Robin Hood a.k.a. Robin of Loxley
Young Robin began life in the foothills of the Pennine Mountain range, where trees provided shelter from the wind and kindling for the fire. Deer roamed in Loxley Chase, sheep meandered over hills, and grouse hatched their eggs in the heather.
Having the time to wander with his bow by his side, Robin became one of the best archers ever. His prowess with the bow, along with a lively wit, sense of humour, and compassion for others, earned Robin a reputation for being a friend of those in need.
Being a people person, Robin got involved in the 1381 Peasant Revolt in York. King Richard hanged thousands of poll tax protesters, but after Robin paid a massive fine, the king pardoned him. His pardon reads, “Robert Hode, also known as Robert Dore of Waddeslay in the county of Yorkshire, received the King’s pardon on May 22nd, 1382.” It gives his trade as a litster (a dyer of cloth).
Sheffield Deer Park is one of the largest in England. It continues to “Bowden Houstead Wood,” in Handsworth, the Greenwood home of Robert Hode and his wife Agnes. (Poll Tax Records, 1379) When Robin died, “Agnes inherited all the houses her brother Sir Will Hodge had bought from Robert, the outlaw.”
There were three coal mines in Handsworth: Bramley Hall No.2, Orgreave, and Handsworth Nunnery. They connect underground and are evidence of a dense, ancient greenwood. Trees provided timber for house-building, and they had stone in Bowden Houstead quarry. (Ordnance Survey map, 1853).
Over the years, houses replaced trees, and coal miners constructed an open-air swimming pool in the woods. Sadly, now gone forever, buried beneath the new Sheffield Parkway. Urban sprawl included the Asda supermarket, and the last houses built in this ancient forest were on the Triangle Estate. Street names in recognition of the estate’s origin are Larch Hill, Willow Drive, Maple Grove, Alder Lane, and Chestnut Avenue. Main Road became known as Handsworth Road.
An example of urbanisation is the Norfolk Park housing estate, and the “Moor” is the principal shopping street in Sheffield city centre. The name reminds us of a time before tarmac. Robin’s green and pleasant land, sad to say, is gone forever.
HANDSWORTH POLL TAX REVOLT
Coal, a necessary part of the steel-making process, was vital to village life. It provided work for the miners and paid their wages until Margaret Thatcher became Prime Minister. She intended to introduce the poll tax and close the mines. It dealt a double whammy to the villagers. When Richard II introduced the poll tax, people rioted. Now, it needed to be done again hundreds of years later. Margaret Thatcher drafted around 6,000 police officers into Handsworth. They had dogs, riot gear, vans, Range Rovers, and horses. King Richard had his elite Cheshire archers. Taking up the challenge, the unarmed miners from Robin’s Greenwood gave it their best shot and did what their ancestors did back then, and they won. Fantastic!
ROBIN'S STORY CONTINUES ON THE NEXT PAGE, CLICK HERE
NOTES:
In his exact and perfect survey of the Manor of Sheffield and other lands, published in 1637, the surveyor wrote, “William Green, one of my lord’s keepers, held these parcels of land: No. 352: Imprimis Great Haggas Croft, near Robin Hood’s Bower, surrounded by Loxley Firth, contains 1 acre 2 roods, and 27 square perches. Item: Little Haggas Croft, the foundation of a house or cottage, the birthplace of Robin Hood. Loxley Firth encompasses this piece, containing two roods and 13 square perches.”
“Locational surnames such as Robin of Loxley identify those who left their birthplace to settle elsewhere.” (Surname database)
H. Smith, in The Place Names of the West Riding of Yorkshire, notes: “This is the Loxley associated with the Robin Hood ballads.” (English Place-Name Society, vols. XXX-XXXVII), Cambridge University Press, 2004.
The ballad Robin Hood and the Monk dates from 1450. “Robin Hood and the Sheriff of Nottingham” to 1472, and “A Gest of Robin Hood” from 1475.
In January 1618, after visiting Robert Armitage III of Kirklees, Roger Dodsworth, an outstanding mediaeval chronicler, went to a local church and wrote, “Robin Hood, born in the Bradfield Parish of Hallamshire, wounded his stepfather to death at the plough and fled into the woods, where his mother sustained him until discovered. Then he went to Clifton-upon-Calder (Kirklees), where he became acquainted with Little John, who kept the kine. This John lies buried at Hathersage in Derbyshire, where he has a fair tombstone with an inscription. Mr Long said Fabyan said Little John was Earl Huntley’s son, after which Robin joined with Much the Miller’s son.” (Bodleian Library MS. Dodsw. 160, fol. 64r.)
