Some of Knaresborough’s most famous monuments were vandalised in a shocking rampage last night.
Nazi swastikas and naked genitals were graffitied on to the wall of the town’s 12th century castle.
Whoever did it climbed up the side of the castle into the castle’s King’s Chambers, which is in full sight of Knaresborough police station.
Town centre statues of Blind Jack and Mother Shipton were also covered in spray paint overnight. Several signs and information boards were covered in paint.
The Stray Ferret spoke to shocked locals at the castle and in the Market Place today, where the bronze statues of road builder John Metcalf, better known as Blind Jack, and prophetess Mother Shipton, had been desecrated.

Knaresborough castle
One local resident, who asked not to be named, told the Stray Ferret:
“I’m shocked and disgusted that this has taken place. It’s absolutely vile.”
Another person visiting the town said:
“Who in their right mind does this kind of thing?”
The Stray Ferret has chosen not to show the graffiti on the castle wall, which contains a hateful anti-semitic message as well as swastikas and crude sexual imagery.
Read more:
- Bilton man cleans Nazi graffiti off mural bridge
- Knaresborough trekking centre fined after 11-year-old bitten by horse
The view from Knaresborough Castle
One of the great views of the Harrogate district is from Knaresborough Castle down to the viaduct over the River Nidd.
Amateur photographer David Thompson sent us this stunning photo of it that he took early one morning recently.
You can see more photography by Mr Thompson, who lives in Starbeck, on Instagram @kampalakid.
We love receiving readers’ photos of the Harrogate district. Send them to contact@thestrayferret.co.uk.
Read more:
- The poppies blow in a field near Knaresborough
- Brimham Rocks photography exhibition inspired by what lies beneath