Robin Hood's Bow (Renishaw Hall)

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Renishaw Hall where Robin Hood's Bow is kept.

[[File:|thumb|right|500px|Renishaw Hall / Dennis Thorley, 15 July 2005; Creative Commons, via Geograph.]]

By Henrik Thiil Nielsen, 2020-09-14. Revised by Henrik Thiil Nielsen, 2020-09-14.Based on information kindly provided by Linda Hardy, Marketing & Events Officer at the Sherwood Forest Trust.

A bow which reputedly belonged to Robin Hood hangs over a fireplace at Renishaw Hall. It was bought at auction in 1949 by the estate's then owner, the author Sir Reresby Sitwell, complete with a mid-17th century hand-written attestation of provenance.

According to a booklet that can be purchased at Renishaw Hall, the bow was sold to Sir Reresby at an auction in Worksop in November 1949 as he was willing to pay more for the relic than another bidder who was acting on behalf of Nottingham Corporation. An accompanying document, written in a mid-17th century hand, includes the well-known story of Robin Hood's being bled to death by the prioress of Kirklees, who – and this certainly is not well-known – 'took possession of the bow'.

In BBC One's Antiques Roadshow. Series 25 (aired on 22 Jul. 2013, 5:15pm), 'Sir Reresby Sitwell takes a look at what is purported to be Robin Hood's Bow' Template:PnItemQry

Gazetteers

• Not included in Dobson, R. B., ed.; Taylor, J., ed. Rymes of Robyn Hood: an Introduction to the English Outlaw (London, 1976), pp. 293-311.

Sources

• BBC - Programmes: Antiques Roadshow, Series 25.

Discussion

• Mail Online: 'Bizarre Exhibition at the Spiritual Home of British Eccentricity' (By Robert Hardman, last updated June 2007)
• Hand Luggage Only: Finding Robin Hood’s Bow And Safari Lodging In The Peak District, England.

Background

• Renishaw Hall.

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