A Cafe in Sherwood Forest

 

In Sherwood, in a cafe and under a poster of my favourite film. HEAVEN!

Sherwood Forest Today

Sherwood Forest from the air

Sherwood Forest will forever be associated with the legend of Robin Hood. Every year it attracts over a million visitors. It's Robin Hood Festival attracts over 50,000 visitors from all over the world. It is certainly worth a visit even though today there is just a small area left of this once vast ancient forest. Today it is a National Nature Reserve and covers 1,045 acres around the village of Edwinstowe.

It had been a forest since the end of the Ice Age and during the medieval period the Royal Forest of Sherwood covered a quarter of the land mass of Nottinghamshire. It was set aside for the king's use. The ancient forest nearest to Nottingham was known as Thorneywood, around Mansfield Woodhouse it was known as Wolf Hunt Land and High Forest further north.

A path through Sherwood

I have visited Sherwood many times and there are now over 30 pages on this blog about its fascinating history. Once the visitor is among the ancients oaks and leafy glades it is hard not to believe in Robin Hood and his Merrie Men.

Sunrise in the ancient forest

Included on this blog are many of my own photographs taken during my visits. Together with Albie, a local historian, I have also studied it's ancient track-ways, legends and of course its association with Robin Hood. 

An ancient glade

"Sherwood in the twilight, is Robin Hood awake?

Grey and ghostly shadows are gliding through the brake,

Shadows of the dappled deer, dreaming of the morn,

Dreaming of a shadowy man that winds a shadowy horn."

Alfred Noyes (1880-1959)

The poem by Alfred Noyes is one of my favorites. But one of the most interesting ancient ‘rhymes’ on Robin Hood is the fragment discovered in Lincoln Cathedral Library in the 1940’s by George E Morris.

The fragment was found among a miscellany of grammatical texts, dating from the thirteenth and fourteen centuries. It appears that a student from the early fifteenth century hastily wrote or scribbled two rhymed couplets from a Robin Hood poem as an exercise in translating English into Latin:

Robyn hod in scherewod stod

Hodud and hathud hosut and schold

Ffour and thuynti arowes he bar in hit hondus.

Robin Hood in Sherwood stood

Hooded and hatted, hosed and shod

Four and twenty arrows

He bore in his hands.

Robyn hod in scherewod stod

Ancient trees in Sherwood Forest

Robin Hood and Maid Marian in Edwinstowe

Henry II (1133-1189) codified the laws of the forest, making them applicable to clergyman also, with his Asszie of the Forest, which was passed at Woodstock in 1184. It was lenient in the treatment of the first two offences, but the third offence could only be resolved on the body of the misdoer.

Given that Henry II was one of the 'expanders' of the Forest, the story associated with his visit to Sutton is especially ironic. King Henry is said to have lost his way when passing through Sherwood and sought shelter for the night at Sutton Mill. The miller identified as the Miller of Mansfield, provided him with an excellent meal of  a succulent venison pasty which was made from venison poached from the king's own forest!

The Major Oak

One of the main attractions of the forest is the Major Oak, which legend says was Robin Hood's hideout. It was voted Britain's favourite tree in 2002.

In 1790, Major Rooke published his book about "Remarkable Oaks in the Park at Welbeck", where he describes nine oak trees and in 1799 his ‘Sketch of the Ancient and present State of Sherwood Forest’ was published. It was during his research that he identified the brand mark of King John, eighteen inches beneath the bark of one of the Sherwood oaks during some tree felling in Birklands. About a foot from the centre of the tree the letter ‘I’ with a crown was discovered.

It was his love and enthusiasm for Sherwood that in time his army rank was conferred on the formerly known Cockpen Tree and became known as the “Major’s Oak” or as we know it today, the Major Oak.

During the 1800’s it was also known as the Queen or Queen's Oak, although there is no known connection with any royal figure, the name probably arose to describe its large size and its status as ‘lady of the forest’, because it was such a majestic tree. Gradually down the years it also became called The ‘Cockpen Tree’ because its hollow trunk (caused by fungi) was used for breeding game cocks and storing them prior to a cockfight.

Finally, after the publication of Major Hayman Rooke’s book on ‘The Remarkable Oaks’ and particularly his picture (image number 9) and description of the ‘Queen’s Oak’ the famous tree affectionately became known by locals as ‘The Major’s Oak.’

