Sherwood Forest & Robin Hood

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	Sherwood Forest and Robin Hood

According to popular legend the story of Robin Hood we all know and love is a simple one, he was once of noble blood but lost his property and lands and became an outlaw, it is commonly believed he lived in the reign of King Richard 1st (1189-99) and his enemy was the Sheriff of Nottingham. While King Richard was away fighting in the Crusades his brother Prince John (1199-1216) was left in charge of looking after England.
	King Richard 1st or 'Lionheart' as he became known was fearless in battle which inspired his followers to many victories. Because Richard was away fighting in wars during his reign as King, he spent very little time in England. After Richard died John became King. John's time as King was a turbulent one, the Barons became rebellious because of the huge taxes he burdened them with and in 1215 he was forced to sign the Magna Carta (Great Charter) at Runnymede. A year later John died of dysentery while at Newark Castle.		Newark Castle Nottinghamshire


The Sheriff and his men collecting taxes		Robin's hideout was in Sherwood Forest which covered a vast area in those times and Robin knew it would be impossible for any of the Sheriff's men to find him. In the forest he could lay in wait with his men and ambush rich travellers. It was a time when the peasants faced many hardships and heavy taxes, it was easy to become an outlaw in those days, killing the Kings deer in the Royal Forest was punishable by a heavy fine, imprisonment or maybe worse. Robin's right hand man and trusted friend was Little John, other members of the outlaw band most remembered included Will Scarlet, Much the Millers son, Friar Tuck, Allan 'a' Dale and of course the love of Robin's life Maid Marian.		Robin Hood & his Merry Men

In the beginning the stories or 'ballads' of Robin Hood were handed down through generations by word of mouth, poems and songs and were not written down until a later date.
"Lythe and listin, gentilmen,
That be of frebore blode;
I shall you tel of a gode yeman,
His name was Robyn Hode".
The first lines of A Gest of Robyn Hode one of the earliest Robin Hood stories printed around 1500, the story starts off in Barnsdale in Yorkshire not Nottinghamshire.
However, a document dating around 1400 survives in the library of Lincoln Cathedral associating Robin Hood with Sherwood Forest.
Considering Yorkshire has its border with Nottinghamshire, Robin and his band of outlaws could quite easily have roamed the forests of Barnsdale and Sherwood. The old Roman road known as the Great North Road and now the A1 runs through Nottinghamshire and Yorkshire, along this route Robin Hood would lie in wait to rob the rich travellers.

Like most people I have enjoyed reading stories about the adventures of Robin Hood and his Merry Men, my very first book was about Robin Hood, it captured my imagination at a young age and my enjoyment continued through the years as I watched Robin Hood on TV and Hollywood films about him.
Aysgarth Falls		The Adventures of Robin Hood staring Richard Greene. was the first major TV series which ran from 1955-1958. Considered one of the best films about Robin Hood was the Hollywood 1938 classic staring Eroll Flynn. 'Robin Hood Prince of Thieves' (filmed in 1991) with Kevin Costner included some scenes filmed in the Yorkshire Dales, Aysgarth Falls (the fight between Robin Hood and Little John) and Hardraw Force.		Hardraw Force


Visitor Centre		My first visit to Sherwood Forest to see Robin Hood's Tree (The Major Oak) was in the late 60's, I can't remember a Visitor Centre there at the time and there wasn't a fence around the tree to keep visitors away and I could actually walk inside the tree. The old oak is getting on a bit now and the branches have supports, well, it is 800 years old.		The Major Oak

Just down the road from the Visitor Centre is Edwinstowe village, here in St. Mary's Church, legend has it that Robin Hood and Maid Marian were married. The Church dates from around 1175. The village takes it's name from King Edwin of Northumbria, he was killed in battle not far from the village in AD 633.

Also in the village is this monument, it shows Robin Hood proposing marriage to Maid Marian.

The village of Blidworth also has associations with the Robin Hood legend, Maid Marian is said to have lived in a cottage in the village and in St. Mary's Churchyard Will Scarlet is reputedly buried under a Yew tree, an apex stone from the old Church ruins marks the spot.

One man who was with Robin from his time as an outlaw until the end was Little John, he was always Robin's right hand man and in many ways his equal. When they first met they fought to cross a stream, neither would give way and both men were a match for each other, from that day on they would remain great friends.
It is believed that Little John lived in Hathersage in Derbyshire, in the churchyard of St. Michael's a grave was excavated in 1784 measuring 13.5 feet long and a thigh bone of a man measuring almost 30 inches which would estimate the man would have a height of about 8 feet, the whereabouts of the thigh bone is no longer known.

Robin Hood meets Little John

St. Michael's Church, Hathersage

Little John's headstone

King John's Palace

King John's Palace can be seen in Old Clipstone now known as Kings Clipstone, it is actually a hunting lodge in what was then a Royal Hunting Forest. Sherwood was a popular hunting ground of Norman Kings of England and was a favourite of King John.

Robin in Sherwood

St. James' Church
Papplewick

Royal hunting forests belonged to the Royal Family and they imposed strict laws which were carried out by (among others) Royal Foresters.
In St. James' Church in Papplewick there is a Forester's tomb slab with the markings of a bow, arrows and a strap with a horn attached to it, which is called a baldric and these would have been part of the Foresters kit for survival in the forest.
The Church dates from around the 12th century and according to legend Allan 'a' Dale one of Robin Hood's men was married in this church.

Royal Foresters
gravestone

The Chapter House, in Southwell Minster in Nottinghamshire is beautifully decorated with stone carvings of animals, birds, faces and leaves, among these is a face with branches and leaves growing out of it's mouth, he is known as the 'Green Man'. Robin Hood has been associated with the Green Man, he is sometimes referred to as the 'Spirit of the Greenwood'.
Southwell Minster		Chapter House Stone Carvings

Nottingham Castle

Nottinghamshire celebrates the life and times of Robin Hood twice a year, the Robin Hood Festival is held at Edwinstowe in Sherwood Forest for one week in the summer. In autumn there is the Robin Hood Pageant which takes place in the grounds of Nottingham Castle over two days.

Robin Hood Festival

Robin and Marian in Sherwood Forest

This page is by no means complete, there are many Robin Hood 'Well's', 'Caves', and even places, Robin Hood's Bay on the North Yorkshire coast is named after him.
There are many websites dedicated to the life of Robin Hood which give much more information than I can give on one page, below are some excellent websites if you want to find out more about Robin Hood.

Robin Hood's Bay

The Robin Hood Project

World Wide Robin Hood Society

Robin Hood Bold Outlaw of Barnsdale and Sherwood

Robin Hood Yorkshire

Robin Hood

In the footsteps of Robin Hood