Barnsdale

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Barnsdale
Robin Hood's Well - geograph.org.uk - 237619.jpg
Robin Hood's Well is on the east of the southbound carriageway of the A1, about 1 mile south of Barnsdale Bar.
South Yorkshire UK location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Barnsdale
Location within South Yorkshire
OS grid reference SE508136
Metropolitan borough
Metropolitan county
Region
Country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town DONCASTER
Postcode district DN6
Dialling code 01302
Police South Yorkshire
Fire South Yorkshire
Ambulance Yorkshire
List of places
UK
England
Yorkshire
53°37′03″N1°13′53″W / 53.617533°N 1.231403°W / 53.617533; -1.231403

Barnsdale, or Barnsdale Forest, is an area of South and West Yorkshire, England. The area falls within the modern-day districts of Doncaster and Wakefield. Barnsdale was historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire. [1] Barnsdale is commonly assoicated with Robin Hood.

Contents

Geography

Barnsdale historically falls within the West Riding of Yorkshire. [1] As there is no village or parish with the name Barnsdale, the area does not have clear boundaries. [2] [3]

Barnsdale Wood is an ancient woodland covering and is part of the Rutland Water Site of Special Scientific Interest, the area was partly destroyed by the construction of a reservoir with 69 acres (28 ha) remaining. [4]

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). Bar refers to where there was previously a toll gate, now a service station lies just north of the junction, about eight miles north-northwest of Doncaster. [5] There a three limestone quarries nearby, and archeological digs at the site have turned up materials dating back to the Iron Age and Neolithic eras. [6]

Barnsdale Forest refers to the area south of Barnsdale Bar. Despite the name, archeological evidences suggests historically the area was predominantly an agricultural landscape of enclosures, trackways and feilds; rather than being covered entirely with trees. The name may derive from the medieval legal sense of "Forest" meaning an area designated for hunting. [5] Maps from 1579 and 1610 do show small enclosed areas of woodland in Rutland, one of which is labelled Barnsdale, that were created for hunting and would have been enclosed by earth banks and wooden palings. [2]

Notable structures

Connections between the Barnsdale area and the Robin Hood legend

Golf course in Barnsdale The grounds of Barnsdale Hall and hotel - geograph.org.uk - 1276502.jpg
Golf course in Barnsdale

In the earliest medieval ballads of Robin Hood, which date from the fifteenth century, the outlaw is stated as having made Barnsdale Forest his abode and base of operations (for example, in "Robin Hood and Guy of Gisbourne", and in "A Gest of Robyn Hode" [8] ). Notable locations within the forest of Barnsdale which are directly related to the Robin Hood legend include the villages of Wentbridge and Campsall.

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. However, it was moved around 1960 when the junction was being constructed, so the real well is actually beneath the A1. [9]

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 outlaw's name, but is now derelict.

South of Barnsdale Bar, the A1 follows the old Roman Road of Ermine Street – north of Barnsdale Bar the A639 follows the course of the Roman Road more closely whilst the A1 follows a more recent route. Several villages and geological features along this route are mentioned in the early ballads of Robin Hood as being places the outlaw would visit. The town of Doncaster, farther south, is not mentioned directly, but is referred to by the names of David of Doncaster, a Merry Man in Robin Hood and the Golden Arrow , and Roger of Doncaster, a villain involved in Robin's murder in A Gest of Robyn Hode and Robin Hood's Death .

In Hanging Wood, also known as Highfields Wood, which lies between Hampole and Highfields, 53°33′39.96″N1°11′58.68″W / 53.5611000°N 1.1996333°W / 53.5611000; -1.1996333 a small stream known as Robin Hood's stream springs from underneath the Roman Road and runs into the Pick Burn.

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Campsall is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Norton, in the Doncaster district, in the county of South Yorkshire, England. It lies 7 miles (11 km) to the north-west of Doncaster, at an elevation of around 50 feet above sea level. The village contains Campsall Country Park. The village falls within the Norton & Askern ward of Doncaster Council and the House of Commons constituency of Doncaster North. The Parish is situated on the “Magnesian Limestone Belt”, a landscape feature formed by a narrow north–south trending escarpment. The Magnesian Limestone Belt is typified by well drained and fertile soils, which were ideal for agriculture and the establishment of settlements like Campsall. Before the industrial revolution, the area to the east was occupied by the inaccessible and waterlogged marshes of the Humberhead Levels, whilst to the west was the Barnsdale Forest, an area associated with the legend of Robin Hood and various outlaws and bandits who preyed upon travellers on the Great North Road. In 1931 the parish had a population of 260.

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Hampole is a small village and civil parish in the City of Doncaster in South Yorkshire, England, close to the border with West Yorkshire. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, the eastern boundary of the parish is marked by the Great North Road, and the parish lies in what was once the Barnsdale Forest. It had a population of 187 in 2001, increasing to 203 at the 2011 Census, which includes the neighbouring village of Skelbrooke. Hampole lies on the A638 between Doncaster and Wakefield.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Mary Magdalene, Campsall</span> Church

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References

  1. 1 2 Smith, Albert Hugh (1961). The Place-Names of the West Riding of Yorkshire. EPN Society.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  2. 1 2 Sue Howelett (2008). "Barnsdale". The Heritage of Rutland Water (pdf). ISBN   9780907464419.
  3. Robert Fortunaso (29 June 2010). "Barnsdale". RobinHoodLegend.com. Retrieved 28 March 2024.
  4. "Barnsdale Wood". NatureSpot.org.
  5. 1 2 Richard Morris (2008). "In Barnsdale Forest". Yorkshire: A Lyrical History of England's Greatest County. ISBN   9781780229096.
  6. "The Magnesian Limestone in South and West Yorkshire". Archeological Services, West Yorkshire Joint Services. Archived from the original on 18 June 2006.
  7. "Barnsdale Tunnel". ForgottenRelics.org. Retrieved 28 March 2024.
  8. Stephen Knight; Thomas Ohlgren, eds. (1997). "A Gest of Robyn Hood". Robin Hood and Other Outlaw Tales.
  9. "Robin Hood's Well (Skellow)". britannia.com. Archived from the original on 3 September 2005. Retrieved 27 January 2006.