LOXLEY
A recently discovered pardon in the Public Records office reads: "Robert Dore of Wadsley (West Yorkshire) otherwise known as Robin Hode (Hood), given the King’s pardon on 22nd May 1382."

The knightly Wadsley family were the Lords of the Manor of Wadsley and the citation of Wadsley in the pardon is probably due to the fact that they owned Loxley Common and Loxley Chase. Loxley Chase was a deer park inhabited by fletchers, or arrow-makers and the Sloane Manuscript lodged in the British Museum tells us Robin had two better bows at Lockesley compared to the birding bow he had with him.

The pardon relates to the Peasants Revolt at York. The Lord Mayor was called John Gisburn and Robin's arch enemy in the Rhymes of Robin Hood was called Guy Gisbourne. Robin's involvement in the Peasant's Revolt against authority bears witness to his support of the poor who were oppressed by the treacherous Lord Mayor. Such was the anger of the people that Gisborne had to flee for his life and so serious was the situation that the king himself became involved.

A recently discovered Latin chronicle c.1460 held by Eaton College says Robin Hood "infested" parts of England with "continuous robberies" indicating he was well known, certainly in some parts of the country.

The antiquary Roger Dodsworth wrote “Robert Locksley, born in the Bradfield Parish of Hallamshire wounded his stepfather to death at plough, fled into the woods and was relieved by his mother till he was discovered. Then he came to Clifton upon Calder, and became acquainted with Little John, that kept the kine. Which said John is buried at Hathersage in Derbyshire where he hath a fair tombstone with an inscription. Mr Long saith that Fabyan saith, Little John was Earl Huntley’s son. After, he joined with Much the Miller's’s son." (Bodleian Library MS. Dodsw. 160, fol. 64r)

Seventeen years after Dodsworth, in September 1637, John Harrison in his survey of the Manor of Sheffield confirmed Dodsworth’s notes by saying: “William Green who was one of my Lord’s keepers did hold in regard of his office these parcels of land following: - No.352. Imprimis (to start with) Great Haggis Croft (pasture) near Robin Hood’s Bower and is environed with Loxley Firth and contains 1 acre, 2 Roods, and 27 square perches. Item, Little Haggas croft wherein is ye foundation of a house or cottage where Robin Hood was born; this piece is compassed about with Loxley Firth” and contains two Roods and 13 square perches." (Translation of these measurements are: - 1 acre = 4 roods = 4840 square yards. 1 rood = 40 square perches. 1 square perch = 30 square yards. Firth = a wooded area.)

The Sloane Manuscript begins: - "Robin Hood was borne at Lockesley in Yorkshire, or according to others, in Nottinghamshire” and the contentious claim that Loxley was in Nottinghamshire was due to a dispute regarding the county boundary with many people thinking Loxley was in Nottinghamshire. (See the rhyme below.)

Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire were both administered by the Sheriff of Nottingham and were collectively known as 'Nottinghamshire.' Regardless of county boundaries all parties agreed on Robin Hood’s birth place of Loxley and after many years of argument the arbitrator, William Jessop of Broom Hall, Sheffield, decreed the boundary followed the same line as the present county boundary and Loxley was in Yorkshire.
Here is the rhyme: -

"In Locksley town, in merry Nottinghamshire,
In merry sweet Locksley town,
There bold Robin Hood was born and was bred,
Bold Robin, of famous renown."

(There is no Loxley in the county of Nottingham)



ECCLESFIELD
Ecclesfield Priory was the “Mother Church” to both the Sheffield and Bradfield churches. These were religious houses of Benedictine Monks (Black Monks) who are a recurring theme in the “Geste of Robin Hood.” Monk Bretton Priory near Barnsley belonged to the same order and so did St. Marys at York which also features prominently in the Geste of Robin Hood.

