Robin Hood's Stoop (Offerton Moor)
| Locality | |
|---|---|
| Coordinate | 53.3221, -1.6777 |
| Adm. div. | Derbyshire |
| Vicinity | On E part of Offerton Moor, c. 500 m N of Highlow |
| Type | Monument |
| Interest | Robin Hood name |
| Status | Extant |
| First Record | 1880 |
| A.k.a. | Little John's Flight |
By Henrik Thiil Nielsen, 2016-09-14. Revised by Henrik Thiil Nielsen, 2021-01-07.
Robin Hood's Stoop on Offerton Moor is an old boundary stone which was perhaps originally part of a medieval wayside cross. According to later tradition, Robin Hood shot an arrow from the Stoop all the way to Hathersage Churchyard, about 2 km to the NE.[1] Similar traditions relate to Whitby Abbey (North Riding of Yorkshire) and Limlow Hill (Cambridgeshire) among others. The earliest source for this place-name found so far is the 25" O.S. map of the area published in 1880, but it seems likely it was included on earlier maps.
In view of Hathersage's centuries old romance with Little John it is not as surprising as it might otherwise have seemed that Robin Hood's Stoop has an alternative name that connects it with Robin Hood's next in command. The second item in the image gallery below shows an early postcard with a view of "Hathersage From Little John's Flight, Highlow". There is no doubt that the stone seen to the left in the foreground is in fact Robin Hood's Stoop. In the third photo in the gallery, Google gives us a nice view of Hathersage from the unnamed road[2] below the Stoop. A close look tells us it is essentially the same scene as that on the postcard. This becomes still clearer in the next photo from the Google photo car where its camera is pointed a little downwards. As can be seen in the next photo, the Stoop stands not far from the road. In the sixth photo we see the slope from which the postcard photographer took his excellent photo. He was standing somewhat higher up and to the left of the Stoop. During the five years between the first photo (2012) and the Google mobile's visit (2017) a protective wire fence was erected around the old boundary stone, but there is no doubt "Little John's Flight" is Robin Hood's Stoop. I do not believe this alternative name was common.
Gazetteers
- Dobson, R. B., ed.; Taylor, J., ed. Rymes of Robyn Hood: an Introduction to the English Outlaw (London, 1976), p. 297, s.n. 'Robin Hood's Stoop'.
Sources
- Cameron, Kenneth. The Place-Names of Derbyshire (English Place-Name Society, vols. XXVII-XXIX) (Cambridge, 1959), pt. I, p. 156; and see pt. I, p. lvii.
Maps
- 25" O.S. map Derbyshire X.15 (1880, surveyed 1879-80)
- 25" O.S. map Derbyshire X.15 (1898, rev. 1897)
- 25" O.S. map Derbyshire X.15 (1898, rev. 1897) (georeferenced)
- 25" O.S. map Derbyshire X.15 (1922, rev. 1919)
- 6" O.S. map Derbyshire X.SE (1883, surveyed 1879-80)
- 6" O.S. map Derbyshire X.SE (1899, surveyed 1896-97)
- 6" O.S. map Derbyshire X.SE (1923, surveyed 1919)
- 1" O.S. map Sheet 99 (Hills) (1896)
- 1" O.S. map Sheet 99 (Outline) (1896).
Discussion
The Andrews Pages Picture Gallery: Derbyshire: Birchover, Robin Hood's Stride.
Also see
- Hathersage place-name cluster
- Places named after Little John
- Places connected by bowshot
- Hathersage Churchyard
- Whitby Abbey
- Limlow Hill (Litlington).
Notes
- ↑ Dobson, R. B., ed.; Taylor, J., ed. Rymes of Robyn Hood: an Introduction to the English Outlaw (London, 1976), p. 297, s.n. 'Robin Hood's Stoop'; Cameron, Kenneth. The Place-Names of Derbyshire (English Place-Name Society, vols. XXVII-XXIX) (Cambridge, 1959), pt. I, p. 156.
- ↑ Unnamed according to Google Maps as of 1 Jan. 2018.
Image gallery
Click any image to display it in the lightbox, where you can navigate between images by clicking in the right or left side of the current image.
Robin Hood's Stoop / Jim Bell, 16 April 2012.
View of Hathersage from road just below the Stoop/Flight / Google Earth Street View.
The scene now looks a little more like that in the postcard / Google Earth Street View.
The Stoop/Flight stands not far from the road / Google Earth Street View.
The photo on the postcard was shot from the hill above the Stoop / Google Earth Street View.
