Mother Shipton

Originally posted on ff2/phantom foxes by cj

Mother Shipton

Mother Shipton is England’s most famous Prophetess. She lived some 500 years ago during the reigns of King Henry VIII and Queen Elizabeth I.

Her Prophetic visions became known and feared throughout England, with many of them still proving uncannily accurate today.

The Cave, her legendary birthplace is near to the famous, unique, geological phenomenon - The Petrifying Well. Its magical cascading waters turn items into stone!

The Petrifying Well is England’s Oldest Visitor Attraction, first opening its gates in 1630!

Mother Shiptons Cave & The Petrifying Well lie at the heart of the Mother Shipton Estate – a relic of the Ancient Forest of Knaresborough.

http://www.mothershiptonscave.com

http://www.mysteriousbritain.co.uk/occult/mother_shipton.html

Originally posted on ff2/phantom foxes by msmoon guest
Old Mother Shipton lived in the North Riding of Yorkshire at Knaresborough. She was born Ursula Southell or Southeil in the 15th century and was the daughter of the local beauty and the village idiot who raped her mother. Her mother became an outcast from the village because of this and the reason that Ursula was born so ugly was due to this supposedly. Some reports reckon her to be over 6 feet tall, an incredible height for a man in those times, never mind a woman! But her back was so bent that she was a hunchback. Other reports put her at less than 5 feet tall but all reports take about her outstanding ugliness. Despite this she married a carpenter named Toby Shipton.

During her lifetime she was the local wise woman and would cure toothache with tincture of myrhh or wrap bad wounds in cobwebs to bind them. No one is quite sure how she died but one report states that as she lay in her bed she told the doctor she would take none of his medicines, what she needed wouldn't be available until 1932 (peniciilan), she was too weak to move but when the dawn came she rose from her bed and went outside where she shouted to the heavens, 'I bain't set to die for mind sings of the miracles yet to come, God grant that I can oversee the world you have created in my mind's eye!' There was a huge flash of light which became a beam rising higher and higher into the sky until it was merely a pinpoint of light in the distance and all that was left of Ursula was a pile of ragged clothes.

Supposedly her clothes were buried near Middleham castle and trees began to grow there immediately on that spot that can still be seen today.

What Mother Shipton was most famous for though were her prophecies. She was more direct than Nostradamus and most have come true. Except this one:

'The world will to an end come, in 19 hundred and 91'

other prophecies she made were:

'Over the wild and stormy sea, shall a noble sail.
From whence he shall bring, a herb and a root!
That call men shall suit!'
(Perhaps Walter Raleigh bringing tobacco and potato)

'A house of glass shall come to pass in England, but alas'
(The building of Crystal Palace and its early demise)

'Carriages without horses shall go'
(cars)

'Around the world thoughts shall fly, in the twinkling of an eye'
(radio, television and telephones)

'Iron in water shall float, as easy as a wooden boat'
(modern shipping)

'Underwater men shall walk, shall ride, shall sleep and even talk!'
(skindivers, submarines and sea farms)

She seems to have been a remarkable woman, ahead of her time and her cave home at Knaresborough is now a tourist attraction, particularly the petrifiying well. Objects placed there petrify in about 3 to 5 months which is far faster than normal

Posted by Mrs S
I've not heard of her before but that was interesting. She does seem a wise woman but I'm surprised she wasn't accused of being a witch. How come she isn't as famous as Nostradamus if the majority of her prophecies came true?

Posted by magssdoc
Possibly because Nostradamus was at the tale end of the Renaissance era, and the prophecies of Nostradamus sound more lyrical than the prophecies of Old Mother Shipton. Don't forget alot of stuff that was supposedly witchcraft or paranormal was gotten rid of during the era of the Puritans. When Charless II came came back to Britain and claimed the throne, his court was very interested in Science and scientific theories so that would not have encouraged any of this sort of thing being kept.

Posted by melkim
Her cave just down the road from me have not been to see it must go sometime. Interesting read


Posted by msmoon Guest
We were in middleham yesterday but there are so many trees i don't know which one it was supposed to be! lol

i've never been to the cave but i will be this year, i'm making a point of it. erin loves it there, she's been with her dad and brought me back a bottle of well to make wishes with!
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