The Major Oak

There is a possibility that the ‘Major Oak’ is more than one tree! This could be due to the consequence of two or even three trees growing close to one another. Another theory put forward, to try and explain its massive size, is that the tree has been ‘pollarded’. This was a system of tree management that enabled the foresters to grow more than one crop of timber from a single tree. This was repeated over decades, causing the trunk to grow large and fat, the tops of which became swollen after several centuries of this cropping. ‘Pollarding’ allowed trees to grow longer than unmanaged trees. Could the ‘The Major Oak’ have been spared from the final forester's axe because of its hollow rotted trunk?

The exact age of this giant tree can only be estimated, and is open to wild speculation. It could be anywhere between 800 – 1000 years old. Its large canopy, the leaves and branches, with a spread of 92 ft seems to indicate that it has grown up with little or no competition from oaks nearby. Its height is 52 feet (19 meters) and the main trunk has a girth of 10 meters (33 feet), it weighs approximately 23 tons. The Major Oak still produces good crops of acorns every three or four years, sometimes over 150,000!

This tree had always been well known by local people, but during Victorian times, the Major Oak became a popular visiting place. Tourists started coming to Edwinstowe by train and then by carriage to see the magnificent tree. Today, it attracts over 900,000 people a year, who come from all over the World to see ‘Robin Hood’s tree’; one of the reasons why it has to be fenced off!

Some of the famous visitors who are known to have visited the legendary giant oak include the botanist David Bellamy, Cilla Black, Bernard Miles, Jack Palance and Maureen Lipman. The list also has a merry bunch of ‘Robin Hoods’, such as Richard Todd, Michael Praed and Jason Connery.


To read more about the fascinating history of Sherwood Forest please click here.

Robin Hood's Tree in 1961

This lovely photograph of the 'Major Oak' in Sherwood Forest, before it was surrounded by a protective fence to protect its roots, was taken in 1961. The image was later used to promote tourism to  Britain.

Robin Hood's Larder

This rare postcard shows the ancient oak tree known as Robin Hood's Larder in 1913. It originally stood on land owned by the Duke of Portland where the ways of Sherwood Forest divided a mile and a half west of the Major Oak, in Birklands, near the village of Edwinstowe.

Local tradition states that Robin Hood and his men hid venison and game birds in the outer shell of the tree's hollow trunk. Sadly in the year that this photograph was taken, the tree was partly burnt by picnicking schoolgirls trying to boil a kettle inside it. Eventually it was supported with iron braces, but during the gales of 1962  the whole tree was completely blown down.

Richard the Lionheart in Sherwood Forest

Because of several projects that I am currently working on, (including a novel) my blog has been slightly neglected over the past few months. But I am desperately trying to catch up with some of the fascinating information sent to me by some of my readers.

Albie has sent some wonderful facts about the history of Sherwood over the last few years and there are still more for me to upload. But this post was kindly sent in by Trish about the early boundaries of the Royal Forest of Sherwood. She was inspired to write this because of a small anecdote in Manwood’s Treatise of the Forest Laws (1598) that mentioned Richard the Lionheart hunting in Sherwood Forest:

“I have seen many ancient records in the tower of Nottingham Castle very badly kept, and scarce legible; in which Castle the Court is usually kept for Peverill-Fee: Amongst which it appears, that in the year 1194, King Richard being hunting in Sherwood Forest, did chase a hart out of the forest into Barnsdale into Yorkshire; and because he could not recover him, he made a proclamation at Tickhill in Yorkshire, and at several other places thereabout, that no person should kill, hurt or chase the said Hart; and this was afterwards called a Hart-Royal Proclaim’d.”

( John Manwood d.1610)

The Royal Forest of Sherwood

I was intrigued by this because the first official description of the boundary of the Royal Forest was completed in 1218 and showed that at its most northern point, Sherwood stretched 20 miles from Nottingham as far as the River Meden. Barnsdale of course is in Yorkshire a great deal further and quite a jaunt on horseback even for Richard the Lionheart! But Trish has completed some detailed research about Sherwood’s earlier size and below is her interesting and important discoveries about the original ‘Forest of Nottingham.’

Here is Trish's post:

'Some weeks ago you mentioned the anecdote from Manwood’s Forest Laws about how Richard I hunted a hart from Sherwood to Barnesdale, and wondered at the distance he covered.  This got me thinking about the forest boundaries, for it is generally accepted that the northern boundary of medieval Sherwood was the river Meden.

This boundary was formally established in the perambulations and inquisitionsarising from the 1217 Charter of the Forest. But where was the boundary before then?