Huntly, the birthplace of Little John was the ancestral home of the chief of Clan Gordon, the Earl of Huntly. Sir Alexander Gordon fought at the Battle of Halidon Hill in 1333 and was the first Gordon of Huntly. Little John’s cap and bow were in Hathersage Church, high in the roof space, safe from thieving hands. Within the author’s lifetime, someone moved the bow and cap to Cannon Hall, and now he is told they are in Scotland with Clan Gorden.
Mr Fabyan and Mr Long were clothiers. Robert Fabyan, a historian and chronicler, was the ideal person to compile “The Little Geste of Robin Hood,” a book that features cloth.
The Chapelry of Wadsley includes Loxley, Hillsborough, Oughtibridge, Middlewood, Worrall, and Holdsworth, an area of over eight square miles.
Courts identified convicted robbers with the word “Robin Hood” or a corruption of it. Professor Holt tells us William Robehod of the plea roll, the son of Robert le Fevere, was a convicted robber, meaning William Robehod, whose real name was William, i.e., Fevere, was a convicted robber. Hundreds of Robin Hoods roamed the land, accounting for the numerous Robin Hood candidates.
The Lord of Handsworth Manor before the Conquest was Torchil (or Turchil), although after the Conquest, Robert, Count of Mortain, the half-brother of William the Conqueror, took over the lordship of Handsworth, or ‘Hanesuurde’ as it was back then. The manor then passed by marriage to the Paynel and Lovetot families, and William de Lovetot built Handsworth parish church in c. 1170. Not to be confused with St. Mary’s Church in Handsworth, Birmingham. Both the churches of Saint Mary in York and Saint Mary in Handsworth were “Royal Peculiar Churches” maintained for the use of the reigning monarch. Robin would have known both.
Credit goes to David Pilling and Rob Lyndley for finding the pardon.Copyright © 2020, Graham Kirkby, all rights reserved NEXT PAGE
A clip of snowbound Loxley Common is HERE.
Having the time to wander with his bow by his side, Robin became one of the best archers ever. His prowess with the bow, along with a lively wit, sense of humour, and compassion for others, earned Robin a reputation for being a friend of those in need.
Being a people person, Robin got involved in the 1381 Peasant Revolt in York. King Richard hanged thousands of poll tax protesters, but after Robin paid a massive fine, the king pardoned him. His pardon reads, “Robert Hode, also known as Robert Dore of Waddeslay in the county of Yorkshire, received the King’s pardon on May 22nd, 1382.” It gives his trade as a litster (a dyer of cloth).
Sheffield Deer Park is one of the largest in England. It continues to “Bowden Houstead Wood,” in Handsworth, the Greenwood home of Robert Hode and his wife Agnes. (Poll Tax Records, 1379) When Robin died, “Agnes inherited all the houses her brother Sir Will Hodge had bought from Robert, the outlaw.”
There were three coal mines in Handsworth: Bramley Hall No.2, Orgreave, and Handsworth Nunnery. They connect underground and are evidence of a dense, ancient greenwood. Trees provided timber for house-building, and they had stone in Bowden Houstead quarry. (Ordnance Survey map, 1853).
Over the years, houses replaced trees, and coal miners constructed an open-air swimming pool in the woods. Sadly, now gone forever, buried beneath the new Sheffield Parkway. Urban sprawl included the Asda supermarket, and the last houses built in this ancient forest were on the Triangle Estate. Street names in recognition of the estate’s origin are Larch Hill, Willow Drive, Maple Grove, Alder Lane, and Chestnut Avenue. Main Road became known as Handsworth Road.
An example of urbanisation is the Norfolk Park housing estate, and the “Moor” is the principal shopping street in Sheffield city centre. The name reminds us of a time before tarmac. Robin’s green and pleasant land, sad to say, is gone forever.
