I was asked to write a short piece for a local newsletter and was given an outline to follow. It taxed the brain but this is how it turned out, sometimes these
things write themselves regardless of your own thoughts, I don't know if any of you have ever felt that? Anyway I would appreciate your constructive
comments. Thanks.
"Robin Hood is said to have fought injustice and there was an example of that near to where he grew up. Ughill Hall which goes back to the time of Edward the Confessor (1042-1066) is grand enough to have been the home of the Saxon Lord of the Manor. After the Norman Conquest the Hall was given by Roger-de-Busli to the brothers Rudolph, Augustine, and William Marriott whose name derived from the town of Marriott in Normandy. They will have replaced the existing Saxon lord.
The land (Hallamshire) had previously belonged to Waltheof, the Earl of Huntingdon and after his death at the hands of the Conqueror Hallamshire reverted to Waltheof's wife Judith who was the niece of William the Conqueror, whereupon Judith gave Hallamshire into the possession of Roger-de-Buslie in sub-feudatory. Once dispossessed the Saxon lord had no alternative but to live in the forest becoming known as "silvatici" (a forest dweller) and in this way an entire layer of native population was dispossessed and outlawed in one fell swoop.
Robin lived with his mother and stepfather who owned land in Normandale which they farmed from Little Haggas Croft. Robin became an outlaw when he fatally injured his stepfather whilst ploughing in their fields near Loxley Common. If this man had been the Norman Lord of the Manor it would help explain Robin's popularity with the populace. His mother hid him from the authorities and continued to work the land while Robin clandestinely helped his mother eke out a living by poaching the deer that belonged to the Abbot of Beauchief in nearby Rivelin Firth before making his way to the Calder Valley in Barnsdale where he met John Little and formed his band of "merry men."
The Royal Forest of the Peak near Loxley was administered from Peveril Castle by the Sheriffs of Nottingham. Here was to be found the best hunting in England outside the New Forest and it was perhaps due to Robin's skill as an archer and poacher that he became well known to the Sheriffs of Nottingham some of whom later became sheriffs of Yorkshire.
Meanwhile in the nearby Royal Forest of the Peak were some of England's most powerful men among whom were Bishop Robert Purseglove who was Henry VIII's chancellor. Robert Lytton was Under-Treasurer of England in the reign of Henry VI and although they were too late for Robin Hood non-the -less we can see the calibre and wealth of people living in the Royal Forest. William Briewere was the great Justiciar in the reigns of Richard I and King John. Also owing property in Peak Forest was Ranulf, earl of Chester while other notable figures included Thurstan de Bower who held knight service to King Edward III and was Shield-bearer to Lord Furnival. Sir Sampson Meveril associated with outlaws and Roger-de-Bellers was the baron of the exchequer and the Lord of Hathersage.
Archery is a skill that is best learnt while young and it may well be here in Loxley where Robin gained his expertise with the bow perhaps taught to him by some of the greatest archers in the land who will have travelled along Ben Lane via Leppings Lane to get to Peveril Castle either for the jousting or as in the case of King John, King Henry II, King Henry III, Edward III, and Simon de Montfort for the hunting. They will have been accompanied by their vast retinue.
Sparrow Hawks were bred for King John as were horses for hunting in the Booths around Castleton. When deer stampeded in 1184AD there were so many that men and dogs were trampled to death. People caught poaching in the Royal Forest included Adam de Langar, Ralf, his son, of Bradfield. John Revel of Dungworth. Roger Got of Bradfield. William de Bosco of Bradfield. Walter fil William de Oggele, in Halamshire. Roger fil Henry de Oxcroft, in Halamshire. Hugo le Hunt of Bradfield. Members of the clergy included the Rector of Manchester and the Vicar of Sheffield! Roger de Wesham, Bishop of Chester, and Adam de Stamphord, Archdeacon, and William, Vicar of Glossop.
When we consider the magnificent hunting and the wealth of the people who passed that way not forgetting the merchants, clergy, and nobility whose journey took them past Loxley Common and Little Haggas Croft then it should come as no surprise that Loxley truly was an outlaw's paradise."
FOOTNOTE
As its name would suggest Normandale was settled by the Normans and Ughill Hall which goes back to the time of Edward the Confessor (1042-1066) was given by Roger-de-Busli to the brothers Rudolph, Augustine, and William Marriott whose name derived from the town of Marriott in Normandy, their descendants remaining at Ughill for several hundred years as around 1647 John Marriott was both fined and plundered by the Royalists of Sheffield Castle and in the front wall of Ughill Hall was a stone tablet with Thomas Marriott 1697.
