Lynda Mallett who part owns woodland in Sherwood Forest
has just had an article on Short Rotation Coppice published in the Chronicle Herald Newspaper
in Nova Scotia. She also gave an interview on CBC Radio 1 on Woodland
Coppice practices in the UK and there potential use in Nova Scotia.
Lynda also co-writes and publishes sherwoodforest.info
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'.
Saturday 25th April 2009 - Today the Sheriff of Nottingham
Councillor Brian Grocock came to Sherwood Forest. He came to launch a
new trail through Birklands Sherwood Forest.
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. They
then joined the group at Budby
Pumping Station for the start of the walk.
After a short stroll – we heard the
first cuckoo of spring – the group collected around the Trail Post
marked P. This circular earthwork is a World War II machine gun post,
but looks so settled in the landscape it could be mistaken for a
foundation of an ancient round hut!
It was grand to be walking through
Sherwood Forest with a very friendly Sheriff (not like some of his
historical predecessors!) – a lover of nature and a gentleman who makes his
own staffs and walking sticks.
He gave a speech (please see Sheriff's
Speech) and cut a ribbon and officially declared the Trail open.
It was a pleasure to welcome the
Sheriff of Nottingham Councillor Brian Grocock to Sherwood Forest to
inaugurate our new trail. It was a fitting climax to four years of
working with the Forestry Commission to bring the history of
Birklands to the wider public attention and we hope now that it will
never be forgotten.
Extract from Sheriff of Nottingham's Speech: The
Thynghowe Trail - walking into the past of Birklands
Good morning
and welcome everyone to Birklands Sherwood Forest.
We are here
today to launch an historic woodland trail that leads through
Birklands.
Many
of us are aware of some the stories from our part of Sherwood Forest.
Tales of kings and dukes, of ancient trees, and ammunition dumps
that are part of our local folklaw. Not to mention Robin Hood!
We
can see traces of a Roman marching camp, recall the last days of King
Edwin of Northumbria, find evidence of the royal Forest of Sherwood
and of the Plantagenet kings’ palace at Clipstone. We can view the
changes introduced by the Dukes of Newcastle and Portland and see
signs of the extensive military use of this area during the Second
World War. Throughout this time the hill of Thynghowe has dominated
this area and it has still to reveal all of its secrets.
Now
the Friends of Thynghowe have established this new 3 mile long
waymarked walk into the past of Birklands. They have also designed a
guide describing some of features that remain from our remarkable
past.
This
is our history but it could easily become forgotten if we do not keep
these stories alive and pass them on to future generations.
I,
officially declare this trail open - enjoy the walk, spread the word,
and maybe join the Friends of Thynghowe as they discover more about
the history of this special corner of Sherwood.
Mansfield Chad picture and story of the Sheriff of Nottingham launching the Thynghowe Trail.
News of the annual trail walk for 2009 and the official opening by The Sheriff of Nottingham
The British Agriculture Historical Society Magazine and there conference trip to Thynghowe 2008.
News of Thynghowe and the perambulation as reported in the Mansfield Chad 2008. Press the square to see the story..
News of the Thynghowe discovery on the Forestry Commission Site 2008. Press the square to see the story ......
News of Thynghowe on the 24hourmuseum web site 2008. Press the square to see the story....
News of Thynghowe on the Nottingham Evening Post web site 2009.
Friends of Thynghowe and Notts Wildlife Trust
On Saturday 19 April the Friends of Thynghowe gave some members of Notts Wildlife Trust a guided walk along part of the ancient boundary in Birklands, Sherwood Forest.
Friends of Thynghowe are a group of local people who have rediscovered some of the history of this part of Sherwood Forest. They are part of the Woodland Champions Project, and last year, as part of the project, received training in landscape investigation in ancient woodland (see link below for information of obtaining the training manual).
This part of the forest is mainly pine plantation and not immediately thought of as ‘historic’. There are many layers in the landscape, some can be seen as ‘humps and bumps’ – features to show what this area had once been. From the trees we can see how the forest was managed, coppiced woodland, charcoal burning. Some of the history we only know about through archives and documents.
This was how we came to recognise Thynghowe. Two local people acquired an 1816 document of the Perambulation of the Lordship of Warsop. With this document they tracked through the forest looking for features mentioned in the document, slowly discovering the route of this old boundary perambulation, and many of the features mentioned on it. Including boundary stones, an ancient oak, two Forest stones, and a very special meeting place, called Thynghowe.
This special meeting place is a hill, which in Danish/Viking times was called a Thynghowe. It was probably known to the Romans who had a Romano British settlement close by; to the Saxons who would have used it as a ‘moot’; and certainly to the Normans when they established the great deer park nearby in Kings Clipstone.
We finished the walk in a woodland owned by two members of the Friends of Thynghowe, the boundary perambulation went through this wood and mentions large ditches. These ditches are now known as ‘deer leaps’ part of the way that they captured the wild deer from the forest to put into the ‘paled’ (fenced) deer park for the King and his Barons to hunt.
The weather was rather cold but the walk and talk very interesting – the two groups are planning some future projects so as to enhance and protect both the history, and the habitat and wildlife of the area.
For more information on the Heritage Woodland Manual please click here >
For more information on the Notts Wildlife Trust Please click here >
Friends of Thynghowe and the Annual Perambulation 26 April 2008. A large group set out from Budby Pumping Station and headed into Sherwood Forest on a warm Spring morning.
The group consisted of members of the Friends of Thynghowe and members of the public. The walk, this year advertised by the Forestry Commission, attracted people who were keen to learn about the history and heritage of Birklands.
The Friends of Thynghowe have produced a heritage trail leaflet and the route followed that trail.
We were shown how to look at the landscape in woodland and see the ‘hidden’ history.
Stuart Reddish and Lynda Mallett, landscape historians, led the walk.
We discovered hollow ways and trackways – ancient routes through the forest. Very old hawthorn hedgerows hidden in the pine plantation hinted of old tracks and field systems.
We looked at bumps and hollows that could have been charcoal pits or potash pits – showing how the woodland was used and managed in long gone days.
As we stopped to look at a wood bank edging the forest from a meadow, a cuckoo in full throat flew across a clearing – what a celebration of spring!
As we moved up the long slow pull of Hanger Hill – removing outer garments as it got warmer – we were shown evidence of ridge and furrow showing that before the trees people had farmed this land.
Thynghowe itself became evident as we reached the top of Lady Anne’s Ride. It was a Saxon Moot, a Danelaw ‘Thyng’ – it was used by the Romans who had a Romano/British settlement close by.
Powerful sites like this often have been used going back through the mists of time. Who knows how long this site has been important to the people living in the area.
As we stood looking down the hill and across the landscape imagining who had stood on this hill a buzzard sailed overhead circling around the treetops.
We walked back through the forest emerging from the trail to look over an area of protected heathland – this is what the old Sherwood Forest would have looked like open wood pasture with copses of trees, heather lings, and lovely old mature oaks.
Some of Sherwood Forest’s history had been revealed – ‘forest stones’ showing the important boundaries between lordships and parishes (and possibly even kingdoms); old coppiced trees showing how the woodland had been worked for hundreds of years; hollow ways that had been worn by feet and carts over a millennia; and looking like a circular iron age hut was a machine gun post from the second world war!
The group consisted of members of the Friends of Thynghowe and members of the public. The walk, this year advertised by the Forestry Commission, attracted people who were keen to learn about the history and heritage of Birklands.
As we stopped to look at a wood bank edging the forest from a meadow, a cuckoo in full throat flew across a clearing – what a celebration of spring!