Robin Hood's Chair (Baildon)
By Henrik Thiil Nielsen, 2016-12-17. Revised by Henrik Thiil Nielsen, 2019-05-31.
Apparently first recorded on a 6" O.S. map of Aireborough, Baildon, Bingley and Shipley dated 1852, Robin Hood's Chair is located in Trench Wood about 2 km SW of Baildon. According to blogger Kai Roberts, it is "an earthfast boulder in which water has worn a natural cavity resembling a seat and where Victorian antiquarians suggested some local shaman or chief once sat". He notes that it is also sometimes known as Robin Hood's Seat and is located "about halfway down Shipley Glen".[1] However, according to the 1891 allusion cited below, the Chair is located "[a]t the top of Trench Wood, on entering the Glen"; this is most likely correct. The Chair has an interesting neighbour, the Shipley Glen Tramway, which has taken passengers up and down the glen since 1895.[2] An official publication of Baildon Council has the Chair "[n]ear the top of the tramway",[3] which confirms the statement in the 1891 allusion. I have not found any photos of Robin Hood's Chair.
The tithe award for Shipley (1849) does not include the name 'Robin Hood's Chair'.[4] 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.
Maps
- 25" O.S. map Yorkshire CCI.7 (c. 1893; surveyed c. 1890–91). No Copy in NLS
- 25" O.S. map Yorkshire CCI.7 (1908; rev. 1906) (georeferenced)
- 25" O.S. map Yorkshire CCI.7 (1908; rev. 1906)
- 25" O.S. map Yorkshire CCI.7 (1922; rev. 1913)
- 25" O.S. map Yorkshire CCI.7 (1935; rev. 1934)
- 6" O.S. map Yorkshire 201 (1852; surveyed 1847-48)
- 6" O.S. map Yorkshire CCI.NE (1894; surveyed 1889-91)
- 6" O.S. map Yorkshire CCI.NE (1909; rev. 1906)
- 6" O.S. map Yorkshire CCI.NE (1909; rev. 1906) (georeferenced)
- 6" O.S. map Yorkshire CCI.NE (1934; rev. 1934)
- 6" O.S. map Yorkshire CCI.NE (1948; rev. 1938).
Sources
- Gray, Johnnie. Through Airedale from Goole to Malham (Leeds; Bradford; Skipton; Goole, 1891), p. 150.
Discussion
- Ashton, Joe, ed.; Lorrain-Smith, Roy, ed.; Taylor, Marian, ed.; Lawson, Mike, ed.; Lawson, Tish, ed. Exploring Baildon: A Guide to Public Spaces (Baildon, Shipley, 2015), p. 20, No. 45.
- Old Elmet Dreaming: My Folkloric Influences
Background
- 1849 tithe award for Shipley, online at the Genealogist.co.uk, piece 43, sub-piece 352, images 423-54 (subscription required).
- Shipley Glen Tramway.
Notes
- ↑ Old Elmet Dreaming: My Folkloric Influences.
- ↑ [Shipley Glen Tramway] website.
- ↑ Ashton, Joe, ed.; Lorrain-Smith, Roy, ed.; Taylor, Marian, ed.; Lawson, Mike, ed.; Lawson, Tish, ed. Exploring Baildon: A Guide to Public Spaces (Baildon, Shipley, 2015), p. 20, No. 45.
- ↑ 1849 tithe award for Shipley, online at the Genealogist.co.uk, piece 43, sub-piece 352, images 423-54 (subscription required).