During the reign of Henry I, the eastern boundary of the forest (known then as the ‘old forest’ or ‘the forest of Nottingham’) ran from the place where the Doverbeck joins the Trent, and followed the douerbek, thence to cuningeswað and then north to bikeresdik, near the Yorkshire border.  This includes the region north of the Meden known as Hatfield.  This boundarywas indentified early in the reign of Henry II, when the Archbishop of York requested that his Nottinghamshire lands, almost all of which were east of the Doverbeck, to be exempt from forest law.  He justified his request by claiming that they had not been part of the forest during the reign of Henry I.  (The record of the Inquest is appended in Crook, 1994).

But this inquest was held in the first or second year of Henry II’s reign, which suggests that it was during King Stephen’s time – the Anarchy – that forest laws began to be enforced east of the Doverbeck, in the region known as the Forest of Clay.  This is odd, for it is generally recognised that forest laws were only haphazardly enforced during the Anarchy, and some forest land was simply reclaimed by the inhabitants and landholders (Crook, 1994; Poole, 1955).  Further, shortly after becoming king, Stephen, in a charter of liberties, agreed to disafforest all lands that Henry I had afforested while maintaining those forests created by William I and William II. This suggests either that Stephen wasn’t successful in disafforesting the area of Hatfield, or that the region had already been subject to forest law under William I or II.

Sherwood Forest

And in a writ following the charter of liberties, in which the canons of Southwell were granted exemptions from forest laws, it was stated explicitly that their lands were within the forest  (Crook 1994).  If anything, the size of the forest should have been reduced during Stephen’s reign, but in this case it wasn’t. Perhaps William Peverel was overzealous in enforcing the forest law and took a few liberties?  The interestingthing is that the canons were only granted exemptions – the possibility that their lands were outside the forest was not recognised by the king.

So at the opening of Henry II’s reign, it would appear that the area known as the Forest of Nottingham, as well as at least a portion of the Forest of Clay, were already subject to forest law despite the grumbles of the Archbishop of York.

Further evidence shows that all of Nottinghamshire north of the Trent was subject to forest law during the reigns of Henry II, Richard I and John.  The Pipe Rolls from these reigns (specifically1167-1212) record the penalties imposed on vills in the forest eyres.  (This information comes from an unpublished MA thesis which I would love to get my hands on).   The region subject to forest law included all of Nottinghamshire north of the Trent and possibly some to the southeast, and extended into eastern Derbyshire aswell.

Hunting in the Forest

So, when Richard I chased that hart from Sherwood to Barnesdale, he may not have had all that far to go.  The distance from Blyth to Barnesdale is about 20 or 25 miles – no more than a bracing race for an extraordinary man like Richard the Lionheart. He seems to have been gracious about not catching the beast, at least!

Regards,

Trish '

Crook, David.  “The Archbishop of York and the Extent of the Forest in Nottinghamshire in the Twelfth Century.”  In George Garnet and John Hudson, eds., Law and Government in Medieval England and Normandy: Essays in Honour of Sir James Holt.  Cambridge University Press, 1994.

Liddell, William Hetherington.  “Some Royal Forests North of the Trent, 1066-1307. Unpublished MA Thesis.  University of Nottingham, 1961.

Patrick Barr as Richard the Lionheart

This is groundbreaking research by Trish and I would like to thank her very much for allowing me to post her work.

I wonder what other manuscripts were left decaying in that tower at Nottingham Castle? But at least we do know that after his return from the Holy Land, King Richard did visit Sherwood Forest and also Robin Hood’s other traditional haunt - Barnsdale in Yorkshire.

Sunset Over Sherwood Forest

Peter Ellenshaw worked on over 30 films for Walt Disney. His beautiful matte paintings created the fantasy worlds that were essential in the days before computer special effects. On Disney’s Story of Robin Hood he painted twelve matte shots-and one image in particular always stands out for me. It is the final shot in which Alan a Dale walks into the sunset playing his lute.

On my last visit to Sherwood Forest I was determined to see if I could emulate that particular image. So I waited patiently by the entrance to the Visitor Centre-camera ready. Below is my attempt at capturing that special moment in the film as the sun sets over the woodland.

Sherwood is a magical place, full of legend, natural beauty and well worth a visit. Once stepping along the winding paths, listening to the birdsong and visiting the sun dappled glades it is very easy to be transported back to the world of Robin Hood.

Below are some more pictures I have taken during my visits to what has become known as England’s heart of oak-Sherwood Forest.

Trees struck by lightening

A forest glade

Sunrise in Sherwood

 

If you would like to see more of my pictures, please visit Tony's Tripod.

