Dr Rebecca Williams
@volcanologist.bsky.social
Reader in Volcanology in Geology @Hull. Waffle about volcanoes, HigherEd, tea and occasional running. SFHEA & STEM ambassador. She/her.
I didn't until yesterday when I was lucky enough to visit the Yorkshire Museum archives with curator Sarah King, @toriherridge.bsky.social & @tomsharperocks.bsky.social to see this wonderful sketch (of a sketch) of an Icthyosaur skull by Anne Wickham. Can't wait for its story to be published!
November 16, 2025 at 10:06 AM
I didn't until yesterday when I was lucky enough to visit the Yorkshire Museum archives with curator Sarah King, @toriherridge.bsky.social & @tomsharperocks.bsky.social to see this wonderful sketch (of a sketch) of an Icthyosaur skull by Anne Wickham. Can't wait for its story to be published!
November 16, 2025 at 9:52 AM
Learned so much about the Stone Age last night with mini-volcanologist at this great event with @gregjenner.bsky.social and Prof Nicky Milner. I know nothing about our local Starr Carr Mesolithic site. So cool.
November 12, 2025 at 7:02 AM
Learned so much about the Stone Age last night with mini-volcanologist at this great event with @gregjenner.bsky.social and Prof Nicky Milner. I know nothing about our local Starr Carr Mesolithic site. So cool.
Learned so much about the Stone Age last night with mini-volcanologist at this great event with @gregjenner.bsky.social and Prof Nicky Milner. I know nothing about our local Starr Carr Mesolithic site. So cool.
November 12, 2025 at 7:01 AM
Learned so much about the Stone Age last night with mini-volcanologist at this great event with @gregjenner.bsky.social and Prof Nicky Milner. I know nothing about our local Starr Carr Mesolithic site. So cool.
Introducing the kids to Terry Pratchett in the same way I discovered Terry Pratchett.
November 10, 2025 at 8:44 PM
Introducing the kids to Terry Pratchett in the same way I discovered Terry Pratchett.
After staring at this post-it note all day, I finally managed to register for @vmsg.bsky.social Annual Meeting at @noc.ac.uk this January! Volcano science for the win #VMSG26
🌋🌍🪨🧪
🌋🌍🪨🧪
November 7, 2025 at 4:40 PM
After staring at this post-it note all day, I finally managed to register for @vmsg.bsky.social Annual Meeting at @noc.ac.uk this January! Volcano science for the win #VMSG26
🌋🌍🪨🧪
🌋🌍🪨🧪
A final photo of the Petrifying Well to end the thread. It's a lovely location on the banks of the River Nidd. Mother Shipton's Cave is just off to the right.
/End
/End
August 3, 2025 at 9:13 PM
A final photo of the Petrifying Well to end the thread. It's a lovely location on the banks of the River Nidd. Mother Shipton's Cave is just off to the right.
/End
/End
What's not clear in the accounts that I've read is whether Mother Shipton had anything to do with the petrifying well itself, though both were widely known. But over time, their stories have definitely become interwoven. The cave and well are worth a visit for both it's social history and geology.
August 3, 2025 at 9:07 PM
What's not clear in the accounts that I've read is whether Mother Shipton had anything to do with the petrifying well itself, though both were widely known. But over time, their stories have definitely become interwoven. The cave and well are worth a visit for both it's social history and geology.
She warned that "Cardinall Wolsey should never come to Yorke with the King".
And if you know Tudor history, you'll know that Cardinal Wolsey had a falling out with Henry VIII. He set off to York for his first ever visit but was recalled to London for treason. He died on the way.
And if you know Tudor history, you'll know that Cardinal Wolsey had a falling out with Henry VIII. He set off to York for his first ever visit but was recalled to London for treason. He died on the way.
August 3, 2025 at 9:07 PM
She warned that "Cardinall Wolsey should never come to Yorke with the King".
And if you know Tudor history, you'll know that Cardinal Wolsey had a falling out with Henry VIII. He set off to York for his first ever visit but was recalled to London for treason. He died on the way.
And if you know Tudor history, you'll know that Cardinal Wolsey had a falling out with Henry VIII. He set off to York for his first ever visit but was recalled to London for treason. He died on the way.
Mother Shipton was famous for her prophecies, mentioned by Samuel Pepys and referred to as "the witch of Yorke" by King Henry VIII.
