Ursula Southeil (c. 1488 - 1561) (possibly Ursula Sonthiel), better known as Mother Shipton, was an English soothsayer and prophetess who is said to have made dozens of unusually accurate predictions, including the Great Plague of London, the Spanish Armada, and the Great Fire of London.Although documented evidence cannot be found it is generally accepted that the figure of Mother Shipton must have existed, although some of her prophecies were composed by others in retrospect, after her death. Her prophecies were apparently recorded in a series of diaries, the first publication of her work did not appear until 1641, eighty years after her death and said to have been compiled from the recollections of a Joanne Waller, a maid to Ursula Sontheil. The most notable book 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, and was reputed to be hideously ugly. The book also claims that she married Toby Shipton, a local carpenter, near York in 1512 and is said to have told fortunes and made predictions throughout her life.
It is recorded in the diaries of Samuel Pepys that whilst surveying the damage to London caused by the Great Fire in company of the Royal Family they were heard to discuss Mother Shipton's prophecy of the tragic event. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ursula_Southeil
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