Yorkshire Knarsborough - Mother Shipton and Ye Oldest Chymist Shoppe among other things...

Knarsborough is an attractive small market town overshadowed by larger neighbour, Harrogate. It is located high on the cliffs overlooking the River Nidd, spanned by the iconic railway viaduct.

There has been a settlement here since Saxon times. “Knarre” is the Saxon word for a rocky outcrop and “burgh” means a fortified place.

The Normans quickly recognised the importance of Knarsborough as a major crossing point on the River Nidd. Knaresborough Castle and the Parish Church of St John the Baptist both date from the early C12th.

Hugh de Morville, who held the Honour of Knaresborough, was the leader of the four knights who murdered Thomas Becket in Canterbury Cathedral in 1170. Afterwards, the knights fled to Knaresborough taking refuge in the castle. Hugh de Morville forfeited the lands in 1173, when he sided with ‘Young Henry’ against his father, Henry II.

The Honour of Knaresborough passed to King John in 1205, and the Royal Forest of Knaresborough was one of his favourite hunting grounds. He was responsible for turning Knarsborough Castle into a military fortress, establishing it as one of the main military and administrative centres in the North. It was one of the main centres for the production of of crossbow bolts.

Knarsborough was strategically important during Edward I’s wars against the Scots. He began building a massive stone keep and the defensive stone curtain wall with 12 defensive towers as a statement of his power and prestige. The keep (known known as King’s Tower), was completed by his son, Edward II, as a luxury residence for his favourite Piers Gaveston. Edward II also awarded the town a Royal Charter in 1310, making Knarsborough a ‘Free Burgh’ and allowing it to hold a market and annual Fair. A thriving market grew up based around the large Market Place with its cross.

The town grew and thrived under the shelter and protection of the castle, serving as a centre for trade and commerce between the uplands with cattle, sheep and lead and the corn growing lowlands. Knarsborough had an important woollen industry until the mid C16th. The river still splits the town into two parts. On one side of the valley buildings rise up the hill, while on the other is a woodland and open countryside.

Queen Philippa received the castle as part of her marriage settlement to Henry III and transformed the castle into a comfortable summer residence for her family. wife of Henry III was and the royal court used the castle as a summer residence.

Knarsborough supported the Royalist cause in the English Civil War. After the defeat at Marston Moor, the castle was besieged by Parliamentary forces and starved into surrender. The castle was ‘slighted’ to prevent its further use by Royalists forces. Most of the curtain walls and buildings were destroyed and stone taken for use as building stone by the locals. Only the courthouse survived along with parts of the keep which was used as a prison.

In the C18th and C19th, Knarsborough was known for linen production. The town was thriving and many of the large and important buildings date from that time.

There were many pubs and hostelries around the Market Place.

The railway from Harrogate arrived in Knaresborough in 1848, although the collapse of the unfinished viaduct into the river delayed the opening by three years. Not only did it dam the river, causing it to rise by 12 feet, the lime in the mortar killed all the fish...

By the mid C19th, Knarsborough was overshadowed by the growth of nearby Harrogate which protected it from the C20th developments seen in many other towns. Much of the centre is now a conservation area.

It still retains its medieval street pattern with many narrow cobbled alleyway and stone steps. The large multinationals and chain stores are missing from the town centre which still retains many small independent shops. There is a sense of pride in the town.

The Knarsborough Heritage Centre on High Street, tells the story of the history and traditions of the area as as well as offering guided walks.

Knarsborough needs to be explored on foot and the Civic Society has produced a Blue Plaque walking trail covering the main attractions.

In the C17th the Window Tax was an unpopular way to indirectly tax wealth based on the size and presumably the affluence of a house. Many windows were bricked up to reduce tax liability. Although the tax was repealed in 1851, many windows remained blocked up. The Knarsborough Town Windows is a collection of public art works covering the blocked windows with illustrations covering events in the town’s history and some of its colourful characters. The Trompe L’oeil Trail looks at many of these windows.

Alternatively, rowing boats can be hired on the river for a completely different view of the town...

cont...

 

[Eleanor]

Exploring Knarsborough

Knarsborough is a town of ‘oldests.’ It has the longest running market, the oldest chemist shop and one of the oldest fee paying tourist attractions in Mother Shipton’s cave....

A market charter was granted in 1310 and a market grew up under the protection of the castle. It still has a popular and busy Wednesday market.

The Market Place is surrounded by splendid buildings reflecting its importance and prosperity.

A town crier appears at 11am and 1pm. The post dates back to at least 1795 and now two volunteers appointed by the Knarsborough and District Chamber of Trade now share the role.

Ye Oldest Chymist Shoppe as the name suggests, is the oldest chemist shop in England. The building dates from the C17th with a brick front covering a timber frame core. The apothecary John Beckwith began to run his business from here in 1720. It continued to be a pharmacy until 1997 but is now a gift shop but still sells a lavender water concoction which has been made on the premises since the C19th. The first floor is the Lavender Tea room.

The splendid neoclassical Old Town Hall building dates from 1862 and replaced an earlier toll booth. As well as serving as the town hall it had an open arcade on the ground floor for market shops and an assembly room on the first floor. MPs made their election speeches from the balcony. The building now contains a cafe and shops.

The town council now meet in Knarsborough House built in 1768 by John Carr of York for the Rev Thomas Collins, Vicar of Knarsborough. The Collins family lived there until the mid C20th when it passed to the district council.

Benches in the market place have a statue of Mother Shipton and Blind Jack. Otherwise known as John Metcalf, Blind Jack of Knaresborough (1717-1810) lost his sight at age 6. He is known as the first professional road builder of the Industrial Revolution, and he laid about 180 miles of turnpike road in the north of England. He also played the fiddle, traded horses, played cards, and worked as a guide to visitors because he knew his local area so well.

