresborough

• 

  St John's Church, Knaresborough

• 

  River Nidd, Knaresborough

• 

  Knaresborough railway station

• 

  Knaresborough Castle

• Igraine and Raven.jpg

  Her Majesty's Keeper of Castle Ravens, Igraine

• 

  Knaresborough Castle viewed through the viaduct

• 

  Old riverside buildings

• 

  Knaresborough House, High Street

See also[link]

• Knaresborough town mayor

References[link]

External links[link]

Media related to Knaresborough at Wikimedia Commons

• Knaresborough Town Council
• Knaresborough Online – Knaresborough Community Website since 1998
• Knaresborough Mini Guide
• Knaresborough Online Knaresborough Community Website
• Knaresborough Bed Race
• Knaresborough in Bloom
• Knaresborough Nidd Gorge Conservation Group
• [2] www.exploreknaresborough.co.uk – Knaresborough Chamber of Trade and Commerce
• [3]- visit for more information about the old chemist shop

Mother Shipton's cave

Ursula Southeil (c. 1488–1561) (also variously spelt as Ursula Southill, Ursula Soothtell^[1] or Ursula Sontheil^[2][3]), better known as Mother Shipton, was an English soothsayer and prophetess. The first publication of her prophecies, which did not appear until 1641, eighty years after her reported death, contained a number of mainly regional predictions, but only two prophetic verses – neither of which foretold the End of the World, despite widespread assumptions to that effect.^[4]

One of the most notable editions of her prophecies was published in 1684.^[4] It states that she was born in Knaresborough, Yorkshire, in a cave now known as Mother Shipton's Cave, that along with the Petrifying Well and associated parkland is operated as a visitor attraction. She was reputed to be hideously ugly. The book also claims that she married Toby Shipton, a local carpenter, near York in 1512 and told fortunes and made predictions throughout her life.

It is recorded in the diaries of Samuel Pepys that whilst surveying the damage to London caused by the Great Fire in the company of the Royal Family they were heard to discuss Mother Shipton's prophecy of the event.^[5]

Prophecies[link]

Mother Shipton's house

The most famous claimed edition of Mother Shipton's prophecies foretells many modern events and phenomena. Widely quoted today as if it were the original, it contains over a hundred prophetic rhymed couplets in notably non-sixteenth-century language and includes the now-famous lines:

The world to an end shall come

In eighteen hundred and eighty one.^[6]

However, this version did not appear in print until 1862, and its true author, one Charles Hindley, subsequently admitted in print that he had invented it.^[7] This invented prophecy has appeared over the years with different dates and in (or about) several countries (for example in the late 1970s many news articles about Mother Shipton appeared setting the date at 1981^{[citation needed]}). The 1920's (subsequently much reprinted) booklet The Life and Prophecies of Ursula Sontheil better known as Mother Shipton^[8] stated the date as 1991^[9][10].

Among other well-known lines from Hindley's fake version (often quoted as if they were original) are:

<poem> A Carriage without a horse shall go; Disaster fill the world with woe... In water iron then shall float, As easy as a wooden boat. </poem>

^[6]

Legacy[link]

Mother Shipton moth

Quite who Mother Shipton was or what exactly she said is not definitively known. What is certain is that her name became linked with many tragic events and strange goings on recorded all over the UK, Australia and North America throughout the 17/18/19th centuries. Many fortune tellers used her effigy and statue, presumably for purposes of association marketing. Many pubs were named after her. Only two survive, one near her birthplace in Knaresborough and the other in Portsmouth where there is a lifesize statue above the door.

A caricature of Mother Shipton was used in early pantomime and is believed by historians to be the forerunner of the Panto dame.

There is a moth, Callistege mi, named after her. It seemingly bears a profile of a hag's head on each wing.

See also[link]

• 2012 Doomsday prediction

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikisource has original works written by or about: Mother Shipton

• Mother Shipton's Cave UK site
• Mother Shipton's Cave
• Mother Shipton, Her Life and Prophecies Mysterious Britain & Ireland

Dream Team in sport, often only as a nickname, may refer to:

• The roster of the 1992 United States men's Olympic basketball team in Barcelona
• Brazil men's national volleyball team under coach Bernardo Rezende since 2002
• FIFA Dream Team, an all-time all-star football team published by FIFA in 2004
• The Puerto Rico national baseball team in the 1995 Caribbean Series
• An era (1991–1994), in the history of FC Barcelona, a Spanish football club
• The Philippines national basketball team in the 1990 Asian Games
• The Dream Team (professional wrestling), professional wrestling tag-team in the World Wrestling Federation 1985–1987
• Dramatic Dream Team, Japanese professional wrestling promotion
• Super League Dream Team, award for players in the European rugby Super League
• Dream Team Australian rules football team, that represented the States and territories of Australia other than Victoria in the AFL Hall of Fame Tribute Match
• AFL Dream Team, a notable online competition for supporters run by the Australian Football League

Dream Team in television and film may refer to:

• Dream Team (TV series), a British television series
• The Dream Team (film), a 1989 American comedy film
• Dream Team (The Office) an episode of the American television series The Office
• The Dream Team (Entourage Episode), an episode of Entourage
• Let's Go Dream Team! Season 2, a Korean television series

Dream Team may also refer to:

• Dream Team (theater), a Stage Management Team located in Terre Haute, IN that worked on shows including Real Girls Can't Win, 1,001 Arabian Nights, and Bad Dates
• Dream Team (comics), a fictional group of Marvel Comics superheroes
• The Dream Team (warez), a cracking/releasing warez group for the IBM PC active 1989–1996
• LA Dream Team, American hip-hop act
• Nickname for the defense legal team in the O. J. Simpson murder case

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