Robin Hood's Well (Knutsford)
| Locality | |
|---|---|
| Coordinate | 53.3048, -2.3722 |
| Adm. div. | Cheshire |
| Vicinity | In Knutsford, Nether Knutsford Ward, near the NE end of Malt Street |
| Type | Natural feature |
| Interest | Robin Hood name |
| Status | Defunct |
| First Record | 1847 |
By Henrik Thiil Nielsen, 2017-01-19. Revised by Henrik Thiil Nielsen, 2021-01-17. Includes information kindly provided by an anonymous contributor.
A no longer existing Robin Hood's Well in Knutsford is first mentioned in 1847 and figures on maps published in 1882 and 1899. It was probably named after Robin Hood, a race horse belonging to a Matthew Miller.
Henry Green in his Knutsford (see 1859 allusion below), tells us that over the well, presumably as an inscription or on a signboard, was the motto 'If Robin Hood be not at home | Stop and take a drink with little John'. Just beside the well was an enclosed mound and a stone on which the words 'Alas! poor Bob!' were engraved. On making enquiries, Green learned that the Robin Hood in question was a race horse which lay buried under the mound and that 'little John's drink' was strong ale rather than pure water. Perhaps unknown to Green, the motto over the well was a variant of a piece of verse that was inscribed near the entrances to some 19th century public houses named after Robin Hood and/or Little John.[1] He does not mention the Robin Hood's Cottage that was situated very close to the well and mound, but this seems an odd name for a 19th century Robin Hood pub, and it is in any case not easy to see why the motto of a nearby pub should be found over the well, so while there is no reason to think that the Cottage was a pub, perhaps the strong ale was contained in a bottle deposited by the well or mound as a last gift to a dearly beloved horse who had perhaps been known to enjoy a pint or two after a succesful day at the races? Homo sapiens is not the only life form that can develop a taste for alcohol.
In a recent pamphlet on the history and topography of the Moor, a park in Knutsford, Joan Leach and others list Robin Hood's Well in Malt Street as being in existence by 1847.[2] They cite no source, but on finding that the tithe award for Nether Knutsford – that of the four wards of Knutsford in which the well was situated – dates from the same year, we expected to find the well included in it. However, no mention of the well is found there,[3] and not so surprisingly, one also looks in vain for it in the tithe award for Over Knutsford, dating from the same year.[4]
Allusions
1859 - Green, Henry - Knutsford
The name Robin Hood's Well, a locality near the Moor, suggests that the great outlaw and freebooter of Sherwood Forest had wandered to our town; we read the motto over the well,
"If Robin Hood be not at home,
Stop and take a drink with little John;"
[p. 131:] and we imagine his favourite attendant must have been concealed close at hand. But, alas! for our antiquarian excitement; just by is a neatly enclosed mound, and a stone engraved with the words, "Alas! poor Bob!" We enquire what it all means, and learn, almost to our vexation, that Robin Hood was the name of a race-horse buried under the mound, and that little John's drink was not the pure element—"that best of liquors," but like Friar Tuck's,—a flagon of strong ale.[5]
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
- Dodgson, John McN.; Rumble, Alexander R. The Place-Names of Cheshire, pts. I-V (English Place-Name Society, vols. XLIV-XLVIII, LIV, LXXIV) (Cambridge, 1970-72; [s.l.], 1981; Nottingham, 1997), vol. II, p. 75; vol. V, pt. 1:ii, p. 419, may refer to this locality, but he cites no source, date or location.
Maps
- 25" O.S. map Cheshire XXVII.9 (c. 1877; surveyed c. 1874). No Copy in NLS
- 25" O.S. map Cheshire XXVII.9 (c. 1898; rev c. 1897). No Copy in NLS
- 25" O.S. map Cheshire XXVII.9 (1934; rev. 1908) (georeferenced)
- 25" O.S. map Cheshire XXVII.9 (1934; rev. 1908)
- 6" O.S. map Cheshire XXVII (1882; surveyed 1872-76)
- 6" O.S. map Cheshire XXVII (1899; rev. 1897) (georeferenced)
- 6" O.S. map Cheshire XXVII (1911; rev. 1908)
- 6" O.S. map Cheshire XXVII (c. 1931; rev. 1908)
- 6" O.S. map Cheshire XXVII (c. 1936; rev. 1908)
- 6" O.S. map Cheshire XXVII (c. 1947; rev. 1938).
MS sources
- 1847 tithe award for the Township of Nether Knutsford in the Parish of Nether Knutsford, Piece 5, sub-piece 227, at The Genealogist
- accompanying map, Piece 5, sub-piece 227, sub-image 001, at The Genealogist
- 1847 tithe award for the Township of Over Knutsford in the Parish of Nether Knutsford, Piece 5, sub-piece 228, at The Genealogist
- accompanying map, Piece 5, sub-piece 228, sub-image 001, at The Genealogist.
Printed digital sources
- Knutsford Methodist Church: the First Chapel
- Leach, Joan; Friends of the Moor. A History of the Moor, Knutsford ([s.l.]: [s.n.], [c. 2009]), pp. 8, 17.
Gazetteers
- Dodgson, John McN.; Rumble, Alexander R. The Place-Names of Cheshire, pts. I-V (English Place-Name Society, vols. XLIV-XLVIII, LIV, LXXIV) (Cambridge, 1970-72; [s.l.], 1981; Nottingham, 1997), vol. V, pt. 1:ii, p. 419, may refer to this locality, but he cites no source, date or location.
Background
Also see
Notes
- ↑ See the page Come and drink with Robin Hood.
- ↑ Leach, Joan; Friends of the Moor. A History of the Moor, Knutsford ([s.l.]: [s.n.], [c. 2009]), p. 8.
- ↑ 1847 tithe award for the Township of Nether Knutsford in the Parish of Nether Knutsford, Piece 5, sub-piece 227, at The Genealogist (subscription required); accompanying map: Piece 5, sub-piece 227, sub-image 001, at The Genealogist (subscription required).
- ↑ 1847 tithe award for the Township of Over Knutsford in the Parish of Nether Knutsford, Piece 5, sub-piece 227, at The Genealogist (subscription required); accompanying map: Piece 5, sub-piece 228, sub-image 001, at The Genealogist (subscription required).
- ↑ Green, Henry. Knutsford, its Traditions and History: with Reminiscences, Anecdotes, and Notices of the Neighbourhood (London; Macclesfield; Knutsford, 1859), pp. 130-31.