Parliament Oak

Although I have visited Sherwood Forest many times, I have never seen the Parliament Oak. So I am very grateful to Albie, who is lucky enough to live near Sherwood, for once again sending in some very interesting information and wonderful pictures of the legendary tree.

It was during his stay at Clipstone that King John (1166-1216), after hearing the news of a Welsh revolt, is said to have summoned a council of barons under the branches of this ancient oak in the summer of 1212. The boundary of Clipstone Park was formerly at this tree, which stood in the park fence. Seventy eight years later Edward I (Longshanks) is also said to have held Parliament here.

 
Albie says:
 
“The tree originally had two trunks but due to age damage and neglect one is much reduced in size. It is believed to be 1200 years old which make it the oldest tree we know of in Sherwood, if true. It once formed part of the pale (fence) that enclosed the deer park of Clipstone - this fence stretched nearly eight miles and was the sole reserve for the King's to hunt in. The tree marked the Hell Gate entrance of the park, which was in existence from 1180 until 1830.
 
Whilst staying at the Hunting Palace at Clipstone in 1212 King John was warned of a Welsh uprising. The legend is he gathered his nobles at the oak to 'have parley' with them about the situation. This was effectively a session of Parliament hence the association with the name. From here John returned to Nottingham where he was holding the young Welsh hostages in the castle. He then hung them one by one from the castle walls as a lesson to the Welsh rebels (whose sons they were). It is said their ghostly screams can still be heard at night near the castle walls.
 
 

Another local tradition states that the Ancient Barons met and brought to King John the terms which laid the foundation of the Great Charter (Magna Carta)' which was signed at Runnymede in 1215.
 
In Edward I’s reign another Parliament was said to have been held under the oak in 1290. The king was en route to Scotland. This was a large parliament held on St Michael's Day with nearly 300 petitions and pleas being heard. There has to be some doubt whether this session was held under the trees but the stories have persisted down the centuries that it did.
 
The tree survived the onslaught of the English Civil War (1642 -46) when most of the ancient oaks were felled for timber to build the Royal Navy up. It was largely neglected from then until a few years ago when its survival was looking bleak. Work was carried to ensure the tree will thrive and it is now in the care of the Sherwood Forest Trust based in Edwinstowe. A small enclosure helps protect the tree and a couple of parking bays nearby allow access as it stands alongside the busy A6075 road between Mansfield Woodhouse and Edwinstowe. At the rear of the tree is an excellent view across the Maun Valley across what was originally the Clipstone Deer Park. When in its heyday The Hunting Palace was probably visible from here.”


(ALBIE)

The Robin Hood Festival

Albie has very kindly allowed me to post his video clip of this year's Robin Hood Festival in Sherwood Forest. This annual event is always very popular and I can guarantee it is well worth a visit. To see other clips from Albie’s  You Tube site, including  ‘Sherwood Heath,’ and  ‘Edwin’s Chapel and Hermitage’ please click here.

The King's Great Way Through Sherwood Forest

The Sherwood Forest of the ‘Robin Hood films’ and novels, is nearly always  a deserted, dense and impenetrable  woodland, that sprawled across the county of Nottinghamshire as far north as Yorkshire. But in reality there were people in ‘the woodland belonging to the shire’ making a living.  Expanding forest settlements often marked by the name of ‘Woodhouse’, such as Mansfield Woodhouse, Annesley Woodhouse and Kirkby Woodhouse existed within its boundaries.  Woodland clearance in Sherwood started as early as prehistoric times and huge religious estates took over considerable areas of Sherwood, which was mainly used by the new monastic orders for farming and grazing sheep and cattle.

 So the country side of medieval Sherwood Forest was probably a mixture of areas of oak and birch woodland interspersed with large and small areas of heathland, studded with gorse, heather and rough grassland. This was the landscape Robin Hood would have recognised. Place names that incorporate ‘feld’ such as Mansfield, Ashfield and Farnsfield possibly indicate that it had been open country from a very early date.

Cleared woodland in Sherwood Forest

The term ‘forest’, was a legal term in the medieval period. It meant an area which was subject to special laws designed to protect the animals, such as red, roe and fallow deer and wild boar, all conserved for the king to hunt. The vast open spaces of Sherwood made it ideal to be set aside as a royal hunting forest for the sport of Norman monarchs.

