Robin Hood's Butt (Wigginton): Difference between revisions

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North: Robin Hood's Butt, Elford. South: general area where Robin Hood's Butt, Wigginton, may have been located.

[[File:|thumb|right|500px|Looking north at Lillingstone Avenue. Robin Hood's Butt was likely situated in this general area / Google Earth Street View]]

By Henrik Thiil Nielsen, 2020-10-28. Revised by Henrik Thiil Nielsen, 2020-10-29.

According to local historians writing in the late 18th to mid-19th century, a now vanished mound situated southwest of Wigginton and northwest of Tamworth was known as 'Robin Hood's Butt'. This was also an alternative name for the mound now generally known as 'Elford Low', situated on the east side of Tamworth Road (A513), c. 800 m south-southeast of the village of Elford. It was said, during the first half of the 19th century, that Robin Hood used to shoot arrows from one to the other. They were known collectively, therefore, as 'Robin Hood's Shooting Butts'.

Robin Hood's Butts in Elford and Wigginton were first noted by Stebbing Shaw in his History and Antiquities of Staffordshire (1798).^[1] Other early local historians were certain that the 'butts' were Roman tumuli (see Allusions below). This is possible but by no means certain. Earthworks of more recent date were often misidengtified as Roman or Celtic, and while the 'butt' located southeast of Wigginton can no longer be identified, Elford Low does not appear to be included at PastScape, which may indicate that it is not currently considered archaeologically significant. However, according to William Pitt's Topographical History of Staffordshire (1817), Robert Plot examined the latter 'low' and concluded that it was 'sepulchral' and a farmer living in the immediate vicinity had seen 'the bones of three human skeletons dug out of a gravel-pit, a few years since, near this Low, which seems a conclusive proof that it is the site of some ancient cemetery'.^[2] C. F. Palmer (1845) felt that the tradition connecting the two mounds through Robin's shooting arrows from one to the other was of fairly modern origin (see Allusions below). The early O.S. maps listed below all know the mound as 'Elford Low', not 'Robin Hood's Butt', but they do not seem to include any feature that could tentatively be identified as the other Robin Hood's Butt. 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

Maps

Discussion

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Notes

↑ Shaw, Stebbing; et al. The History and Antiquities of Staffordshire, compiled from the Manuscripts of Huntbach, Loxdale, Bishop Lyttelton, and Other Collections of Dr. Wilkes, T. Feilde, &c. &c., Including Erdeswick's Survey of the County, and the Approved Parts of Dr. Plot's Natural History (London, 1798-1801), vol. I, p. 432. Reprinted: Shaw, Stebbing; et al. The History and Antiquities of Staffordshire (Classical County Histories) (East Ardsley, 1976); neither seen, but cf, PastScape: Robin Hoods Butt.
↑ See fuller quotation on the page on Robin Hood's Butt (Wigginton).

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[1] Shaw, Stebbing; et al. The History and Antiquities of Staffordshire, compiled from the Manuscripts of Huntbach, Loxdale, Bishop Lyttelton, and Other Collections of Dr. Wilkes, T. Feilde, &c. &c., Including Erdeswick's Survey of the County, and the Approved Parts of Dr. Plot's Natural History (London, 1798-1801), vol. I, p. 432. Reprinted: Shaw, Stebbing; et al. The History and Antiquities of Staffordshire (Classical County Histories) (East Ardsley, 1976); neither seen, but cf, PastScape: Robin Hoods Butt.

[2] See fuller quotation on the page on Robin Hood's Butt (Wigginton).

