Knaresborough, in the West Riding of Yorkshire, is a town of great interest and antiquity, and occupies part of the site of an ancient forest which was 20 miles in length.  It was a crown manor before the Conquest, and was given by William the Conqueror to Serlo de Burgh, a Norman baron, by whom the stately castle was first erected.  The place was afterwards held by Richard Plantagenet, who founded a priory in the vicinity, Piers Gaveston, and John of Gaunt, and the castle was for some time the place of confinement of Henry II.  During the Civil War it was held for the King; but after the battle of Marston Moor it was taken by Fairfax, and dismantled by order of Parliament in 1648.

The castle, one of the finest of its kind, is situated in a remarkable position on a lofty rock, and was once practically inaccessible.  It was formerly flanked by eleven towers, of which only one remains.  The other ruins consist of a small portion of the keep and some very beautiful and elaborate vaulted apartments, in which the murderers of Thomas a Becket took refuge.  On the cliffs opposite the castle is the famous Knaresborough “Dripping Well,” whose waters have the property of “turning into stone” any articles left for a time under the dripping waters of the well.  The water being highly charged with limestone in a state of impervious powder, rapidly encrusts the object until it appears to be made of solid rock, and various specimens of this result may be obtained.

About half a mile below the castle are the remains of the priory for brothers of the Holy Trinity, founded by Richard Plantagenet; and further south, hewn out of the solid rock, at a considerable height above the river Nidd, is St. Robert’s Chapel, with a fine groined roof.  It has an altar on the east side and contains carvings of the Trinity and the Virgin Mary.

Knaresborough was at one time a place of fashionable resort on account of the efficacy of its mineral waters, but they have long since been abandoned for those of Harrogate.

[Illustration:  Photochrom Co., Ltd.

THE DRIPPING WELL AT KNARESBOROUGH.

The water contains limestone, and coats over whatever substance it falls upon.]

FOUNTAINS ABBEY

=How to get there.=—­Train from King’s Cross via Leeds.  Great
  Northern Railway.
=Nearest Station.=—­Ripon (2 miles from the Abbey). =Distance from London.=—­214 miles. =Average Time.=—­Varies between 5 to 8 hours.

                     1st 2nd 3rd
=Fares.=—­Single 29s. 9d. ... 17s. 5d. 
          Return 59s. 6d. ... 34s. 10d.

=Accommodation Obtainable.=—­At Ripon—­“Black Bull Hotel,”
  “Black Swan Hotel,” “Bradford Hotel,” etc.