King John hunting in the Royal Forest

Powerful kings like Henry II extended Sherwood, but by the death of King John it had been considerably reduced. In 1218 the boundaries of the royal forest were clearly defined for the first time. There were changes during the Middle Ages, for instance in 1232, the area south from Oxton to Lowdham and the River Trent was included. But for most of the medieval period the 1218 boundary remained constant (see map below).

I have been interested in discovering the medieval routes through Sherwood for quite a long time. In particular, the original route of the major medieval highway known as ‘The King’s Great Way', which has been a subject of much speculation. But it wasn’t until Albie joined our merry band that I was able to use his invaluable experience and knowledge to help me. Week after week Albie cycled along the paths of Sherwood and posted back information to me that he had discovered.  I am extremely grateful for his tireless and very thorough research that has helped piece together a fascinating part of Sherwood’s and Nottinghamshire’s ancient history.

Albie says:

“The Kings Great Way was also known as the Kings Great Highway, the King's Way and King's Way to Blyth amongst others. It was the original Great North Road after the old Roman one fell out of favour. The Roman road was Ermine Street which ran from London, Cambridge, Lincoln and hence on to York. From Lincoln the road ran north and crossed the Humber via a ferry before heading to York. There was a branch a few miles north of Lincoln which took a route across the Trent at Littleborough, on to Doncaster, north to Selby and then up to York. This was to avoid the ferry in bad weather. This was some distance away to the east from the current North Road and fell much in to disuse once the Romans left.

The King's Great Way

The King's Great Way that interests us was probably prehistoric in origin. It may have followed what is now the A5 out of London to St. Albans then followed roughly the current A6 towards Leicester. It entered Nottinghamshire at Rempstone on the same route as the current A60 and onwards to Nottingham. It then headed north and followed the route of the A614 to somewhere near Farnsfield whereby it took a more easterly route towards Bilsthorpe, and then to the east of Rufford brushing by the west edge of Wellow. It then tracked north east a short distance, brushing through Wellow Park, then swung north passing to the west of Walesby and onwards towards the current A614 and Blyth.”

I have recently discovered that Robert Thoroton alludes to it in his ‘History of Nottingham’ (1797) when he describes: ' .........and from thence by the great way from Blyth to Cuningswath Ford, and so on, the west part of the town of Wellow. And from thence by the great way which leads from Nottingham unto Blackstone Hew.’

This 'Cuningswath' was known as Konigswath (Saxon for the King's Ford) at the time this route was popular, and today known as Conjure Alders.

The Domesday Book also mentions the ‘King’s Road’:

“In Nottingham the River Trent and the dyke and the road to York are so protected that if anyone hinders the passage of ships or anyone ploughs or makes a ditch within two perches of the ‘King’s Road’ he has to pay a fine of £8.”
(Winchester 1086).

Albie continues:

“This became the favoured route in Saxon times with some minor deviations likely, until the 1200's or so. At this point a slightly more direct route became favoured to the west forming what is basically the current A60. The start of this deviation would have been close to where the current A60/614 spilt at Redhill Island today. This 'new' Great Highway passed close to Bestwood Lodge and park, through the village of Papplewick, close to Newstead Priory and on to Mansfield. It went through Cuckney, past Welbeck Abbey and onwards to Worksop (passing near the Priory) where it joined an ancient Roman road which entered the county near Sutton-in-Ashfield and continued up to Bawtry. I suppose the route may have offered more comfort from the 1300's onwards (see map below) for travellers that were passing through due to the Priories and towns offering lodgings.

It was also at the time that the Great North Road  (see map below)started to gain in popularity passing close to the current A1 route. It entered the county to the east at Balderton and into Newark. From there it crossed the marshes near the Trent before snaking north to Tuxford. From there it went on a route slightly to the east of the current A1 (it completely bypassed Retford until 1776 believe it or not!) through to Barnby Moor before meeting the King's Great Highway at Bawtry.

All three routes were being used until the 17th century whereby the 'old' Kings highway became much less important, and to a lesser extent the 'new' Highway. It was at this point that the Savile's (of Rufford Abbey) moved the route of the 'old' Highway so that it missed Wellow and its Park. This would move the road a little nearer to the dry soil on the edge of Sherwood as Wellow is on a clay marl soil and more prone to being water-logged in bad weather (the change from sand to clay soil can be seen here in Walesby).

At some stage in the 1700's the 'old' Highway was moved again taking its route to the west of Rufford more or less along the current A614 route of today. I presume it was turnpiked although there don't seem to be any of the typical gatehouses along the route today (though there is one up at Blyth and the Rose Cottage pub opposite Rufford Park gates could have been one).

