Sherwood Pines Forest Park

The name ‘Sherwood’ was first recorded in 958AD. It became a Royal hunting forest after the Norman invasion of 1066, and was popular with many Norman kings, particularly King John and Edward I. In the 1200s, popularly thought to be the time of Robin Hood, Sherwood covered about 100,000 acres. The main London to York road, the Great North Way, ran straight through Sherwood, and travellers were often at the mercy of robbers living outside of the law. Hence the name ‘outlaw’. In the 12th and 13th centuries, various Christian monastic orders had established large estates within Sherwood Forest, on land granted to them by the Crown. After Henry VIII closed all the English abbeys in 1536 (The Dissolution), former monastic land was granted or sold into private ownership, and much of this land was gradually converted into country house estates. But for some time, within the depths of the forest, life for the peasant classes continued as it always had. At the outbreak of the First World War the largest army training camp the country, housing 20 battalions of 1000 men each. They helped to set up the camp, established firing ranges and trenches. Some of these can still be seen in Sherwood Pines.