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The Real Sherwood Forest, full of life, a place to celebrate.

Thank you for visiting our Internet Magazine for Sherwood Forest in Nottinghamshire.

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New Items This Month

VISIT NEWARK CASTLE WHERE KING JOHN DIED

Newark Castle, in Newark, Nottinghamshire, England, is said to have been founded by Egbert, king of the West Saxons, was partly rebuilt and greatly extended by Alexander, consecrated Bishop of Lincoln in 1123, who established it as a mint. His rebuild here was probably the model for that at Sleaford Castle, also built by Alexander.

The Castle rises picturesquely from the river, and from its position and great strength was for a long time known as the 'Key of the North'. Of the original Norman stronghold the most important remains are the gate-house, a crypt and the lofty rectangular tower at the south-west angle.
The building seems to have been reconstructed in the early part of the 13th century.

King John of England died at this castle on 19 October 1216. King John died at Newark from excessive eating and drinking. Protestant historians of the 16th century wrote that he was poisoned by a monk at Swineshead in Lincolnshire. The monk received orders from the Pope to kill King John and took a small amount of poisoned wine himself to reassure the King and also died.


In the reign
of Edward III it was used as a state prison.

During the English Civil War it was garrisoned for Charles I, and endured three sieges. Its dismantling was begun in 1646, immediately after the surrender of the king.

PHOTO CREDIT: Stuart Reddish


This month we are expanding on to YouTube so we can incorporate short video clips to supplement our articles - click on the youtube logo to view our test videos.

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We have some new pictures and information in our WORKING TREES section click HERE

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History of the Longbow

Since the release of the Robin Hood film at the start of last month we have had some questions about the use of longbows and the use of the Yew Tree with its long history in the folklore of the English countryside. This is one subject that fits very well in the history of Sherwood Forest but a subject that here at sherwoodforest.info we only know the historical facts of battles longbows triumphed in. So we have selected three approaches. The first link is to a site that has spent many hours pulling together (pardon the pun) all sorts of information about longbow archery. The second site is the site of the professional and the ancient traditions and craftsmanship. The third site is Youtube and a range of film clips on the use of the longbow and the many people who enjoy the special sport longbow archery provides. We hope you all find the answers you are looking for.
All you need to know about longbows HERE
The Worshipful Company of Bowyers HERE
See a film on how to shoot a Longbow HERE


The Forest Stone Assembly Site

Lyndhurst Forest Mansfield



The Forest Stone, The Justice of Eyre and Sherwood Forest Courts.
The Forest eyre was the circuit which itinerant royal justices toured, sitting at each forest court with the county for a short period. Records of the local courts of attachment, also known as swainmote or verderers courts, were handed into the forest eyre. Courts of attachment were held every 40 days to punish minor Forest offences such as the illicit cutting of wood or greenery, allowing livestock to stray. They were presided over by verderers who were elected by freeholders in the county court. There were four verderers to each Forest.

There were grievences at all levels of society against Forest Law from Barons to Peasants. Henry III disafforested land that King John and Henry II had afforested. The Charter of the Forest in 1217 relxed Forest Laws. There was no more death and mutilation for Forest offences.

Please click HERE to read an account of Sherwood Forest Law



Soon to be released on Video?



SEE THE PREVIEW TRAILER of the new film ROBIN HOOD with RusselI Crowe - Press
HERE TO VISIT THE FILM SITE.





















Get to Nottinghamshire - see the film - see the history - see the exhibition!! For more information please klick HERE

FRIENDS OF THYNGHOWE

You may be looking for an interesting day out walking or cycling in Sherwood Forest. Check out the Friends of Thynghowe website. They have masses of information and downloadable PDF information sheets that will guide you through thousands of years of history in the Birklands part of Sherwood Forest. Click on the logo to visit the site >

FEATURED ARTICLE

We have an interesting
account written by Washington Irving of his visit to Lord Byron's Newstead Abbey in Sherwood Forest. We have recounted his impressions of his ride through the Forest.
Washington Irving, along with James Fenimore Cooper, was among the first American writers to earn acclaim in Europe, and Irving encouraged American authors such as Nathaniel Hawthorne, Herman Melville, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and Edgar Allan Poe. Irving was also admired by some European writers, including Sir Walter Scott, Lord Byron, Thomas Campbell, Francis Jeffrey, and Charles Dickens. As America's first genuine internationally best-selling author, Irving advocated for writing as a legitimate profession, and argued for stronger laws to protect American writers from copyright infringement.