By this time the Great North Road was the major route to York and Edinburgh beyond. Traffic volumes on the old and new King's Highways would be fairly low (except local traffic) until the age of the car and metalled roads early in the last century.

The common factor of all these roads is that they all seem to converge on Bawtry. This was the point where the roads entered Yorkshire and higher (drier) ground beyond. In medieval times the traveller heading south had a choice of routes at this point. Much must have depended on whether they had business in Nottingham (on the riskier Sherwood route) or a direct journey to London and the south. The Sherwood routes were still renowned for being dangerous due to highwaymen into the 1700's.”
(Albie.)

Sherwood's medieval boundaries and the King's Great Way in c.1200 and c.1300

Above is a detailed map of the Royal Forest of Sherwood, showings its medieval boundaries in 1218, 1232 and 1600. Thanks to Albie's fantastic research I can now include the routes of The King’s Great Way in the 1200’s and later 1300’s. We can now see those routes, that monarchs, knights, merchants and travellers would have taken ( rather nervously) through Sherwood Forest, on their way either to London or York.

Sherwood's Forgotten Ancient Chapel

I recently received a ‘whistling arrow’ from Albie in Sherwood Forest. The note attached asked if I was aware of ‘Edwin’s Chapel’ on an old track at the southern edge of the Sherwood Visitors Centre, halfway between Edwinstowe and Warsop. I must say I had never heard of it and was extremely keen to research its history.

Born in 584, Edwin was the most powerful king among the Anglo-Saxons, ruling Bernicia (Northumberland and Durham), Deira (modern day Yorkshire) and much of eastern Mercia, the Isle of Man and Anglesey. Initially a pagan, he lived at a time when the country was converting to Christianity in two very diverse ways - Celtic from the influence of Columba in Ireland and the north and Roman following the Augustine mission from Rome to Kent. He became the first Christian king of Northumbria and the most powerful ruler in England.

Edwin was baptized by Saint Paulinus at York at Easter in the year 627, on the site of the present York Minster, in the wooden church of St. Peter which he had founded. He was a man of unusual wisdom and under him the law was so respected, that it became, as the Venerable Bede attests, "A woman might travel through the island with a babe at her breast without fear of insult".

King Edwin married Ethelburga, daughter of St. Ethelbert, King of Kent after promising to allow her to practice her Christian religion. When Queen Ethelburg gave birth to a daughter, she was baptized with twelve others by St. Paulinus on Whitsunday, and called Eanfleda.

On 12 October, 633, King Edwin was slain and his army defeated at The Battle of Heathfield near Cuckney (or possibly further north near Doncaster). He was repelling an attack made on him by Penda, the pagan King of Mercia, who, together with the Welsh prince Cadwallon ap Cadfan, a Christian only in name, had invaded his dominion. Perishing in conflict with pagans, Edwin became regarded as a martyr. He had reigned seventeen years.

Legend has it that King Edwin's Northumbrian followers carried the body of their king from the battlefield to a clearing in Sherwood Forest so that his enemies did not steal it. His body was decapitated; they took the head of their monarch back to York, where it was buried in his newly founded St Peter's Cathedral and his body was interred at Whitby Abbey.

Edwin was revered as a saint, his feast day for obvious reasons became October 12th and his shrine in York became a place of pilgrimage.

The place where his body had lain became hallowed ground. A small wooden chapel was built on the spot and Edwinstowe -- or ‘Edwin’s resting-place’ -- was born.
 
There is no existing historical evidence of the foundation of ‘Edwin’s Chantry Chapel’ in Sherwood Forest. But it once stood approximately 250 metres to the east on the side of the old road leading from Edwinstowe to Warsop. The earliest known record is the bestowal, by King John, of the annual stipend of forty shillings in support of the chantry hermit who ‘sang in St. Edwin's Chapel in the Hay of Birchwude, to celebrate service for his soul and those of his ancestors.’
 
From this time and up until 1548 numerous bequests were bestowed and later the chapel is described as consisting of a ‘parler’ (living chamber) and a chapel. The Sheriff of Nottingham continued to pay over the stripend until it was confiscated during the reign of Edward VI. Royal Commissioners under Henry VIII then took away everything of value, including the church plate and the building was allowed to fall into ruin. But Survey maps show the chapel’s existence in 1610, and 1630.
 
The site was re-discovered in 1911 after research by the vicar of Edwinstowe and a William Stevenson. They managed to recover and identify some of the chapel’s original building stones and place them in a cairn. A memorial cross was then placed amongst the stones with a tribute from Arthur, Sixth Duke of Portland.
 
