The General Tarleton

HISTORIC KNARESBOROUGH

by LoriPori

Monday, September 8, 2008
After a full day of sight-seeing in the Yorkshire Dales, we ( Hans and I, Sue (Suet), June (Poons), Angie (Angiebabe) and Sue (Suvanki), were getting hungry. We stopped in the lovely town of Knaresborough and found a Chinese Restaurant, where we all had a bite to eat.
KNARESBOROUGH is in North Yorkshire, 16 miles from York.
This lovely town, with a beautiful crag-tip setting on a gorge of the River Nidd, has much to offer visitors. Sights in the town include the remains of Knaresborough Castle (circa 1100) and Mother Shipton's.
The main pic is of the gorgeous view you see of the River Nidd and the Railway Bridge. It's so picturesque with all the little boats which are available for rent.

Our Lady of the Crag

by ATLC

A tiny 12 by 8 ft chapel and only 7 ft high, carved out of the rock face near Low Bridge. It is though to be the third oldest wayside shrine in England dating from 1408.
St. Robert of Knaresborough lived like a hermit beside the river. 800 yrs ago, kings, bishops and commoners came to speak with this holy man. It is now an important place of pilgrimage.

Knaresborough Castle

by tim07

The castle is situated on top of a cliff overlooking the River Nidd. The original castle was built in the 12th century, the remains here now date back to the 14th century. Most of the castle was destroyed in the English Civil War, the main bits left are the East Gate, King's Tower & Court House.

Inside the Court House museum you'll discover the history of the castle. Also here is a surviving Tudor court room. The museum is open from Good Friday until October & has an admission charge.

Railway bridge

by ATLC

Completed in 1851, this majestic railway link is 90 ft high and 338 ft long. One of Mother Shipton's many prophecies concerned the fate of one of Knaresborough's bridges, though not this one. An earlier one had collapsed in 1848.
Once, linen manufacturers delivered to the Royal Household and reminds us of Knareborough's long pre-eminence in the Flax industry.

Knaresborough

by suvanki

"A great end to our VT Day Out"

After a great VT weekend (my First) for Ricky52s 'Fish Chips and Mushy Peas' meet in Halifax, I was pleased to join June (poons) and Sues (SueT) day out showing Hansi and Lori Pori around the sights of Yorkshire, Angie (Angiebabe) came along too.

We'd left Halifax and headed to Haworth, Bolton Abbey, Brimham Rocks and then ended our day in Knaresborough, where we were to eat, before Angiebabe and I had a rush back to Sheffield, where she was to catch her train to London.

I was pleased that we'd come to Knaresborough, as I'd recently seen a photo of the River and Bridge in a Sunday travel supplement, that had me putting it straight onto my 'places to see' list.

As it was late afternoon by the time we arrived, and we were all hungry, we only had time to enjoy the photogenic River Nidd, with its colourful boats moored at the riverbank, and the famous viaduct bridge.

We headed in search of food and came across the Worlds End pub, but they weren't serving food. Crossing the road, we came across a Cantonese restaurant, where the staff were very welcoming, even getting mine and Angies meal on the table in record time!

Knaresborough is a place that I'll be visiting again - hopefully not too far in the future.

A Great End to a Wonderful Day, at the End of a Fantastic weekend.

"Knaresborough"

The Market town of Knaresborough is perched on a crag, above the River Nidd. It is about 4 miles from Harrogate.
Mentioned in the Domesday Book, the town still has some of its Anglo-Saxon origins.

Knaresborough Castle dates back to Norman times. Hugh de Monville was constable of Knaresborough at one time, he was the leader of 4 knights, who murdered Thomas a Beckett in Canterbury Cathedral on the 29th December 1170, they escaped back up North, hiding away in the Castle. Richard 11 is believed to have been imprisoned here.

Along with the construction of the Castle around 1100, the Parish Church of St Johns was built. A Market is believed to have originated here in 1206, but it wasn't until just over a Century later (1310) that a Royal Charter, issued by Edward 11, gave it official Status to operate. A museum in the Courthouse traces the Towns history and its part in The Civil War. During the 19th Century, Knaresborough was famed for its shoemaking. It was also famed for its production of high quality linens in its flax and textile mills. The town provided the linen for the Royal Households.

Wednesday is Market Day in Knaresborough.

One of Knaresboroughs best known past residents is Ursula Southeil , who was born around around 1488 in a riverside cave. Ursula Who? Well she's better known as Mother Shipton! Apparently she was well known for her powers of prophecy (Although there is some thought that this is all a myth now) Mother Shiptons cave is possibly the oldest tourist attraction in Britain. One of the attractions is to visit the petrified items hanging around the cave entrance- water dripping here is rich in mineral deposits, which has 'turned the pieces to stone'

Another of Knaresboroughs Cave Dwellers was Robert Floure, who was born in York around 1160. He lived as a hermit in one of the riverside caves. He was believed to possess 'healing Hands' and unusual powers over animals. He also constructed a chapel from the solid stone cliff. Following his death in 1218, Saint Robert attained cult status. His cave is now visited by pilgrims and sightseers.

On August 15th 1717 John Metcalf was born here. By the age of 6, he had lost his sight. Surprisingly, he lived a life in which he achieved more than most sighted and more privileged people. He learnt to play the violin, and also acted as a guide to visitors to Knaresborough. His occupation was a roadmaker, where he built many roads and bridges throughout Northern England.
Blind Jack as he was known, died in 1810, having lived for 92 years.

In 1851, the stunning 4 arched viaduct bridge was constructed by the Leeds Rail Company to provide much needed trading links with Leeds, York and Harrogate.