In an “Account of the Loxleys of Hallamshire”, by F L Preston (1966), held in the Local Studies Section of Sheffield City Library, reference 929.2 LOXL SST includes an introductory chapter on the connection with Robertus de Lokeslay, the reputed 'Robin Hood.' It says: - “The extensive ancient parishes of Sheffield and Ecclesfield, including the chapelry of Bradfield, formed the Manor of Hallamshire. In Bradfield was Loxley Chase which was the forest preserve of the Lord of the Manor, De Lovetot, who had come from Huntingdonshire. The Sheffield De Lovetots ended with a daughter, who married Gerard de Furnival. Thomas de Lokeslay's son John was Reeve of Bradfield in 1417 and again (perhaps his son John) in 1439 to 1443. A branch of the De Lovetots continued in Huntingdonshire. The published records of that County refer to land held by Robertus de Lokesley in 1242, to Thomas de Lockely in 1247, and to Rogerus de Lovetot in 1247. Roger was Sheriff of Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire in 1255-8. In view of the strong connection between Hallamshire and these counties then it is probable that a Bradfield Loxley had received lands in Huntingdonshire. Hence the family tradition of descent from Lord Loxley, Earl of Huntingdon!

STOCKSBRIDGE
The circles are at half mile intervals
Stocksbridge is on the River Don and the author Sir Walter Scot in his novel Ivanhoe wrote: - “In that pleasant district of merry England which is watered by the river Don, there extended in ancient times a large forest, covering the greater part of the beautiful hills and valleys which lie between Sheffield and the pleasant town of Doncaster. The remains of this extensive wood are still to be seen at the noble seats of Wentworth, of Warncliffe Park, and around Rotherham. Here haunted of yore the fabulous Dragon of Wantley (Sir Francis Wortley); here were fought many of the most desperate battles during the Civil Wars of the Roses; and here also flourished in ancient times those bands of gallant outlaws whose deeds have been rendered so popular in English song.”

Stocksbridge is situated in the valley bottom below Loxley and Bradfield Moors. Above Stocksbridge is Bolsterstone Castle that was built by the great baron Furnival who built Sheffield Castle. If Robin returned today no doubt he would recognise much of the landscape which at one time belonged to Waltheof, the Saxon Earl of Huntingdon.

From Stocksbridge via Bolsterstone the traveller passes over Strines Moors and into Hathersage a distance of about 12 miles. Hathersage is surrounded by reminders of Robin Hood in the place names "Hood Valley," "Hood Brook," and Little John’s Grave. On the moors above Hathersage are Robin Hood’s Cave, Robin Hood’s Moss, Robin Hood’s table at Barbrook stream and at the head of Agden Clough is Robin Hood’s chair.
Tradition has it that Little John chose the site of his grave himself with an arrow shot from "Robin Hood's Stoop." Robin Hood’s cross marked the boundary of three nearby villages and Offerton was leased to Ralph Eyre in 1473 by the Abbot and Convent of St. Mary’s, Rufford, in Sherwood Forest, the Cross being mentioned in a document of that date and previously in AD1319 (Professor Holt). The abbey was founded in 1147 and the boundary stone appears to be the earliest place name associated with Robin Hood.

From nearby Brough the Roman Road known as "Long Causeway" crosses Hallam Moors through Crosspool, down Lydgate Lane to the University Roundabout and thence to the Wicker, Templeborough, Doncaster and Robin Hood's Well at Barnsdale on the "Great North Road" known at that time as Watling Street. Robin Hood and his men were described as being 'weighty,' meaning they were strong and fleet of foot. Medieval lords, barons and their retinue on their way from York to Peveril Castle for the hunting according to the seasons will have gone through Penistone and Stocksbridge on their journey to Castleton, passing Loxley and Wadsley Commons and Robin Hood's place of birth in Little Haggas Croft. Retracing their steps took them back through Stocksbridge and the Don Valley as described in Ivanhoe, back to Penistone, Denby Dale, Kirkburton, Wakefield and Barnsdale in the Calder Valley.


PENISTONE
The administrative boundary for Penistone includes Langsett Moors not far from the “Royal Forest of the Peak” which was good because the inhabitants would not be prosecuted for poaching under forest law and neither would they be prosecuted for such minor offences as collecting firewood. Being a market town there are many ancient tracks and packhorse routes that converged onto Penistone from a wide area including Longdendale, Holmfirth, Hope Valley, Sheffield, Huddersfield, Wakefield, the saltway from Cheshire, and Wharncliff Woods, the River Don, and Wortley which are mentioned in Ivanhoe as being the haunt of the famous outlaw.

