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This beautiful Yorkshire town could be the unlikely setting for the beginning of the end, according to an ancient prophecy.
Prophecy in Knaresborough claims the collapse of its bridge could signal the end of the world (Image: Getty )
A pretty Yorkshire town sitting on cliffs above a river is not famous for stunning views but rather a local prophecy that claims the collapse of a bridge over the water for a third time could signal the end of the world.
Knaresborough in North Yorkshire straddles high sandstone cliffs on the banks of the River Nidd and has been the site of a castle and settlement since Norman times and before.
A railway viaduct with majestic castle fortification adornments was built in 1851 and today its span across the river far below offers a perfect Instagram-worthy photo for scores of tourists who visit the town.
Visitors descending the cliffs to the banks of the river will notice attractions paying homage to the one of the area’s most famous residents, a 16th-century prophetess and witch known as Mother Shipton.
Mother Shipton’s predictions are said to have been eerily accurate as she is reported to have foretold the Great Fire of London in 1666 and the Spanish Armanda. Her most chilling prophecy is that the world will end “when the High Bridge is thrice fallen”, in reference to a bridge over the Nidd.
The more famous viaduct has collapsed once, but another bridge has fallen twice (Image: Getty )
Born in 1488 as Ursula Sontheil, and later taking the name Shipton, she became a noted local healer and seer who lived in a cave by the riverside.
Close to where she lived the ‘magical properties’ of a limestone-rich stream ‘turned objects to stone’ if they were hung under a small waterfall, although the process is not magic but natural calcification
Because Mother Shipton mentioned a “high bridge” collapsing many people assume she meant the highest bridge in the town, the railway viaduct standing at just over 80 feet tall.
Interestingly the structure did collapse the first time it was completed in March 1848, with the noise of falling masonry said to have been heard for “five minutes”. But despite the collapse, it is not the architecture mentioned in the prophecy.
Cyclists from the ‘Tour de Yorkshire’ stage of the Tour de France cross the High Bridge (Image: Getty )
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In fact the bridge Mother Shipton was referring to was an older span further up stream which has so far already collapsed twice.
The grade II-listed High Bridge is a simpler construction than its more photographed sibling in the town and is helpfully marked by the presence of an aptly-named pub, The World’s End.
Knaresborough’s quirky history also features an annual event called the Bed Race which has been held every year, excluding during the pandemic, since 1966.
The race features competitors pushing a ‘bed’ on wheels with one person on board through the town at high speed before eventually crossing the river to the finish line.
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