She is credited with prophecies of the Spanish Armada, the Great Fire of London and the 1665 Plague.
She is credited with prophecies of the Spanish Armada, the Great Fire of London and the 1665 Plague.
August 3, 2025 at 9:07 PM
Mother Shipton was famous for her prophecies, mentioned by Samuel Pepys and referred to as "the witch of Yorke" by King Henry VIII.
She is credited with prophecies of the Spanish Armada, the Great Fire of London and the 1665 Plague.
She is credited with prophecies of the Spanish Armada, the Great Fire of London and the 1665 Plague.
The story of Mother Shipton is itself fascinating. She was born Ursula Southeil in 1488 to a destitute teenage mother and they lived in a cave near the well. They were outcast as witches, and Mother Shipton grew into a woman sought out as a herbalist but also vilified.
August 3, 2025 at 9:07 PM
The story of Mother Shipton is itself fascinating. She was born Ursula Southeil in 1488 to a destitute teenage mother and they lived in a cave near the well. They were outcast as witches, and Mother Shipton grew into a woman sought out as a herbalist but also vilified.
People have been leaving items since at least the Victorian times. Bumps in the tufa slope are a top hat and bonnet from 1853. Here is Queen Mary's shoe from 1923. The owners hang teddy bears you can buy and other items as curiosities.
August 3, 2025 at 8:52 PM
People have been leaving items since at least the Victorian times. Bumps in the tufa slope are a top hat and bonnet from 1853. Here is Queen Mary's shoe from 1923. The owners hang teddy bears you can buy and other items as curiosities.
The Petrifying Well at Mother Shiptons Cave, Knaresborough was recorded by the King's antiquary in 1538 and is the oldest tourist attraction in England, having opened in 1630. People leave items in the dripping waters to be 'turned into stone', taking about 3 months to petrify small objects.
August 3, 2025 at 8:51 PM
The Petrifying Well at Mother Shiptons Cave, Knaresborough was recorded by the King's antiquary in 1538 and is the oldest tourist attraction in England, having opened in 1630. People leave items in the dripping waters to be 'turned into stone', taking about 3 months to petrify small objects.
Did you know that England's oldest fee paying attraction is geological?
It starts at this unassuming spring, rich in sulphate and carbonate which precipitates tufa.
The spring disappears into the ground and then reappears in a waterfall that turns things to stone. ⚒️🧪🪨🌍🧵
It starts at this unassuming spring, rich in sulphate and carbonate which precipitates tufa.
The spring disappears into the ground and then reappears in a waterfall that turns things to stone. ⚒️🧪🪨🌍🧵
August 3, 2025 at 8:51 PM
Did you know that England's oldest fee paying attraction is geological?
It starts at this unassuming spring, rich in sulphate and carbonate which precipitates tufa.
The spring disappears into the ground and then reappears in a waterfall that turns things to stone. ⚒️🧪🪨🌍🧵
It starts at this unassuming spring, rich in sulphate and carbonate which precipitates tufa.
The spring disappears into the ground and then reappears in a waterfall that turns things to stone. ⚒️🧪🪨🌍🧵
The oil is found in the Carboniferous Millstone Grit, and trapped in an anticline centred under Eakring. The area is also well known for its coal measures.
Source rocks are present in Late Dinantian Shales and Limestones.
Source rocks are present in Late Dinantian Shales and Limestones.
August 2, 2025 at 4:17 PM
The oil is found in the Carboniferous Millstone Grit, and trapped in an anticline centred under Eakring. The area is also well known for its coal measures.
Source rocks are present in Late Dinantian Shales and Limestones.
Source rocks are present in Late Dinantian Shales and Limestones.
The info in this thread mostly comes from an info board in the wood, and a lovely wee book called Oil Under Sherwood Forest by Janet Roberts.
August 2, 2025 at 4:17 PM
The info in this thread mostly comes from an info board in the wood, and a lovely wee book called Oil Under Sherwood Forest by Janet Roberts.
Dukes Wood was gifted to Nottinghamshire's Wildlife Trust by BP in 1992. It was designated as an SSSI for flora and fauna in 1972. There's a trail, and you can still see some nodding donkeys and bits of pipeline. We didn't get to visit the museum which was at Kelham Hall, now closed.