HANDSWORTH POLL TAX REVOLT
Coal, a necessary part of the steel-making process, was vital to village life. It provided work for the miners and paid their wages until Margaret Thatcher became Prime Minister. She intended to introduce the poll tax and close the mines. It dealt a double whammy to the villagers. When Richard II introduced the poll tax, people rioted. Now, it needed to be done again hundreds of years later. Margaret Thatcher drafted around 6,000 police officers into Handsworth. They had dogs, riot gear, vans, Range Rovers, and horses. King Richard had his elite Cheshire archers. Taking up the challenge, the unarmed miners from Robin’s Greenwood gave it their best shot and did what their ancestors did back then, and they won. Fantastic!
ROBIN'S STORY CONTINUES ON THE NEXT PAGE, CLICK HERE
NOTES:
In his exact and perfect survey of the Manor of Sheffield and other lands, published in 1637, the surveyor wrote, “William Green, one of my lord’s keepers, held these parcels of land: No. 352: Imprimis Great Haggas Croft, near Robin Hood’s Bower, surrounded by Loxley Firth, contains 1 acre 2 roods, and 27 square perches. Item: Little Haggas Croft, the foundation of a house or cottage, the birthplace of Robin Hood. Loxley Firth encompasses this piece, containing two roods and 13 square perches.”
“Locational surnames such as Robin of Loxley identify those who left their birthplace to settle elsewhere.” (Surname database)
H. Smith, in The Place Names of the West Riding of Yorkshire, notes: “This is the Loxley associated with the Robin Hood ballads.” (English Place-Name Society, vols. XXX-XXXVII), Cambridge University Press, 2004.
The ballad Robin Hood and the Monk dates from 1450. “Robin Hood and the Sheriff of Nottingham” to 1472, and “A Gest of Robin Hood” from 1475.
In January 1618, after visiting Robert Armitage III of Kirklees, Roger Dodsworth, an outstanding mediaeval chronicler, went to a local church and wrote, “Robin Hood, born in the Bradfield Parish of Hallamshire, wounded his stepfather to death at the plough and fled into the woods, where his mother sustained him until discovered. Then he went to Clifton-upon-Calder (Kirklees), where he became acquainted with Little John, who kept the kine. This John lies buried at Hathersage in Derbyshire, where he has a fair tombstone with an inscription. Mr Long said Fabyan said Little John was Earl Huntley’s son, after which Robin joined with Much the Miller’s son.” (Bodleian Library MS. Dodsw. 160, fol. 64r.)
Huntly, the birthplace of Little John was the ancestral home of the chief of Clan Gordon, the Earl of Huntly. Sir Alexander Gordon fought at the Battle of Halidon Hill in 1333 and was the first Gordon of Huntly. Little John’s cap and bow were in Hathersage Church, high in the roof space, safe from thieving hands. Within the author’s lifetime, someone moved the bow and cap to Cannon Hall, and now he is told they are in Scotland with Clan Gorden.
Mr Fabyan and Mr Long were clothiers. Robert Fabyan, a historian and chronicler, was the ideal person to compile “The Little Geste of Robin Hood,” a book that features cloth.
The Chapelry of Wadsley includes Loxley, Hillsborough, Oughtibridge, Middlewood, Worrall, and Holdsworth, an area of over eight square miles.
Courts identified convicted robbers with the word “Robin Hood” or a corruption of it. Professor Holt tells us William Robehod of the plea roll, the son of Robert le Fevere, was a convicted robber, meaning William Robehod, whose real name was William, i.e., Fevere, was a convicted robber. Hundreds of Robin Hoods roamed the land, accounting for the numerous Robin Hood candidates.
The Lord of Handsworth Manor before the Conquest was Torchil (or Turchil), although after the Conquest, Robert, Count of Mortain, the half-brother of William the Conqueror, took over the lordship of Handsworth, or ‘Hanesuurde’ as it was back then. The manor then passed by marriage to the Paynel and Lovetot families, and William de Lovetot built Handsworth parish church in c. 1170. Not to be confused with St. Mary’s Church in Handsworth, Birmingham. Both the churches of Saint Mary in York and Saint Mary in Handsworth were “Royal Peculiar Churches” maintained for the use of the reigning monarch. Robin would have known both.
Credit goes to David Pilling and Rob Lyndley for finding the pardon.Copyright © 2020, Graham Kirkby, all rights reserved NEXT PAGE
A clip of snowbound Loxley Common is HERE.