I would like to thank Albie for bringing the  history of the chapel to my attention and supplying the excellent photographs.

Some Images of Sherwood Forest

                                                                                     

Albie is a regular contributor to this blog and is lucky enough to live near legendary Sherwood Forest. He regularly cycles along the paths of that beautiful woodland and often sends in stunning pictures and information.  Here are two links to his popular Youtube pages, ‘Albie in the Woods’ and ‘Albie on Tour. ’

Here are just a few of his recent snaps, including a carpet of bluebells amongst the ancient trees and two experimental panoramic shots (3 shots stitched together), which gives the viewer a  feeling of actually being on the forest path. I am sure you will agree that these are fantastic images and certainly make me want to visit Sherwood very soon.

Here is a link to a lot more images and history of Sherwood Forest.

The King & The Miller

Albie recently sent this fascinating Nottinghamshire legend to me:

“Thought I’d relate a local 'legend' that came back to my attention recently. ...... As far as I am aware the tale has been known for many generations and dates back to medieval times at least. Some recent stories claim the king was Henry VIII but there is no record of him ever visiting Nottingham or Sherwood to hunt. The stories of it being Henry II go back much further; the story came back to me when someone said they had been to the King & Miller for a meal. It is one of those large 'diner' pubs. The story must go back to the 17th century at least but I've not found any details on exactly when it first appeared. The interesting thing is that the story mirrors some of the tales of Robin. The miller’s wife has also been associated with Maid Marion.

The play itself was written back in the 18th century, it was first performed on January 30th 1737 on Drury Lane. The author was a Mansfield man so he would have known all about the legend. I have attached a copy of the script which is preserved at the Bodleian Library I believe.

The legend also gave its name to the area now known as Kings Mill on the west side of Mansfield - this is also the location of the King & Miller pub in Sutton and is on the boundary between Mansfield and Sutton. The actual mill stood on the north east edge of Kings Mill reservoir which is used for leisure today. Kings Mill is known better these days for the large hospital that takes this name just across the road from the pub."

                         The King & Miller Sutton in Ashfield, Nottinghamshire.
                                   

Albie continues:
"Over 800 years ago King Henry II (father of kings Richard I and John) was out in Sherwood hunting with his nobles. As dusk approached the king became detached from the main party and soon became lost. Whilst he was looking for a path back to Nottingham he came across a miller named John Cockle. The king took some time to convince the miller he was not a gentleman robber and was a courtier. Eventually the miller took pity and invited the king back to his house. The miller said that the king would need to share his son's bed for the night and he would show him the way back to Nottingham the next morning. The miller's wife served a meal of venison pasties, hot-bag pudding and apple pie. The king had never tasted such food before and asked what meat was used in the pasties. After agreeing to keep the recipe a secret Henry was told that it was venison from the forest. Henry agreed to keep this a secret; the miller's family could be beheaded instantly for poaching the king's venison!

The family arose early the next morning and the miller prepared to show the king the way back to Nottingham. At this point a party of nobles arrived; they were in search for the missing Henry. They dismounted from their horses and knelt before the king. The awful truth suddenly dawned on the miller and his family. John Cockle bowed his head expecting the king to decapitate him on the spot. Instead the king touches the shoulders of the miller with his sword and knighted him as Sir John Cockle. Henry also granted the miller a rich living. The family were invited to court and were given an increase in their living to £300 a year on a promise they would never to steel deer in the future. Henry then appointed John Cockle as the Overseer to Sherwood Forest"

I'm not sure whether you will have heard this tale before but thought it might be of interest. The miller came from Mansfield and presumably the king would have been using the hunting lodge at Clipstone or Mansfield Woodhouse. The story varies somewhat between tellers but the basics are the same. And I think you will see a marked similarity from the legends of Robin Hood - could this have been a basis for some of the stories? Today, there are 3 pubs known as the King & Miller (Sutton-in-Ashfield, Sheffield and Retford) and an old inn of the same name was demolished in Mansfield town centre in 1959. There was also a play called 'The King & Miller of Mansfield' by Robert Dodsley which was performed at the Theatre royal in Drury Lane.”

Very special thanks to Albie for retelling this interesting story. This of course gripped my imagination and I attempted to dig a little deeper into this wonderful ancient legend:


HENRY, our royall king, would ride a hunting
To the greene forest so pleasant and faire;
To see the harts skipping, and dainty does tripping:
Unto merry Sherwood his nobles repaire:
Hawke and hound were unbound, all things prepar'd
For the game, in the same, with good regard.