Press here to read the Washington Irving piece.



SHERWOOD FOREST VIKING THING SITE

The Vikings of Sherwood & Thynghowe


Thynghowe
Birklands


Shetland Isles to play host to meeting of Viking Assemblies project

April 7th, 2010 by Shetland Times    Print this article     Email to Friend    

Shetland and Orkney are hosting a joint partner meeting of the Northern Periphery Programme THING project (Thing Sites International Networking Group) next week. Things are the assembly sites spread across north-west Europe as a result of the Viking diaspora and Norse settlements. Last June the project secured funding to connect and interpret a network of these sites throughout the Viking world, of which around 250,000 euros will come to Shetland and Orkney.

With partners in Shetland, Orkney, Norway, Iceland, Faroe, Highland Scotland and the Isle of Man, the three-year project aims to exchange knowledge, exploit opportunities and develop sustainable management and business development at the Northern European thing sites. One major aspect of the project is to explore the possibility of a trans-national World Heritage nomination, expanding on Iceland’s existing World Heritage Site Thingvellir. Sarah Jane Gibbon, a lecturer in the Department of Archaeology at Orkney College, said: “The thing sites form part of our shared North European past and are physical representations of a once, and still, commonly-held perception of governance and justice. “One of the most exciting aspects of this project is having the opportunity to share our knowledge with other partner regions enabling us to better understand and promote our own local thing sites.” Project partners meet twice a year and the islands are honoured to be hosting the second ever meeting.

Taking place from Thursday 15th to Sunday 18th April, the meeting will not only enable partners to update and discuss the project but expand their knowledge of thing sites, through site visits, workshops, presentations and public lectures. Delegates will spend their first two days in Shetland and the other two in Orkney, allowing them to compare things in both island groups and meet Alexandra Sanmark (Orkney College, UHI), John Baker (University of Nottingham) and Stuart Brookes (University College London), representatives of two further research projects studying assembly sites.

Shetland Amenity Trust place names officer Eileen Brooke Freeman said: “We can identify many of the assembly sites throughout areas of Scandinavian influence by their common ting, thing, ding and fing place names. Examples include Gulating (Norway), Þingvellir (Iceland), Tinganes (Faroe), Tingwall (Shetland and Orkney), Dingwall (Highland), Tynwald (Isle of Man). “This project enables us to develop a much greater understanding and vastly increase our knowledge of where and why this system of justice was practised through studying historical and oral accounts, archaeological and place name evidence, and by comparing sites in partner regions.”

Two members of The Friends of Thynghowe, Stuart Reddish and Lynda Mallet have been invited to attend the conference. Stuart and Lynda rediscovered the Viking site in the Birklands part of Sherwood Forest using old maps and archive documents. They are now very excited by the prospect of the site becoming part of a future world heritage site. Stuart Reddish commented "This is a once in a lifetime opportunity for Sherwood Forest's Viking History. Whilst not being part of the funded part of the European Project for the Northern Periphery, to be included in the Thing Network, is a great boost for The Friends of Thynghowe".



Photographs from the conference will be included in next months edition of SHERWOODFOREST.INFO

We are at present involved with number of projects that focus on aspects of Cultural Tourism and Heritage Interpretation. Since our work on the discovery of Thynghowe, a Viking Thyng or Thing site, in Sherwood Forest England we have been interested in how significant woodland sites can be researched and better understood. Working in partnership with Sheffield Hallam University and The Forestry Commission we have been making some progress but there is much more to do.

The medieval parliamentary assembly sites, the Thing Sites, could be regarded as the cradle of democracy in Europe. They were the first attempts to share power, to establish legislative and executive procedures in society and to adopt civil rights for the individual. These sites represent values such as freedom of speech and democracy. In some respects these values are under pressure in today’s world. It is therefore important to connect the history of the Thing Sites to conflict resolution issues today, and to pass on the values of the sites as the cradle of democracy.

