Mother Shipton
A Yorkshire prophetess was said to be born in a cave beside a well that turns objects to stone.
What was reported
Mother Shipton, said to be Ursula Southeil, born in 1488 in a cave beside the River Nidd at Knaresborough, is England's most famous prophetess. A pamphlet of 1641 credited her with foretelling the fall of Cardinal Wolsey and other events of the Tudor age.
Next to her cave is the Petrifying Well, where water trickling over a ledge slowly turns hanging objects, such as teddy bears and hats, to what looks like stone. It has drawn visitors since the 1600s.
Explanations offered
There's no reliable evidence that she existed, and many famous prophecies in her name, including ones about cars and the world ending in 1881, were invented by Charles Hindley in an 1862 edition, as he later admitted. The well is real: its water is so rich in minerals that it coats objects in a crust of stone.
- When
- Said to be born in 1488
- Where
- Knaresborough, North Yorkshire, England
- Witnesses
- Yorkshire tradition, and pamphlets from 1641
- Status
- Legend
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.