August 2, 2025 at 4:17 PM
Dukes Wood was gifted to Nottinghamshire's Wildlife Trust by BP in 1992. It was designated as an SSSI for flora and fauna in 1972. There's a trail, and you can still see some nodding donkeys and bits of pipeline. We didn't get to visit the museum which was at Kelham Hall, now closed.
Dukes Wood field closed in 1965 after producing 600,000 tons of oil. Eakring closed in 1966 and produced a total of 280,000 tons.
August 2, 2025 at 4:17 PM
Dukes Wood field closed in 1965 after producing 600,000 tons of oil. Eakring closed in 1966 and produced a total of 280,000 tons.
In 1991 the statue of the Oil Patch Warrior was erected in memorial to the Roughnecks of Sherwood Forest and their contribution to the war effort.
An exact replica was erected in Ardmore, Oklahoma where the men came from.
An exact replica was erected in Ardmore, Oklahoma where the men came from.
August 2, 2025 at 4:17 PM
In 1991 the statue of the Oil Patch Warrior was erected in memorial to the Roughnecks of Sherwood Forest and their contribution to the war effort.
An exact replica was erected in Ardmore, Oklahoma where the men came from.
An exact replica was erected in Ardmore, Oklahoma where the men came from.
The deepest well to be drilled was no. 146 to a depth of 7473 ft. Photo from the Dukes Wood Oil Museum.
August 2, 2025 at 4:17 PM
The deepest well to be drilled was no. 146 to a depth of 7473 ft. Photo from the Dukes Wood Oil Museum.
Once upon a time, on Boxing Day in 2018, I took a walk to Dukes Wood Oil Field in Eakring, Nottinghamshire & then posted one of my most popular Twitter threads.
🧵The top secret oil field, Britain's first major onshore oil operation, that saved us during the war but masqueraded as a film set. 🌍🪨🧪⚒️
🧵The top secret oil field, Britain's first major onshore oil operation, that saved us during the war but masqueraded as a film set. 🌍🪨🧪⚒️
August 2, 2025 at 4:17 PM
Once upon a time, on Boxing Day in 2018, I took a walk to Dukes Wood Oil Field in Eakring, Nottinghamshire & then posted one of my most popular Twitter threads.
🧵The top secret oil field, Britain's first major onshore oil operation, that saved us during the war but masqueraded as a film set. 🌍🪨🧪⚒️
🧵The top secret oil field, Britain's first major onshore oil operation, that saved us during the war but masqueraded as a film set. 🌍🪨🧪⚒️
It's about time I announced a project that I've been working on in the last year... I wrote a book!
'Volcanoes: 10 things you should know' published by @orionbooks.bsky.social Seven Dials will be out in September. It's available to pre-order now. Links: linktr.ee/volcanologist
'Volcanoes: 10 things you should know' published by @orionbooks.bsky.social Seven Dials will be out in September. It's available to pre-order now. Links: linktr.ee/volcanologist
August 2, 2025 at 7:46 AM
It's about time I announced a project that I've been working on in the last year... I wrote a book!
'Volcanoes: 10 things you should know' published by @orionbooks.bsky.social Seven Dials will be out in September. It's available to pre-order now. Links: linktr.ee/volcanologist
'Volcanoes: 10 things you should know' published by @orionbooks.bsky.social Seven Dials will be out in September. It's available to pre-order now. Links: linktr.ee/volcanologist
I've started posting silly videos on my Instagram about volcano science. I won't copy that content over here. But if you want to hear a story about volcanoes and bicycles, go check it out. linktr.ee/volcanologist
August 2, 2025 at 6:34 AM
I've started posting silly videos on my Instagram about volcano science. I won't copy that content over here. But if you want to hear a story about volcanoes and bicycles, go check it out. linktr.ee/volcanologist
Huge congratulations to @geologytalk.bsky.social for passing your PhD viva today. Such brilliant work. It was an honour to read it.
July 11, 2025 at 7:22 PM
Huge congratulations to @geologytalk.bsky.social for passing your PhD viva today. Such brilliant work. It was an honour to read it.
What happens when a dense, aerated granular flow encounters a vertical barrier? What night these mean for the behaviours of pyroclastic density currents? Check out Jordan Chenery's poster at #IAVCEI2025
July 4, 2025 at 9:09 AM
What happens when a dense, aerated granular flow encounters a vertical barrier? What night these mean for the behaviours of pyroclastic density currents? Check out Jordan Chenery's poster at #IAVCEI2025