All a long summers day rode the king pleasantlye,
With all his princes and nobles eche one;
Chasing the hart and hind, and the bucke gallantlye,
Till the dark evening forc'd all to turne home,
Then at last, riding fast, he had lost quite
All his lords in the wood, late in the night.

Wandering thus wearilye, all alone, up and downe,
With a rude miller he mett at the last:
Asking the ready way unto faire Nottingham;
"Sir," quoth the miller, "I meane not to jest,
Yet I thinke, what I thinke, sooth for to say,
You doe not lightlye ride out of your way."


The excerpt above is taken from a 17th century manuscript in the ‘Percy Reliques Collection entitled A pleasant Ballad of King Henry II and the Miller of Mansfield. There is an entry in the Stationers Registers to a ballad of ‘Miller & King’ dated December 14th 1624. Another is recorded on June 30th 1625. This popular broadside ballad survives in many various collections.

Henry VIII and the Miller of Dee

Down the centuries ‘king and subject’ has been a favorite theme with ballad-makers to represent the monarch conversing, either by accident or design with his humblest villager or tradesman. Besides the King and the Miller, we have many others that have survived, including John the Reeve, King Henry and the Soldier, A Tale of King Edward and the Shepherd, King James I and the Tinker, King William III and the Forester etc. Of the latter sort, are King Alfred and the Shepherd, King Edward IV and the Tanner, and King Henry VIII and the Cobbler. We could of course add to this ‘The King’s Disguise and Friendship with Robin Hood,’ which is possibly derived from the ‘Geste of Robyn Hood.’

The theme remained a popular one in the broadside press. The Stationers' Registers record fourteen king-commoner ballads between the years of 1578 and 1690; seven are extant. In some cases the later broadside ballads are clearly versions of the earlier poems, demonstrating the continuing popularity of these tales. New or original ballads on this old theme were also composed throughout the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.

By the sixteenth century this popular motif of an accidental encounter between monarch and commoner was transferred to the stage in the so-called ‘comic histories.’ Shakespeare went on to use this popular theme in three of his plays, Henry IV, Henry V, and As You Like It.

Theophilus Cibber (1703-1758) first produced Robert Dodsley’s satire on the court of King Henry II, The King and the Miller of Mansfield, at Drury Lane on 30 January 1737. The play was a great theatrical success, attracting thirty-seven performances in its first season alone, before going on to become one of the eighteenth century’s most frequently performed pieces of theatre. In this short, six-scene play, Dodsley transposes the court from London to his native Sherwood Forest, where a King, named “Harry”, and his courtiers lose contact with each other while out hunting. The king, wandering alone, meets one of his keepers, a miller called John Cockle, in the forest. Challenged by the miller, who does not know whom he is addressing, the king declares himself to be one, who has “the Honour to belong to the King as well as you and, perhaps, should be unwilling to see any wrong done him.” He tells the miller he came hunting with the king and “has lost his way.” The miller offers “such poor entertainment as a miller can give” for the night.


The sequel, Sir John Cockle at Court, a farce, appeared in 1738.

Mansfield is said to have derived its name from the little stream called the Maun, which runs gently through it. A Topographical Dictionary of England (1848) describes the particular area on the border between Mansfield and Sutton-in-Ashfield in Nottinghamshie, ‘on the North East edge of Kings Mill reservoir stood The King's Mill'. It is said that in the days of King Henry II, this mill was occupied by John Cockle, who resided here with his wife, son and daughter Margery.

I have not managed to discover how and when Robert Dodsley (1703-1764) drew his inspiration for his play ‘The King & the Miller of Mansfield.’ But he undoubtedly heard the legend as he grew up in Nottinghamshire. He was born at Ratcliffe Gate, Mansfield in 1703 to parents who were certainly dissenters and probably Presbyterian. Since his father taught at the Mansfield Free School Robert received a good education.

Robert was apprenticed to a stocking weaver from where he ran away to London into domestic service as a footman. There he wrote collections of poems and plays gaining a considerable literary reputation by which he became a wealthy man. By 1735 he had used his wealth and influence to establish himself as the foremost publisher and bookseller of the day noted for suggesting and co-financing the first Dictionary of the English Language. He also campaigned for the freedom of the press even spending a short time in prison for some of his controversial publishing's.

His play ‘The King & the Miller of Mansfield’ was later performed all over the world and in 1762 a French composer used the story for an opera.