In the Royal Forest were bears, wolves, wild bulls, red deer and boars, as well as wild duck, pheasants and partridges. In King John’s time large studs of horses were maintained for the hunt in the booths around Edale. Medieval kings used Peveril Castle as a Hunting Lodge and in 1184 stampeding deer trampled men and dogs to death, such was their number.

Poaching in the Royal Forest was rife and among those caught poaching were Sir Thomas Furnival, lord of Sheffield. William de Ferrers, Earl of Derby, Ralph de Beaufoy of Trusley, Richard Curzon, Henry de Elton, and William May the Earl’s huntsman who took 1000 deer during the six years when Earl Derby was Chief Bailiff (1216-1222).

The Royal Forest covered 180 square miles and Edale Cross near Winn Hill marked its centre. The cross also marked the boundary of land given to the Abbey of the Cistercian Order. The abbey was founded by Ranulph de Gernon, 2nd Earl of Chester who has been linked to Robin Hood in the rhyme written ca. 1360–1387, “I do not know my Paternoster perfectly as the priest sings it. But I know the rhymes of Robin Hood and Ranulf Earl of Chester." This was written at the time of the peasants Revolt when Robin Hood in the above pardon was active. The Abbey of Basingwerke was given the manor of Glossop by King Henry II and the hilltop “Monks' Road” is a reminder of their presence in the valley.

Also in Derwent Valley were the monks of Welbeck Abbey. They built four chapels and two bridges which were located so that wherever they were working they would always be reasonably close to a chapel for their devotions. The only condition in their charter was that between mid April and the 24 July the Canons were to keep their cattle away from the nesting places of King John’s sparrow hawks. Interestingly Welbeck Abbey is not far from Edwinstow and the Major Oak in Sherwood Forest.
When Robin Hood was outlawed Roger Dodsworth tells us he fled to the woods and it is likely he will have passed through Penistone along one of the many paths on his way to the Calder Valley where he met Little John near Barnsdale thus marking the beginning of his illustrious career that made him so famous.


DENBY DALE
Due to the Local Government Act of 1972 Denby Dale became Kirklees Metropolitan District Council on 1 April 1974. The name ‘Kirklees’ (meaning ‘Church Meadow’) is taken from the ruined Kirklees Priory, north of Huddersfield where Robin Hood is reputed to be buried. This small Cistercian priory of Kirklees was founded in 1155AD during the reign of Henry II by Reiner le Fleming, lord of the manor of Wath-upon-Dearne. Life will have been fairly uneventful until the Black Death, when among those who died of the plague were Robert Hood of Wakefield, his next-door neighbour and attorney Thomas Alayn, also William of Goldesborough and others. They were buried in the cemetery of the priory where the Prioress layed "a very fayre stone" with all their names engraved.

In 1542 John Leyland who was antiquary (historian) to Henry VIII and who travelled widely in England and Wales keeping records of all kinds of antiquities went to Kirklees where he recorded the grave as 'monasterum monialum ubi Ro:Hood nobilis ille exlex sepultus.' Which roughly translated means, "Resting under this monument lies buried Robin Hood that nobleman who was beyond the law."

