Robin Hood's Grave (Kirklees Priory)
| Locality | |
|---|---|
| Coordinate | 53.689911, -1.737342 |
| Adm. div. | West Riding of Yorkshire |
| Vicinity | Kirklees Priory, Brighouse |
| Type | Monument |
| Interest | Robin Hood name |
| Status | Extant |
| First Record | c. 1500 (Gest) |
By Henrik Thiil Nielsen, 2013-07-06. Revised by Henrik Thiil Nielsen, 2021-01-06.
Situated in a wooded spot within Kirklees Park, c. 650 m. SW of Kirklees Priory gatehouse, in the grounds of the long gone Kirklees Priory, this is one of the most well known and important localities connected with Robin Hood. As noted under Kirklees Priory, traditions connecting Robin Hood with the priory go back at least to the late 15th century. It is possible that there was originally at Kirklees a grave in which a person named Robert Hood (or similar) was buried. If this was the case, the belief that this was the grave of the famous outlaw may have originated as an etiological myth, a myth of origins[1]. It does not seem anybody was ever buried under the existing monument, but it is likely the original grave was located elsewhere within the priory grounds.
The garland version of the ballad of Robin Hood's Death (c. 1767) includes the earliest version of the famous death scene where Robin Hood shoots an arrow at random, asking to be buried where it lands. Although the ballad does not say so, it was a widespread belief that the Gatehouse at Kirklees Priory was the scene of his death. Several other pairs of localities are connected in popular tradition through arrows shot by Robin Hood and/or Little John. See the page on Places connected by bowshot.
Gazetteers
Sources
- Roberts, Kai. Grave Concerns: the Follies and Folklore of Robin Hood's Final Resting Place (Woolsery, Bideford, © 2011)
- Smith, A.H. The Place-Names of the West Riding of Yorkshire (English Place-Name Society, vols. XXX-XXXVII) (Cambridge, 1961-63), pt. III, p. 5, referring to Greenwood's 1771 Map of Yorkshire.
Maps
- Greenwood's 1771 Map of Yorkshire; not seen, but cf. A. H. Smith, loc. cit..
- 6" O.S. map Yorkshire Sheet 246 (1854, surveyed 1848-50) (at NLS).
- 6" O.S. map Yorkshire Sheet CCXLVI.NE (1894, surveyed 1888-92) (at NLS).
- 6" O.S. map Yorkshire Sheet CCXLVI.NE (1908, surveyed 1905) (at NLS).
- 6" O.S. map Yorkshire Sheet CCXLVI.NE (1934, surveyed 1930) (at NLS).
- 6" O.S. map Yorkshire Sheet CCXLVI.NE (1947, surveyed 1938) (at NLS).
- 6" O.S. map Yorkshire Sheet CCXLVI.NE (1949, surveyed 1948) (at NLS).
Discussion
- Crump, W. B.; [Hepworth, Geo.]. 'The Site of Robin Hood's Grave', Yorkshire Archæological Journal, vol. 37, part 1 (1948), pp. 105-107.
- Hepworth, David. 'A Grave Tale', in: Phillips, Helen, ed. Robin Hood: Medieval and Post-Medieval (Dublin, 2005), pp. 91-112.
- Hepworth, David, ed. 'Appendix: written epitaphs of Robin Hood', in: Phillips, Helen, ed. Robin Hood: Medieval and Post-Medieval (Dublin, 2005), pp. 188-90.
- Phillips, George Searle. Walks round Huddersfield (Huddersfield, 1848), pp. 29, 46.
- Turner, J. Horsfall. The History of Brighouse, Rastrick, and Hipperholme; with Manorial Notes on Coley, Lightcliffe, Northowram, Shelf, Fixby, Clifton and Kirklees (Bingley, Yorkshire, 1893), pp. 198-205.
Drawings
- Nathaniel Johnston's famous drawing of the slab formerly at Robin Hood's Grave is reproduced in most illustrated monographs on the Robin Hood tradition. The original is found in volume 16 of William Stukeley's MS Diary, among his papers in the Bodleian Library.[2]
Background
- Brentnall, Margaret. 'Robin Hood of Sherwood Forest', [Unknown British travel and tourism magazine] (1963-12), pp. 15-17, 58, see p. 58
- Stukeley, William; [W.C. Lukis, ed.] The Family Memoirs of the Rev. William Stukeley (The Publications of the Surtees Society, vols. LXXIII, LXXVI, LXXX) (1882-87), vol. III, p. 500 (item No. 130).
Brief mention
- Anonymous. 'Meetings of Antiquarian Societies', The Antiquary, vol. III (1881), pp. 226-31, see p. 229
- Harris, P. J. 'William of Goldsborough', Notes & Queries, vol. CXCV (1950), p. 150. Asks if there are any other references to the William of Goldsborough mentioned by Grafton.
Also see
- Kirklees place-name cluster
- Brighouse place-name cluster
- Places named Robin Hood's Grave
- Places connected by bowshot
- Place-names in Gest of Robyn Hode
- Robin Hood's Death
- Prioresses of Kirklees.
Notes
- ↑ See Wikipedia: Myth of origins.
- ↑ See Stukeley, William; [W.C. Lukis, ed.] The Family Memoirs of the Rev. William Stukeley (The Publications of the Surtees Society, vols. LXXIII, LXXVI, LXXX) (1882-87), vol. III, p. 500 (item No. 130). For access etc., see Bodleian Library: Collection Level Description: Papers of William Stukeley.
Robin Hood's Grave / Walker, J. W. 'Robin Hood Identified', Yorkshire Archaeological Journal, vol. 36, part 1 (1944), pp. 4-46, plate facing p. 35. Public Domain. Repr. from J. Horsfall Turner, History of Brighouse (1893), p. 202.
Nathaniel Johnston's drawing of Robin Hood's grave / Walker, J. W. 'Robin Hood Identified', Yorkshire Archaeological Journal, vol. 36, part 1 (1944), pp. 4-46, first illus. on plate facing p. 43. Public Domain.
Robin Hood's grave slab / Thoroton, Robert. The Antiquities of Nottinghamshire: Extracted out of Records, Original Evidences, Leiger-books, Other Manuscripts, and Authentic Authorities. Beautified with Maps, Prospects, and Portraitures. 2nd ed. (Nottingham, 1790), vol. II, plate inter pp. 170-71.
Robin Hood's grave slab. See text in image / Walker, J. W. 'Robin Hood Identified', Yorkshire Archaeological Journal, vol. 36, part 1 (1944), pp. 4-46, plate facing p. 41. Public Domain.
Photograph of the spurious epitaph with faux Middle English text / Walker, J. W. 'Robin Hood Identified', Yorkshire Archaeological Journal, vol. 36, part 1 (1944), pp. 4-46, second illus. on plate facing p. 43. Public Domain.
