| Sherwood Forest | |||||||||||||||||||||
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IUCN category IV (habitat/species management area)[1]
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 Interactive map of Sherwood Forest | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Site of Special Scientific Interest | |
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| Location | Nottinghamshire |
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| Interest | Biological Geological |
| Area | Sherwood ForestNational Nature Reserve encompasses 200 hectares (490 acres).[2] |
| Notification | 1981[2] |
Sherwood Forest consists of the remnants of an ancientRoyal Forest inNottinghamshire, in theEast Midlands region ofEngland. It is associated with thelegend ofRobin Hood. The forest was proclaimed byWilliam the Conqueror and mentioned in theDomesday Book in 1086. The reserve has the highest concentration of ancient trees in Europe.[3]
Today, Sherwood ForestNational Nature Reserve encompasses 424.75 hectares (1,049.6 acres),[4] surrounding the village ofEdwinstowe and the site ofThoresby Hall. The reserve contains more than a thousand ancient oaks which are known to be more than 500 years old, with theMajor Oak being twice that age.[3]
Sherwood originally was named Sciryuda in 958 AD, meaning the "woodland belonging to the shire". Its name is derived from its status as theshire (or sher) wood of Nottinghamshire, which extended into several neighbouring counties (shires), bordered to the west by theRiver Erewash and theForest of East Derbyshire.[5]
Sherwood Forest is within an area which used to be called "Birch Lund", which isViking in origin, now known as Birklands.[6]
The area has been wooded since the end of theLast Glacial Period (as attested bypollen sampling cores). This was about 10,000 years ago.[7]
Evidence of flint tools have shown use in Sherwood Forest by prehistoric hunter gatherers. During the Iron Age and Roman periods human habitation and farming was common. In the 9th century farming made an impact on Sherwood's landscape.[8]
DuringRoman Britain various camps were discovered in parts of Sherwood Forest. It is to this that two remains ofRoman villas were identified in nearbyMansfield Woodhouse byMajor Hayman Rooke in 1787.[9]
Sherwood Forest was first recorded as being named Sciryuda in 958 AD.[10]
King Edwin of Northumbria in 633 AD was killed atHatfield Chase in a battle against his Mercian rivalKing Penda of Mercia and his body was carried into the forest and buried/hidden inSt Mary's Church, Edwinstowe. His head was later buried inYork and his body inWhitby.[11] The village ofEdwinstowe takes its name fromKing Edwin of Northumbria.[12][13]
In 1066, in the invasion of England,William the Conqueror made Sherwood Forest a Royal Hunting Forest.[14][15] When theDomesday Book was compiled in 1086, the forest covered perhaps a quarter of Nottinghamshire (approximately 19,000 acres or 7,800 hectares) in woodland and heath subject to theforest laws.
The earliest notice of the forest at Sherwood was at the time ofHenry II whenWilliam Peverel the Younger answered the plea of the forest, to which he profited and controlled the area.[16]
During the 12th and 13th centuries Christian Monastic Orders had established large estates within Sherwood Forest. Three Abbeys were foundedRufford Abbey,Newstead Abbey andThurgarton Priory.[17]
Sherwood Forest was frequently visited by theMercian Kings.The forest became popular withKing John andEdward I. The remains of ahunting lodge can be found atKings Clipstone namedKing John's Palace.[18] Prior to King John reluctantly signing theMagna Carta atRunnymede in 1215, theForest Laws came with much displeasure to the ruling classes of the forest.[19]
After thedissolution of the monasteries byHenry VIII in 1536, the land of Sherwood was sold and granted into private ownership which was converted into house estates.James I in the 1600s visited the forest, as didCharles I andCharles II brought back under control the management of Sherwood Forest.[20] The oak trees from Sherwood Forest were used to build the roof ofSt Paul's Cathedral inLondon and1st Viscount Nelson's naval fleet.[21]
Sherwood Forest in 1623 had a narrow escape from a fire which broke out. The only record of this occurrence is written in a letter which is preserved in theBritish Museum.[22]
In the 17th and 18th centuriesCharles II and thenQueen Anne sold large areas of Sherwood Crown Land to private owners who built the estates ofThoresby Hall,The former Clumber House,Welbeck Abbey andWorksop Manor. These estates became known asthe Dukeries.Newstead Abbey was converted into a country House andRufford Abbey was partially demolished and converted into a country House.[23][24]
Mansfield anciently became pre-eminent in importance among the towns of the forest.[25]
Sherwood Forest is established over an area underlain by thePermian andTriassic ageNew Red Sandstone.[26] The larger part of the Forest is found across the outcrop of pebblysandstones known as the Chester Formation. The regional dip is a gentle one to the east, hence younger rocks are found in that direction and older ones exposed to the west. The localstratigraphy is (uppermost/youngest at top):
The sandstone is anaquifer providing a local water supply.Quaternary deposits include riversands and gravels, river terrace deposits and some scattered mid-Pleistocene glacialtill. There are 41local geodiversity sites within the Sherwood NCA; these are largely quarries and river sections.[28]
The Sherwood Forest Trust is a smallcharity that covers the ancient royal boundary and currentnational character area of Sherwood Forest.[29] Its aims are based on conservation, heritage and communities but also include tourism and the economy.