[1]

[2]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-__NOTOC__{{PnItemTop|Lat=52.6518|Lon=-1.7135|AdmDiv=Staffordshire|Vicinity=? ''c.'' 2.5 km SW of Wigginton; NW of Tamworth|Type=Prehistoric site|Interest=Robin Hood name|
+__NOTOC__{{PnItemTop|Lat=52.653134|Lon=-1.693965|AdmDiv=Staffordshire|Vicinity=? ''c.'' 2.5 km SW of Wigginton; NW of Tamworth|Type=Prehistoric site|Interest=Robin Hood name|
 Status=Defunct|Demonym=|Riding=|GreaterLondon=|Year=1798|Aka=Robin Hood's Shooting Butts|Century=|Cluster1=Elford|Cluster2=|Cluster3=|Image=robin-hoods-butt-wigginton-google-earth-street-view.jpg|Postcards=|ExtraCat1=Places named Robin Hood's Butts|ExtraCat2=Places connected by bowshot|ExtraCat3=|ExtraCat4=|ExtraCat5=|ExtraLink1=Robin Hood's Butt (Elford)|ExtraLink2=Robin Hood's Butts (Combridge)|ExtraLink3=|ExtraLink4=|ExtraLink5=|ExtraLinkName1=|ExtraLinkName2=|ExtraLinkName3=|ExtraLinkName4=|ExtraLinkName5=|GeopointPrefix=|GeopointSuffix=|VicinitySuffix=|StatusSuffix=?|DatePrefix=|DateSuffix=}}
 {{#display_map:52.680611,-1.714604~Robin Hood's Butt (Elford);{{#var:Coords}}~General area in which Robin Hood's Butt was located|width=34%}}<div class="pnMapLegend">North: Robin Hood's Butt, Elford. South: general area where Robin Hood's Butt, Wigginton, may have been located.</div>
 [[File:{{#var:Pnimage}}|thumb|right|500px|Looking north at Lillingstone Avenue. Robin Hood's Butt was likely situated in this general area / Google Earth Street View]]
 <div class="no-img"><p id="byline">By Henrik Thiil Nielsen, 2020-10-28. Revised by {{#realname:{{REVISIONUSER}}}}, {{REVISIONYEAR}}-{{REVISIONMONTH}}-{{REVISIONDAY2}}.</p>
+According to local historians writing in the late 18th to mid-19th century, a now vanished mound situated southwest of Wigginton and northwest of Tamworth was known as 'Robin Hood's Butt'. This was also an alternative name for the mound now generally known as 'Elford Low', situated on the east side of Tamworth Road (A513), c. 800 m south-southeast of the village of Elford. It was said, during the first half of the 19th century, that Robin Hood used to shoot arrows from one to the other. They were known collectively, therefore, as 'Robin Hood's Shooting Butts'.
+Robin Hood's Butts in Elford and Wigginton were first noted by Stebbing Shaw in his ''History and Antiquities of Staffordshire'' (1798).<ref>{{:Shaw, Stebbing 1798a}}, vol. I, p. 432. Reprinted: {{:Shaw, Stebbing 1976a}}; neither seen, but cf, [https://www.pastscape.org.uk/hob.aspx?hob_id=309841&sort=2&type=&rational=a&class1=None&period=None&county=100249&district=None&parish=None&place=Wigginton&recordsperpage=10&source=text&rtype=&rnumber=&p=1&move=n&nor=16&recfc=0 PastScape: Robin Hoods Butt.]</ref>
+Other early local historians were certain that the 'butts' were Roman tumuli (see Allusions below). This is possible but by no means certain. Earthworks of more recent date were often misidengtified as Roman or Celtic, and while the 'butt' located southeast of Wigginton can no longer be identified, Elford Low does not appear to be included at PastScape, which may indicate that it is not currently considered archaeologically significant. However, according to William Pitt's ''Topographical History of Staffordshire'' (1817), Robert Plot examined the latter 'low' and concluded that it was 'sepulchral' and a farmer living in the immediate vicinity had seen 'the bones of three human skeletons dug out of a gravel-pit, a few years since, near this Low, which seems a conclusive proof that it is the site of some ancient cemetery'.<ref>See fuller quotation on the page on [[Robin Hood's Butt (Wigginton)]].</ref> C. F. Palmer (1845) felt that the tradition connecting the two mounds through Robin's shooting arrows from one to the other was of fairly modern origin (see Allusions below). The early O.S. maps listed below all know the mound as 'Elford Low', not 'Robin Hood's Butt', but they do not seem to include any feature that could tentatively be identified as the other Robin Hood's Butt.
 {{PnItemQry}}
 == Gazetteers ==