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<< Our Photo Pages >> Mother Shipton's Cave and Petrifying Well - Holy Well or Sacred Spring in England in Yorkshire (North)

Submitted by Runemage on Saturday, 16 July 2005  Page Views: 17313

Springs and Holy WellsSite Name: Mother Shipton's Cave and Petrifying Well Alternative Name: The Dropping Well
Country: England
NOTE: This site is 0.352 km away from the location you searched for.

County: Yorkshire (North) Type: Holy Well or Sacred Spring
Nearest Town: Knaresborough
Map Ref: SE345570
Latitude: 54.007874N  Longitude: 1.475085W
Condition:
5Perfect
4Almost Perfect
3Reasonable but with some damage
2Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site
1Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks
0No data.
-1Completely destroyed
5 Ambience:
5Superb
4Good
3Ordinary
2Not Good
1Awful
0No data.
4 Access:
5Can be driven to, probably with disabled access
4Short walk on a footpath
3Requiring a bit more of a walk
2A long walk
1In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find
0No data.
5 Accuracy:
5co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates
4co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map
3co-ordinates scaled from a bad map
2co-ordinates of the nearest village
1co-ordinates of the nearest town
0no data
3

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I have visited· I would like to visit

peter56 visited on 1st Sep 2010 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 3 Access: 4

kthdsn visited - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 3 Access: 5

Runemage have visited here

Average ratings for this site from all visit loggers: Condition: 3.5 Ambience: 3 Access: 4.5

Mother Shipton's Cave and Petrifying Well
Mother Shipton's Cave and Petrifying Well submitted by Runemage : This is the spring that turns objects suspended in its magical waters to stone. (Vote or comment on this photo)
Holy Well or Sacred Spring in Yorkshire (North)

Although this site is very commercialised nowadays I feel it shouldn't be overlooked as an ancient place that would have been revered for it's magical properties, a spring whose waters could turn any object suspended in it to stone, with an adjacent cave. I have no evidence for my view, it just feels "right" to me.

The Mother Shipton attraction is set in a picturescue location at the bottom of the Nidd Gorge, on the opposite side of the river to the Castle. Admission is £4.95 for adults and £3.75 for children, (they are given a questionnaire to complete on the trip and a bar of chocolate awaits those with the right answers) and covers parking until 5.30pm so if you wish to leave the car there and walk into town after seeing the sights, then that’s fine. The walk to the attractions is steep in places and there are steps but no ramps, there’s not enough space to install any unfortunately, so it’s not suitable for anyone in a wheelchair or severely impaired mobility.
The rock formations across the river are lovely to look at, as are the picturescue buildings, some painted in a local chequerboard design. The car-park is beside one of a few picnic areas, then there’s a walk through a Beech avenue which has a lovely atmosphere. Some natural sculptures and some humorous metal ones are placed every few yards, so that at this time of year, there’s something to see aside from the buds on the trees and the prolific wild garlic which assaults the nostrils with as much force as the loud shusshhh of the Nidd flowing over the weir by the old Flaxmill echoes in the eardrums.

The first attraction is the spring which feeds the Well. The source isn’t visible, but the small stream is, it has a lovely special feel to it for anyone sensitive to these things. It comes from an underground lake through an aquifer then passes under the path and over the top of the petrifying well. It’s the minerals contained in this water* which can literally turn objects to stone within a few months. The pattern the water has made through the stone and moss on the top of the Well is interesting, completely natural yet it looks like a maze.

Pass under the branches of an old Yew tree and down a flight of steps, to arrive at the Petrifying Well. It’s not a well in the sense of a hole on the ground, but more like water falling over a rock overhang where strategically placed objects are suspended to become petrified. The water has a very soft feel to it although not knowing what was in it then I didn’t have a taste. There are recordings which you can switch on to listen to the history and legends of the area. Up a few steps to the wishing-well, this is set in a natural rock formation at the back of the Petrifying Well, it’s a ledge where the waters pool, you have to crouch down and place your right hand in the water and make a wish, (of course I did) and let your hand dry naturally. Then it’s back down those and up another few steps into Mother Shipton’s cave where the recording gives a lot of detail about the life and times of Ursula Shipton nee Sontheil, born in the cave in 1488, deformed, twisted and as she grew she developed a hooked nose and chin that today many people think of as the typical appearance of storybook witch. Ursula had the gift of Prophecy and became a legend in her own time and was visited by the celebs of the era. Her cave feels warm and cosy inside, and the statue of her at the back is a nice touch.

The small museum a little further down the path completes the visit, and there’s a good selection of inexpensive souvenirs and booklets. There’s a café and kiddies play area on site near the entrance, too.