Nottinghamshire County Council andForestry England jointly manage the ancient remnant of forest north of the village of Edwinstowe, providing walks, footpaths and a host of other activities.[30]
This central core of ancient Sherwood is aSite of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) calledBirklands and Bilhaugh,[31] NNR[32] andSpecial Area of Conservation (SAC).[33] It is a very important site for ancient oaks, wood pasture, invertebrates and fungi, as well as being linked to the legends of Robin Hood.
During theSecond World War parts of Sherwood Forest were used extensively by the military for ammunition stores,POW camps and training areas.[34] Oil was produced atEakring.[35] After the war, large ammunition dumps were abandoned in the forest and were not cleared until 1952, with at least 46,000 tons of ammunition in them.[36]
Part of the forest was opened to the public as acountry park in 1969 by Nottinghamshire County Council, which manages a small part of the forest under lease from theThoresby Estate. In 2002 a portion of Sherwood Forest was designated anational nature reserve byEnglish Nature. In 2007Natural England officially incorporated the Budby South Forest, Nottinghamshire's largest area of dry lowland heath, into the Nature Reserve, nearly doubling its size from 220 to 423 hectares (540 to 1,050 acres).[37]
A new Sherwood Forest Visitor Centre was authorised in 2015. In August 2018 theRoyal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) opened the new development with a shop and café, having been granted permission to manage the woods in 2015. Part of an agreement with Natural England was that the land where the existing 1970s visitor centre was located would be restored to wood pasture.[38][39][40]
Some portions of the forest retain many very old oaks, especially in the portion known as theDukeries, south of the town ofWorksop, which was so called because it used to contain four ducal residences, as well as a number of other country estates.
TheRiver Idle, a tributary of theTrent, is formed in Sherwood Forest from the confluence of several minor streams.
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Sherwood attracts around 350,000 tourists annually, many from other countries.[41] Each August the nature reserve hosts a week-long Robin Hood Festival. This event recreates a medieval atmosphere and features the major characters from the Robin Hood legend. The week's entertainment includesjousters and strolling players dressed in medieval attire, in addition to a medieval encampment complete withjesters, musicians,rat-catchers,alchemists andfire eaters.[42]
The Sherwood Forest Art and Craft Centre is in the former coach house and stables of Edwinstowe Hall.[43] The centre contains art studios and a cafe and hosts special events, including craft demonstrations and exhibitions.
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Sherwood Forest is home to theMajor Oak, anoak tree between 800 and 1,000 years old, and since theVictorian era, its limbs have been partially supported by scaffolding. The Major Oak was identified by MajorHayman Rooke in 1790. It is believed that the Major Oak took the name of MajorHayman Rooke.[46][47] The Major Oak used to be named the Cockpen Tree, after the cockfighting that once took place beneath it.[48]
Samplings of the Major Oak have been planted in the US ambassadors'Winfield House in London.[49]
According to the legend,Robin Hood and his outlaws used this tree to hide from theSheriff of Nottingham.
The Major Oak was featured on the 2005BBC TV programmeSeven Natural Wonders as one of the natural wonders of theMidlands.[50]
TheParliament Oak is situated in Sherwood Forest nearMarket Warsop. It is reputed thatKing John in 1212 andKing Edward I in 1290 had impromptu parliaments at the tree.[51]
Thynghowe, an importantDanelaw meeting place where people came to resolve disputes and settle issues, was lost to history until its rediscovery in 2005–06 by local history enthusiasts[52] amidst the old oaks of an area known as the Birklands. Experts believe it may also yield clues about the boundary of the ancientAnglo-Saxon kingdoms ofMercia andNorthumbria.
English Heritage inspected the site, confirming that it was known as 'Thynghowe' in 1334 and 1609.[53][54]
The forest gives its name to theParliamentary constituency ofSherwood Forest (formerly Sherwood before the2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies).[55] This is represented by one member of parliament.
From the 1870's to the mid20th century, many villages were built to bring more workers to the mines near Sherwood Forest. The houses in these villages had living rooms and flushing toilets, a luxury that was made possible because the houses were built after thePublic Health Act 1875[56]. The houses belonged to thecolliery companies, which meant that if a worker lost their job, they would also lose their home, proving how dependent the workers were to the colliery companies.Edwinstowe,Annesley,Blidworth, andOllerton all used to be colliery villages[57].
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