“Cultural heritage is an important resource in local communities. It is part of our cultural identity; it gives us something to take pride in, it gives us confidence that we possess a legacy that matters to our national narratives. The promotion of the thing sites as birthplace of modern democracy in Northern Europe could benefit our region in many ways. There is a trend that people want genuine qualities in peaceful surroundings. Most thing sites, I believe, should represent such unique qualities. Tourism is one of the fastest growing industries in the world. Cultural tourism can help vitalize local communities by generating jobs, and boosting local economies”. Opening address by Heidi Grande Røys, Nordic Co-operation Minister and Minister of Government Administration and Reform, at the Gulating Summer Seminar, 23 June 2008

There are opportunities to be seized for the benefit of Sherwood Forest and its communities so we hope our Thynghowe site can become a major feature of our local heritage. We now have a special place on our site called VIKINGS of SHERWOOD and we will update it as new information is a acquired.

In the meantime if you would like more general information on the Vikings please visit VIKINGLANDSCAPE.COM by clicking HERE


Look out for our County Council FREE leaflet of walks in the area.

You may want to check out this walk : The Robin Hood Way was initially planned by members of the Nottingham Wayfarers’ Rambling Club, specifically Roland Price and Alec Hickton, in commemoration of it’s Golden Jubilee in 1982, from an idea by Chris Thompson,   The original route of 84 miles from Nottingham Castle to Edwinstowe Church was opened in 1985 with the intention of linking all the places in Nottinghamshire with connections to the legend of Robin Hood. However these are well scattered around the County so since there are also several Country Parks and other interesting places it seemed obvious to include them in order to add to the appeal of the Way.

Here is a link to the website: http://robinhoodway.com/

Other Items to look out for on the site include:

ANECDOTAL LOOK AT THE 5th DUKE OF PORTLAND AND HIS GROUND BREAKING BUILDING WORK AT WELBECK ABBEY. Click on the Bow & Arrow to see the article.



This article looks at the elegant underground complex built by the 5th Duke of Portland to house his Art and Book Collection.

Please visit this site regularly as we are always adding new stories and information. Now read on and enjoy!

Stag Oaks Sherwood ForestBirklands
Oaks

                                    Photograph © Stuart C. Reddish


At
this site we provide information regarding the features and events in and around Sherwood Forest connected with its history, archaeology, woodland events and new woodland walks. We are also presenting a view of the working woodlands in the area. In these changing times it is important that woodlands are portrayed as vibrant healthy places both for people and the trees. That means trees have to be part of a bio diverse landscape. Harvesting trees is as important to evolving habitat as is planting trees. For us to have ancient trees we must protect the ones we have and plan for new ones in the future. The emphasis of our website is on The Real Sherwood Forest, full of life, a place to celebrate. This site will certainly be of interest to you if you wish to experience the real distinctive history and scenery of the Sherwood Forest area in addition to the usual legendary visitor attractions.

We have now gathered together a collection of photographs of working woodlands and will be adding them to the site over the next few weeks. Also take a look at our newly discovered original photographs of Clumber Park House and Gardens taken in 1896. An example is shown below. Click on the bow and arrow to open the article.






















THE SHERIFF OF NOTTINGHAM OFFICIALLY OPENING THE THYNGHOWE TRAIL IN HIS HISTORIC AND LEGENDARY ROLE AS 'ENSURER OF THE SAFETY OF ROUTES THROUGH THE FOREST OF SHERWOOD' on Saturday 25th April 2009.


The Sheriff's traditional role back through the mists of time was to “ensure a safe route through Sherwood Forest”. In the 'olden days' this was for the wealthy merchants and barons but today he helped the Friends of Thynghowe launch and publicise the Thynghowe Trail. The Thynghowe Trail leads through Birklands from the Windmill on Peafield Lane to Netherfield Lane, Gleadthorpe, Budby. It is three miles long. Trail posts lettered A – Q mark places and features of interest and a leaflet explains and describes those fascinating features to the walker. The leaflet can be obtained free from any local library, visitor centre, and the Forestry Commission.

The Sheriff and Margaret Woodhead – well known local historian and Chair of Friends of Thynghowe were photographed on the top of Hanger Hill – along with Stuart Reddish who with his wife Lynda Mallett rediscovered the site of Thynghowe.






















The Sheriff of Nottingham, Margaret Woodhead local historian and Stuart Reddish landscape historian at the summit of Thynghowe.   Photograph © Lynda Mallett


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