Then in 1562 Richard Grafton who was the printer to King Henry VIII visited Kirklees and wrote:- "But in an olde and ancient Pamphlet I find this written of the sayd Robert Hood. This man (sayth he) descended of a nobel parentage: or rather being of a base stock and linage, was for his manhood and chivalry advanced to the noble dignity of an Earle. Excelling principally in Archery, or shooting, his manly courage agreeing thereunto: But afterwards he so prodigally exceeded in charges and expenses, that he fell into great debt, by reason whereof, so many actions and sutes were commenced against him, wherunto he answered not, that by order of law he was outlawed, and then for a lewde shift, as his last refuge, gathered together a company of Roysters and Cutters, and practised robberyes and spoiling of the Kong's subjects, and occupied and frequented the Forests or Wilde Countries. The which beyng certified to the King, and he beyng greatly offended therewith, caused his proclamation to be made that whosoever would bring him quick or dead, the king would give him a great sum of money, as by the records in the Exchequer is to be seen: But of this promise, no man enjoyed any benefit. For the sayd Robert Hood, beyng afterwards troubled with sickness, came to a certain Nunnery in Yorkshire called Bircklies, where desiring to be let blood, he was betrayed and bled to death. After whose death the Prioress of the same place caused him to be buried by the high way side, where he had used to rob and spoyle those that passed that way. And upon his grave the sayde Prioress did lay a very fayre stone, wherin the names of Robert Hood, William of Goldesborough and others were graven. And the cause why she buried him there was for that the common passengers and travellers knowing and seeing him there buried, might more safely and without fear take their journeys that way, which they durst not do in the life of the sayd outlaws. And at ether end of the sayde Tomb was erected a cross of stone, which is to be seen there at this present (1569, pp. 84-85)."

In 1850 Sir George Armytage II placed a headstone with a date 1247 and an epitaph which when translated into modern English reads: "Robert Earl of Huntingdon lies under this little stone. No archer was like him so good; his wildness named him ROBIN HOOD. For thirteen years, and something more, these northern parts he vexed sore. Such outlaws as he and his men, may England never know again. 8th November 1247."

KIRKBURTON

The local railway line from Penistone passes through the Robin Hood tunnel at Berry Brow which has long been the site of a house named after Robin Hood on the lower slopes of the prehistoric mound of Castle Hill near Almondbury.
After the Norman Conquest of 1066, the area became part of the Honour of Pontefract held by the De-Lacy family and interestingly Roger de Lacy was the Sheriff of Nottingham in 1190 and the Constable of Chester working alongside Ranulfe, earl of Chester.

The three years of rebellion following the Conquest ended when the Conqueror pursued his favourite scorched earth policy in the "Harrowing of the North" during the winter of 1069/70 when houses were burnt to the ground, cattle were seized and driven away, agricultural implements were destroyed along with the crops, and it is reckoned a hundred and fifty thousand people died. Large areas were completely devastated and became the hunting grounds of the Norman lords, the remnants of which can be seen today with the massive Royal Forest of the Peak a short distance away to the west of Holmfirth over which the Sheriff of Nottingham had jurisdiction.

The ancient footpaths provided Robin and his men with ready access around Yorkshire and into the Royal Forest which was administered by the Sheriff of Nottingham from his base at Peveril Castle in Castleton when he was in Derbyshire. The result was that Robin and his men came into conflict with both the sheriff of Nottingham when they were in Peak Forest and Hathersage and the sheriff of Yorkshire three of whom had also been the sheriffs of Nottingham. Roger de Lacy, a Yorkshireman, makes four Nottingham sheriffs in Yorkshire. No doubt this is one of the reasons Robin warned his men about the sheriffs saying, “These bishops and these archbishops, ye shall them beat and bind; the high sheriff of Nottingham, him hold ye in your mind.”
Robin may have had good reason to warn his men against the sheriffs particularly the sheriffs of Nottingham who were chosen for their powerful personalities, strong spirits, and cruel behaviour. They excelled as military men and fighters and acted as administrators and governors keeping the populace in order and raising taxes. Among them were Philip Marc whose actions Professor Holt informs us included ‘robbery, false arrest, unjust disseisin (wrongful dispossession) and persistent attacks on local landed interests.’ Other particularly harsh sheriffs were Robert-de-Vieuxpont, Hubert-de-Burgh, Philip Oldcoates, Brian-de-Lisle and John-de-Oxford who stole wheat, barley, oats, malt and oxen which he sold back to their owners for his own profit. He punished those who took part in the Peasants Revolt with heavy fines and outlawry. These were difficult times and the discontent and outrage of the populace which had been simmering away since the Norman Conquest finally came to a head in the Peasants Revolt. Little wonder that those who opposed these men became a hero in the eyes of the people, the most famous of whom was known as Robin Hood.


FINIS