Robin Hood's Grave (Holbeck)
| Locality | |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 53.251356, -1.184796 |
| Adm. div. | Nottinghamshire |
| Vicinity | In Holbeck parish |
| Type | Natural feature |
| Interest | Robin Hood name |
| Status | Defunct |
| First Record | c. 1840 |
By Henrik Thiil Nielsen, 2016-10-07. Revised by Henrik Thiil Nielsen, 2017-05-07.
Gover, Mawer and Stenton in the English Place-Name Society's volume on Nottinghamshire list this place-name under Holbeck parish, citing a c. 1840 tithe award and an unspecified and undated 6" O.S. map as sources.[1] The locality appears in the tithe award (on the tithe map?) as "Robins Grave", but on the 6" O.S. map it is indicated as "Robin Hood's Grave". I hope to examine the tithe award in the near future. In the meantime, it may be noted that according to Dobson & Taylor, Robin Hood's Grave was "[a]pparently a cave".[2] It is not clear why they thought so, but as Nottinghamshire is a county with many caves, perhaps this was a mere guess.
Frank E. Earp, the author of a recent book on Nottinghamshire lore, states categorically that "this site is in fact a cave" and it "does not feature on any other map of the county" than the tithe map.[3] However, Gover, Mawer and Stenton list an unspecified 6" O.S. map as their (only) source for the form "Robin Hood's Grave", the name appearing in the tithe award as "Robins Grave". In all probability, therefore, the "grave" is in fact indicated on a 6" O.S. map. I have not been able to locate it among the myriad maps online at the National Library of Scotland's website, but not all maps are (yet) online there.
Dobson & Taylor tentatively suggest a location "near Sheet 112 SK:540730?", which translates into a 100 by 100 m square whose SW corner is at 53.251274,-1.192124.[4] This is indicated to the left on the Google satellite map below, while the pointer to the right indicates an alternative location suggested at the Historical Gazetteer of England's Place-Names.[5] At neither location is there any suggestion of the presence of a cave. If Robin Hood's Grave was in fact a cave, it may have been filled in and completely covered in earth, or perhaps it is concealed in one of the small wooded areas in the vicinity of Holbeck.
The Notts Guided Walking Programme for 2016 offers a walk "to Holbeck, back via Greaves Wood to look for Robin Hood's grave. The Nottinghamshire place name book says 'It's somewhere here'!"[6] Indeed it does, and we do not yet know where.
Gazetteers
- Dobson, R. B., ed.; Taylor, J., ed. Rymes of Robyn Hood: an Introduction to the English Outlaw (London, 1976), p. 302, s.n. 'Robin Hood's Grave'.
Sources
- Earp, Frank E. The A-Z of Curious Nottinghamshire: Strange Stories of Mysteries, Crimes and Eccentrics (Stroud, Gloucestershire, 2014), inter pp. 142-45
- Gover, J.E.B.; Mawer, Allen; Stenton, F.M. The Place-Names of Nottinghamshire (English Place-Name Society, vol. XVII) (Cambridge, 1940), pp. xxxiii, 84, 294
- The Notts Guided Walking Programme for 2016.
Maps
Background
Also see
Notes
- ↑ Gover, J.E.B.; Mawer, Allen; Stenton, F.M. The Place-Names of Nottinghamshire (English Place-Name Society, vol. XVII) (Cambridge, 1940), p. 84, and see pp. xxxiii, 294.
- ↑ Dobson, R. B., ed.; Taylor, J., ed. Rymes of Robyn Hood: an Introduction to the English Outlaw (London, 1976), p. 302, s.n. 'Robin Hood's Grave'.
- ↑ Earp, Frank E. The A-Z of Curious Nottinghamshire: Strange Stories of Mysteries, Crimes and Eccentrics (Stroud, Gloucestershire, 2014), pp. 142-45; online at: Google Books
- ↑ Using Movable Type Scripts: Convert between Latitude/Longitude & OS National Grid References.
- ↑ The Historical Gazetteer of England's Place-Names: Robin Hood's Grave.
- ↑ Notts Guided Walking Programme for 2016.