"Robin Hood is said to have fought injustice and there was an example of that near to where he grew up. Ughill Hall which goes back to the time of Edward the Confessor (1042-1066) is grand enough to have been the home of the Saxon Lord of the Manor. After the Norman Conquest the Hall was given by Roger-de-Busli to the brothers Rudolph, Augustine, and William Marriott whose name derived from the town of Marriott in Normandy. They will have replaced the existing Saxon lord.
The land (Hallamshire) had previously belonged to Waltheof, the Earl of Huntingdon and after his death at the hands of the Conqueror Hallamshire reverted to Waltheof's wife Judith who was the niece of William the Conqueror, whereupon Judith gave Hallamshire into the possession of Roger-de-Buslie in sub-feudatory. Once dispossessed the Saxon lord had no alternative but to live in the forest becoming known as "silvatici" (a forest dweller) and in this way an entire layer of native population was dispossessed and outlawed in one fell swoop.
Robin lived with his mother and stepfather who owned land in Normandale which they farmed from Little Haggas Croft. Robin became an outlaw when he fatally injured his stepfather whilst ploughing in their fields near Loxley Common. If this man had been the Norman Lord of the Manor it would help explain Robin's popularity with the populace. His mother hid him from the authorities and continued to work the land while Robin clandestinely helped his mother eke out a living by poaching the deer that belonged to the Abbot of Beauchief in nearby Rivelin Firth before making his way to the Calder Valley in Barnsdale where he met John Little and formed his band of "merry men."
The Royal Forest of the Peak near Loxley was administered from Peveril Castle by the Sheriffs of Nottingham. Here was to be found the best hunting in England outside the New Forest and it was perhaps due to Robin's skill as an archer and poacher that he became well known to the Sheriffs of Nottingham some of whom later became sheriffs of Yorkshire.
Meanwhile in the nearby Royal Forest of the Peak were some of England's most powerful men among whom were Bishop Robert Purseglove who was Henry VIII's chancellor. Robert Lytton was Under-Treasurer of England in the reign of Henry VI and although they were too late for Robin Hood non-the -less we can see the calibre and wealth of people living in the Royal Forest. William Briewere was the great Justiciar in the reigns of Richard I and King John. Also owing property in Peak Forest was Ranulf, earl of Chester while other notable figures included Thurstan de Bower who held knight service to King Edward III and was Shield-bearer to Lord Furnival. Sir Sampson Meveril associated with outlaws and Roger-de-Bellers was the baron of the exchequer and the Lord of Hathersage.
Archery is a skill that is best learnt while young and it may well be here in Loxley where Robin gained his expertise with the bow perhaps taught to him by some of the greatest archers in the land who will have travelled along Ben Lane via Leppings Lane to get to Peveril Castle either for the jousting or as in the case of King John, King Henry II, King Henry III, Edward III, and Simon de Montfort for the hunting. They will have been accompanied by their vast retinue.
Sparrow Hawks were bred for King John as were horses for hunting in the Booths around Castleton. When deer stampeded in 1184AD there were so many that men and dogs were trampled to death. People caught poaching in the Royal Forest included Adam de Langar, Ralf, his son, of Bradfield. John Revel of Dungworth. Roger Got of Bradfield. William de Bosco of Bradfield. Walter fil William de Oggele, in Halamshire. Roger fil Henry de Oxcroft, in Halamshire. Hugo le Hunt of Bradfield. Members of the clergy included the Rector of Manchester and the Vicar of Sheffield! Roger de Wesham, Bishop of Chester, and Adam de Stamphord, Archdeacon, and William, Vicar of Glossop.
When we consider the magnificent hunting and the wealth of the people who passed that way not forgetting the merchants, clergy, and nobility whose journey took them past Loxley Common and Little Haggas Croft then it should come as no surprise that Loxley truly was an outlaw's paradise."
FOOTNOTE
As its name would suggest Normandale was settled by the Normans and Ughill Hall which goes back to the time of Edward the Confessor (1042-1066) was given by Roger-de-Busli to the brothers Rudolph, Augustine, and William Marriott whose name derived from the town of Marriott in Normandy, their descendants remaining at Ughill for several hundred years as around 1647 John Marriott was both fined and plundered by the Royalists of Sheffield Castle and in the front wall of Ughill Hall was a stone tablet with Thomas Marriott 1697.
