Maps and charts. Prophecies of Armageddon » Prophecies of Mother Shipton. Ursula Southeil (c. 1488–1561) (possibly Ursula Southill or Ursula Soothtell), better known as Mother Shipton, was an English soothsayer and prophetess.
The first publication of her prophecies, which did not appear until 1641, eighty years after her reported death, contained a number of mainly regional predictions, but only two prophetic verses – neither of which foretold the End of the World, despite widespread assumptions to that effect. One of the most notable editions of her prophecies was published in 1684. It states that she was born in Knaresborough,Yorkshire, in a cave now known as Mother Shipton’s Cave, that along with the Petrifying Well and associated parkland is operated as a visitor attraction. She was reputed to be hideously ugly. The book also claims that she married Toby Shipton, a local carpenter, near York in 1512 and told fortunes and made predictions throughout her life.