Robinhood Field (Ripon)

From International Robin Hood Bibliography
Locality
Coordinate 54.130736, -1.534201
Adm. div. West Riding of Yorkshire
Vicinity NW area of Borrage Green, S of River Skell in Ripon
Type Area
Interest Robin Hood name
Status Defunct?
First Record 1838
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Robinhood Field.
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Robinhood Field.
Robinhood Field at the centre. The path oriented NE to SW more or less coincides with the boundary between the two areas listed in the tithe award / Google Maps Street View.

By Henrik Thiil Nielsen, 2013-09-06. Revised by Henrik Thiil Nielsen, 2022-04-22.

'Robinhood Field' was (or is?) the name of the north-western part of Borrage Green, south of the Skell in Ripon. The name is first recorded in 1838.

The tithe award for Ripon (1838) lists two adjacent pieces of grassland under this name, one with an area of 1 acre, 3 roods and 36 perches (7992.54 m2), the other 1 acre, 3 roods and 16 perches (7486.68 m2). The owner was an Elizabeth Sophia Lawrence, the occupiers John Lowley, respectively Christopher Nelson.[1] The boundary between the two pieces of grassland roughly coincides with what looks like a path running NE to SW across the area on the Google satellite image (see below).

Could this be a relatively old field name despite being first recorded in 1840? The spelling "Robinhood" is not very common for a modern Robin Hood place-name, but it is of course possible that the field was named after an owner surnamed Robinhood. Robinhood Field is located c. 4 km NE of Fountains Abbey, which in additions to the traditions connecting it with the Curtal Friar/Friar Tuck has a Robin Hood's Park and Well. Ripon is now administratively part of North Yorkshire.

The trees lining Robinhood Field on the west and south-west, and a few other stands of trees beyond them, were known collectively as Robin Hood Wood in the mid-19th century.

Gazetteers

MS sources

Printed sources

Maps

Also see


Notes