Robin Hood's Moss (Loxley, Sheffield)
By Henrik Thiil Nielsen, 2013-08-07. Revised by Henrik Thiil Nielsen, 2019-04-05.
The exact locations of Robin Hood's Bower and Moss (a.k.a. Bower Wood) recorded in 1637 are not known. Misled by a cross-reference in Smith,[1] Dobson & Taylor suggest a location near the coordinates 53.446077, -1.466976, just north of Ecclesfield, slightly north of Ecclesfield Park. However, as Smith is well aware, the 1637 evidence makes it quite clear that the Bower and Moss were in or very near Loxley, immediately NW of Sheffield. The alternative name of Bower Wood probably gives us a clue to the whereabouts, for at 53.409298,-1.530440, just at the south end of Loxley Common, slightly NW of Loxley House, we find Bower Cottage. Loxley Common was then as now a wooded area. People with firsthand knowledge also suggest a location near Loxley Common.[2] S.O. Addy was convinced that the name Robin Hod's Bower referred to the arbour or tent so-called that was sometimes set up at May games.[3] That nearby localities came to be named Bower Wood and Bower Field suggested to him that the locality known as Robin Hod's Bower was used for May games on a more permanent basis. This is certainly possible, but the bower may also have been some kind of natural feature or perhaps a minor ancient monument. The site known as Robin Hood's Arbour in Maidenhead, Berkshire, is an Iron Age animal pen. Is there still a "moss" or bog in the area near Loxley Common?
Approximately 12 km WNW of the locality now under discussion, in the High Peak, near the Yorkshire/Derbyshire border, there is a Robin Hood Moss.Template:PnItemQry
Gazetteers
Sources
- Addy, Sidney Oldall. 'Robin Hood's Bower in Loxley', Transactions of the Hunter Archaeological Society, vol. II (1920-24), pp. 201-202.
- Harrison, John. An Exact and Perfect Survey and View of the Manor of Sheffield with Other Lands by John Harrison, 1637, transcr. and ed. James George Ronksley, introd. by R.E. Leader (Sheffield, 1908). Not seen.
- Loxley Common: Legend & Murder at Andy Hemingway's Landscape Photography Blog.
- Smith, A.H. The Place-Names of the West Riding of Yorkshire (English Place-Name Society, vols. XXX-XXXVII) (Cambridge, 1961-63), pt. 1, p. 226, and see pt. II, p. 36.
- Robin Hood Loxley at Robin Hood Outlaw Legend of Loxley.
Maps
Notes
- ↑ Smith, A.H. The Place-Names of the West Riding of Yorkshire (English Place-Name Society, vols. XXX-XXXVII) (Cambridge, 1961-63), pt. 1, p. 226, and see pt. II, p. 36.
- ↑ See Loxley Common: Legend & Murder at Andy Hemingway's Landscape Photography Blog.
- ↑ Addy, Sidney Oldall. 'Robin Hood's Bower in Loxley', Transactions of the Hunter Archaeological Society, vol. II (1920-24), pp. 201-202.