*Calcium, sodium and magnesium with traces of lead, zinc, iron, manganese and aluminium as forms of sulphates and carbonates with some chlorides and a trace of silica. When it emerges into the open air, calcite is deposited with the other minerals, most commonly forming Tufa and Travertine, which literally turns to stone anything left suspended in the flow within a few months.

For more information see the Mother Shipton's Cave website, Historic England List ID 100132, Pastscape Monument No. 1065638, and the Journal of Antiquities entry for The Dropping Well, Knaresborough, North Yorkshire.
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Mother Shipton's Cave and Petrifying Well
Mother Shipton's Cave and Petrifying Well submitted by Runemage : This shows the Dropping Well, aka the Petrifying Well which turns objects to stone. Objects hung at the top will gradually gain an accumulation of tufa and appear solidified. The owners sell petrified objects and accept objects from the public. If an object is left there for many years, it will eventually become unrecognisable. Barely distinguishable now is a top hat left above the dropping area i... (Vote or comment on this photo)

Mother Shipton's Cave and Petrifying Well
Mother Shipton's Cave and Petrifying Well submitted by Antonine : Inside the cave, 2011 (Vote or comment on this photo)

Mother Shipton's Cave and Petrifying Well
Mother Shipton's Cave and Petrifying Well submitted by Antonine : A closer look at the wishing well, 2011 (Vote or comment on this photo)

Mother Shipton's Cave and Petrifying Well
Mother Shipton's Cave and Petrifying Well submitted by Antonine : The wishing Well, 2011 (Vote or comment on this photo)

Mother Shipton's Cave and Petrifying Well
Mother Shipton's Cave and Petrifying Well submitted by Antonine : It is tradition to make a wish in the wishing well inside the cave. The wishing well is fed from the same spring as the petrifying well. Photo 2011 (Vote or comment on this photo)

Mother Shipton's Cave and Petrifying Well
Mother Shipton's Cave and Petrifying Well submitted by Antonine : Under the spring, 2011 Mother Shipton was born Ursula Southeil in the cave next to the well in 1488. Her mother died giving birth to her and so she was taken in by a local woman. Supernatural occurrences plagued the cottage where she grew up. She married Toby Shipton in 1512 and became a famous fortune teller and prophetess. Her healing powers were attributed to the well.

Mother Shipton's Cave and Petrifying Well
Mother Shipton's Cave and Petrifying Well submitted by Antonine : Photo taken in 2011

Mother Shipton's Cave and Petrifying Well
Mother Shipton's Cave and Petrifying Well submitted by Antonine : The petrifying well, 2011

Mother Shipton's Cave and Petrifying Well
Mother Shipton's Cave and Petrifying Well submitted by Antonine : Items hanging in the petrifying well in 2011. The petrifying well is England’s oldest tourist attraction. Many famous people have left items to be petrified which are on display in the museum.

Mother Shipton's Cave and Petrifying Well
Mother Shipton's Cave and Petrifying Well submitted by Runemage : Inside Mother Shipton's Cave itself, with a sculpture of her bent figure and an audio loop playing recordings of her prophecies.

Mother Shipton's Cave and Petrifying Well
Mother Shipton's Cave and Petrifying Well submitted by Runemage : Close-up of objects being turned to stone.

Mother Shipton's Cave and Petrifying Well
Mother Shipton's Cave and Petrifying Well submitted by Runemage : Objects hanging above the Petrifying Well being turned to stone.

Mother Shipton's Cave and Petrifying Well
Mother Shipton's Cave and Petrifying Well submitted by durhamnature : Old drawing, from "Legendary Lore" via archive.org

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"Mother Shipton's Cave and Petrifying Well " | Login/Create an Account | 3 News and Comments
  
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Re: Mother Shipton's Cave and Petrifying Well by Runemage on Saturday, 10 April 2010
(User Info | Send a Message)
Street View

The only entrance to the Cave
http://maps.google.com/maps?t=k&q=54.0078742368,-1.47508452242(Mother+Shipton%27s+Cave+and+Petrifying+Well)&ie=UTF8&z=16&layer=c&cbll=54.008751,-1.47494&panoid=4tWWqhF-u0V5kXM09gM7JQ&cbp=12,101.08,,0,5

I tried to view the cave from the other side of the river, but the view is obstructed by trees.
[ Reply to This ]

Re: Mother Shipton's Cave and Petrifying Well by Anonymous on Wednesday, 18 October 2006
I love Mother Shiptons
[ Reply to This ]
    Re: Mother Shipton''s Cave and Petrifying Well by Anonymous on Thursday, 12 September 2013
    Me too. My grandfather often took my brother and I to Mother Shipton''s Cave in the days when it was totally accessible. He would hang items that would be petrified on the next visit. It was great fun. I used the wishing well as an adult and it worked, greatly enhancing my happiness and well-being, as a sacred site should.
    [ Reply to This ]

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