| Ten things you never knew about
Sherwood Forest |
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| The Major Oak - Sherwood Forest |
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Here's some stunning facts about
the new National Nature Reserve at Sherwood Forest. |
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| 1 |
| In
mediaeval times when times were hard - bark and acorns from
the trees in Sherwood Forest would substitute for flour in bread
and dough cakes. |
| 2 |
| The
term "Forest" was by and large a legal one. In fact,
by medieval times Sherwood Forest consisted of not only woodland
but also open areas of sandy heath, 'wood pasture' and settlements.
The term 'forest' was an area where the king's Forest Laws held
sway - the stealing of a deer could result in the offender being
blinded, having a hand chopped off or being hanged. Felling
a tree could lead to imprisonment. |
| 3 |
| At
the time the Major Oak began it's life, there were only a few
thousand people living in Nottinghamshire in roughly 300 villages.
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| 4 |
| Pollen
records show that there has been an unbroken cover of woodland
here since the end of the last Ice Age, some 10,000 years ago.
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| 5 |
| Over
900 trees in Sherwood Forest are 600 years old or more. |
| 6 |
| There
are 1500 species of beetle and 200 types of spiders found in
Sherwood Forest. |
| 7 |
| The
Major Oak may in fact be three or four trees which fused together
centuries ago and not a single tree. |
| 8 |
| The
King allowed only a few privileged people the right to hunt
in Sherwood Forest (apart from himself of course!). The Archbishop
of York could hunt 9 days in the year - 3 at Christmas, 3 at
Easter, 3 after Whit Sunday. |
| 9 |
| Sherwood
means shire wood and the forest sometimes used to be referred
to as Nottingham Forest. |
| 10 |
| Sherwood
Forest was once one of the largest of about 90 Royal forests,
which at their greatest extent in the 13th Century covered around
a third of England - it extended right to the walls of medieval
Nottingham. |
We all know Sherwood Forest is famed as the home of Robin Hood. But
now it's being recognised as one of England's most important homes
for wildlife too. >> |
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