Knarsborough Castle stands at the high point of the town overlooking the Nidd gorge.

It was originally surrounded by a defensive curtain wall, but all that remains now are part of a gateway and isolated short stretches of wall.

The castle was surrounded by a large bailey which is now a public park with bowling green and putting green. Band concerts are held here on summer Sunday afternoons. 

There are excellent views down to the railway viaduct from here.

Opposite the remains of King’s Keep, is the Courthouse. This was built in the C14th and was originally the House of Records. Next to it was a chapel.

It was rebuilt and extended in C16th when the upper floor, reached by an external stone stair, became the courthouse. The chapel was demolished to be replaced by a prison built in 1786.

The building became a museum in 1970 with exhibits about the castle and town and still retains the C16th courtroom with oak table, benches and panelling.

This is now the tourist information centre and small shop.

In a corner of the grounds is the War Memorial commemorating the 156 men killed in the First World War and the 55 from the Second World War.

Below it on the river is the weir and Castle Mill built in 1791 as a cotton mill, although it was later adapted for linen. Steps and paths lead down from here to Bebra Gardens
named after Knarsborough’ German twin town) with picnic tables and paddling pool.

cont...

 

[Eleanor]

River Walks

Upstream, just past the viaduct, is the Old Manor House with its distinctive black and white chequered paintwork. The original building dated from around 1208 and, according to local legend, was used as a hunting lodge by King John. It was rebuilt in the mid C17th and was painted in the chequerboard pattern in the 1880s, supposedly by an owner who was a fan of chess... It is now a private house.

Almost opposite is the thatched Manor Cottage which is possibly the oldest residential house in Knaresborough, dating from the C16th.

Further upstream is Conyngham Hall built around 1555. This was used as a hospital for injured servicemen during the Second World War and was then bought by Knaresborough Urban District Council. For a few years the grounds housed the Knarsborough Zoo. The house is now a business centre and not open to the public. It is surrounded by large attractive grounds which are now a public park. It is possible to swim in the river here or else cross the wooden bridge to Horseshoe fields with a short circular walk.

Across High Bridge on the opposite bank of the river is Mother Shipton’s Cave, one of the oldest tourist attractions in England being open since 1630. It is the the legendary birthplace of possibly the best known character in Knarsborough and England's most famous prophetess.

Ursula Southeil (who later became known as Mother Shipton after her marriage), was born in the cave in 1488. She lived here with her mother for two years before being taken in by a local family. With a large, crooked nose, bent back, and twisted legs she was teased, becoming quite a solitary person. She studied the plants of Knaresborough Forest, which she used to make potions and remedies.

She met and married Tobias Shipton, a carpenter from York, and kept his name after he died. She moved back into the cave where she had been born. Being well known for her potions and herbal remedies, many people came to seek her out. . .

She found she had a gift for foretelling the future, beginning with prophesies about the town and local people, before gradually spreading into more widespread predictions. She died in 1561, aged 73.

The first book of her prophecies was published in 1641, eighty years after her death. As Mother Shipton never wrote anything down, these were transcribed from stories told about her and contained mainly local predictions. A more famous edition of Mother Shipton's prophecies was published in 1862, and it contained predictions in rhyming couplets. However it its unknown how many of these were fabricated after her death.

She allegedly predicted the Great Fire of London in 1666, the invention of iron ships and the defeat of the Spanish Armada. Another rhyming couplet proclaimed
“The world to an end shall come
In eighteen hundred and eighty one.”
She got that one wrong!

She was also attributed with saying “The world shall end when the High Bridge is thrice fallen.” It has fallen once so far...

The small cave where she was born is set under a massive overhanging crag and tells the story of her life and legacy.

In front of it is the petrifying or dropping well with a a small wishing well behind. The water has a very high mineral content and items placed in it rapidly become calicified and turned into stone. Small petrified teddy bears are sold in the shop.

Back across High Bridge, the riverside walk continues downstream. This leads to the tiny medieval Chapel of Our Lady of the Crag, which is open summer afternoons.

This was carved from the cliff face by John the Mason in 1408, having been granted permission by Henry IV. The Chapel was dedicated to St Mary and probably served as a wayside shrine for pilgrims walking between the town and the Knarsborough Priory. It may also have served as a place of prayer for men working in the quarry nearby.

The outside is guarded by a medieval carved knight.

The chapel was no longer used after the Reformation but was reconsecrated in 1916 as a Catholic place of worship. The statue of the Madonna and Child above the stone altar dates from 2000.

On the cliff above the chapel is The House in the Rock (or Fort Montague). This was the most impressive of the rock cut houses in the town at that time and was named Fort Montague in honour of Lady Elizabeth Montagu, who provided some financial support for its construction. It was built by Thomas Hill, a linen weaver, from 1770 until 1786 when he moved in with his wife and six children. It is still lived in.


Mother Shipton, wasn’t the only local to live in a cave. Further downstream is St Robert’s Cave, a rare example of a medieval hermitage.

Robert Flower was born in York around 1160 of wealthy parents, his father was the Mayor. Robert spent much of his life as a hermit in a cave hollowed out of the limestone cliffs on the north bank of the river. The cave had two sections; one for domestic use and the other for religious. His brother later built a small chapel, the Chapel of the Holy Cross, in front of the cave. Visitors flocked to see him for both spiritual guidance and his healing powers. His cave became a popular site of pilgrimage before the Reformation.

Now all that is left of the chapel are scant remains of the foundations and the remains of his grave.

Robert was never officially canonised although he was implicitly recognised as a saint by the Catholic church in 1252.