MAYBE it's appropriate that a memento of one of the craggiest of Hollywood's legendary stars should have ended up "set in stone" in North Yorkshire.

For a hat once owned by John Wayne is showing its own True Grit after taking pride of place in the petrifying well at Mother Shipton's Cave, in Knaresborough.

The headgear - a straw hat, rather than "The Duke's" trademark stetson - is among a range of objects turned to stone due to the high mineral content in the water at the tourist attraction.

Its owner, Adrian Sayers, said the item had come to Knaresborough via the family of his wife, Liz.

"Liz's great-grandfather was given the hat from a friend who met John Wayne on a ranch in America," he said.

"It was his own straw hat, not a stage prop.

"As soon as I saw it I knew it had to be hung in the well for all to see."

Also petrified for posterity is a handbag which once belonged to detective story writer Agatha Christie, while the latest celebrity headwear to arrive at the cave is a green knitted hat, belonging to the Emmerdale character Seth Armstrong, played by Stan Richards.

Updated: 09:57 Saturday, March 15, 2003