Barnsdale the Setting of the Ballads
Barnsdale, or Barnsdale Forest, shown by the circle, was much larger than it is today. It has a rich history steeped in folklore and lies in the immediate vicinity north and north-west of Doncaster. It was formerly forested and a place of royal hunts and was also renowned as a haunt of the outlaw Robin Hood in early medieval ballads.
Formally an administrative area in itself, Barnsdale has at different points in history come under the jurisdiction of the counties of Nottinghamshire, Lincolnshire, Derbyshire, and Yorkshire.
Barnsdale no longer exists as an administrative region. Villages which once resided in the central and southern part of Barnsdale are now classed as part of South Yorkshire and come under the administration of Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster. Villages and hamlets that once resided in the north of Barnsdale now lie within the City of Wakefield metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire.
The small South Yorkshire village of Hampole is generally considered to lie within the dead centre of what was once the Barnsdale Forest area. It is recorded that Richard Rolle (1300-1349), the famous Latin and English religious writer and Bible translator, spent his final years at Hampole as a hermit, secluded in the dense forest.
The area was once thick woodland, rich with game and deer; and the monarchs of England are sometimes recorded as having gone on royal hunts in the Barnsdale forest. It is believed that at some point in the early medieval era, Barnsdale Forest was probably huge and may have covered most of South Yorkshire (in the same manner as Sherwood Forest probably once covered most of Nottinghamshire). It is possible that the large town of Barnsley, some fifteen kilometres to the west of Hampole, probably got the name from the forest.
Barnsdale Bar is the site of the junction of the A1 (the historic Great North Road), the A639, and Wrangbrook Lane, Woodfield Road and Long Lane (junction 38 of the A1). Now motorway services lie on the site. It is six miles north-west of Doncaster.
All that now exists of Barnsdale Forest is small gatherings of trees at the side of the A1 motorway at Barnsdale Bar. There is however a wooded area around a half a mile wide, lying around a mile south of Hampole. It is called Hampole Wood, and although a small wood, the trees there may be direct descendants of the trees of Barndale Forest. The same could be said of the woodland that resides around a nearby stately home, Brodsworth Hall.
Picture: Medieval Watling Street at Barnsdale
In the earliest medieval ballads of Robin Hood, the 'bold outlaw' is stated as having made Barnsdale Forest his abode and base of operations (as an example, see A Gest of Robyn Hode [1]). This is in direct contradiction of what many believe - that Robin Hood resided in Sherwood Forest, some fifty miles to the south of Barnsdale, in Nottinghamshire. Some believe that this is evidence of a historical Robin Hood who was a Yorkshireman. However it is possible that the two forests were so large that they conjoined together at this period in history; indeed, the two forests may even have been one great forest in this respect.
There is also Robin Hood's Well, a small monument (apparently designed by John Vanbrugh) lying right next to the A1 between the Red House junction and Barnsdale Bar; in between the villages of Skelbrooke and Burghwallis. It was however moved around 1960 when the junction was being constructed, so the real well is now beneath the A1.
Yet another well - Little John's Well - lies to the west of Hampole, between Wrangbrook and Skelbrooke (but closer to the latter). It is also called Little John's Cave. Situated by the A638, to the west of Barnsdale, it was once engraved with the outlaws' name but is now derelict.
In Hanging Wood, also known as Highfields Wood, which lies between Hampole and Highfields, is a small stream known as Robin Hood's stream springs from underneath the Roman Road and runs into the Pick burn. (From a Wikipedia article)
Notes.
1. The Encyclopedia Britannica says, "The authentic Robin Hood ballads were the poetic expression of popular aspirations in the north of England during a turbulent era of baronial rebellions and agrarian discontent. This culminated in the Poll Tax Riots of 1381 when the peasants revolted and the stories of the free but persecuted outlaw who enjoyed the forbidden hunting of the forest and outwitted or killed the forces of law and order naturally appealed to the downtrodden populace."
2. An inquisition following the death of Thomas de Furnival in 1332 found that his ancestors had held the manor of Sheffield "of the King of Scotland" meaning that Ranulf, Earl of Chester and others held the land "in sub-feudatory" to the Earls of Huntingdon who were the Tenants-in-Chief.
3. The paternoster is a reference to the Lords Prayer and saying the Psalter (all the 150 Psalms) was a popular devotion in monastic communities. Experts speculate that as monasteries took in more lay brethren who were illiterate, then saying the "Lords Prayer" 150 times for these individuals was easier than memorising all the 150 different Psalms. (Gribble: 19-20)
4. Robin Hood otherwise known as Robert Dore of Wadsley was outlawed for his part in the Peasants Revolt. Then, through marriage the Everingham¡¯s of Birkin and Stainborough in Yorkshire and Laxton in Nottinghamshire became the owners of Wadsley Hall and its possessions which included Loxley.
5. Great importance was placed on memory skills and in 380BC Plato said, "If men learn writing, it will implant forgetfulness in their souls; Pursuing they will cease to exercise memory because they rely on that which is written." The early rhymes of Robin Hood were printed only about two hundred years after the actual events and no doubt some of the material came down via the oral tradition which was a common source of material for such worthy chroniclers as Dodsworth and Leland and is the source of much of the world¡¯s early history. Plato not only reminds us that this was normal but he commended its practise.
6. To clear up a common twentieth-century misconception the word "Merrie" as in "Robin Hood and his Merry Men comes from the Anglo-Saxon, "m©«ra" meaning famous, illustrious, great, mighty, etc. It has been misinterpreted to mean "gay."
7. For centuries the mythical Green Man had been celebrated in the spring rites along with Robin Goodfellow and the later fictional romantic figures of the French shepherd and shepherdess Robin and Marian. Then Robin Hood became a part of the May Games in the fifteenth century (Professor Holt) and this has caused people to take Robin Hood back into the mist of time. Unfortunately this is unlikely as it has not been possible to find documentary evidence for Robin Hood¡¯s existence earlier than 1266AD.
8. Ranulf, Earl of Chester held nearby Blyth Castle, David the Earl of Huntingdon was its overlord and David's sister Margaret of Huntingdon became the 'Countess of Hereford' after marrying the Bishop.
