PATC Presentation Slide Notes Lynda Mallett April 28th 2017 PIC 1 Re-enactors under old oak The story of Thynghowe started more that twelve years ago – it was all a matter of serendipity and astonishing coincidence. It is a long story and I don't know if we will cover it all in jin the time slot we have .. But here we go..... I will tell the story of how we discovered the site and involved the community – and Stuart will follow on with the archaeological research and how that has developed over the years. PIC 2 King's Wood King's In 2004 our family bought a small private woodland in the heart of Sherwood Forest, in the county of Nottinghamshire England. We call it King's Wood. It had originally been part of the Welbeck Estate - a large Ducal Estate owned by the Dukes of Portland. PIC 3 Sherwood Forest Map Our woodland had historically been part of the larger forested area called Birklands in Sherwood Forest – this is now managed by the Forestry Commission, on behalf of the Welbeck Estate, also the Thoresby Estate and the Fitzherbert Estate. To give you an idea as to the area we are talking about - we have shown on this map Birklands Forest, Thynghowe and King's Wood. I will also be talking about Budby, Parliament Oak, Edwin's Cross and Edwinstowe, King John's Palace, and Sherwood Forest Pines. PIC 4 1816 Doc In 2003 a year before we acquired the woodland - Stuart put a remote bid for a box of old documents at an auction in Wales. They arrived by carrier and we put the box unopened in the loft. We had no idea what documents the box contained - just that they were old. We finally got around to looking at them about a year later - and found to our amazement that one of the documents – large and written on parchment - described in detail two circular boundary walks through Sherwood Forest on a day in July 1816. It was an original account of the 1816 Lordship of Warsop Boundary Perambulation. It was of particular interest to us as Warsop is a local town - and more significantly part of the perambulation boundary went right through Birklands and appeared to go around our newly acquired woodland! We were surprised to say the least. No idea how this had ended up in Wales! But somehow it had found its way back to Sherwood Forest and arrived at our door. PIC 5 Pic Walk through Birklands This two hundred year old document described how a number of local people and jurors, walked the boundary of the Lordship around part of Sherwood Forest, and engaged in marking it in different ways to make it memorable. This was often done in those days as many common people were illiterate and the boundary between areas needed to be reinforced by physical memory. PIC 6 Boundary Stones Stuart and I decided we would like to investigate the Birklands forest area to see if any evidence still remained of the boundary walk. The document described many boundary stones for Warsop and Edwinstowe parishes and significant boundary trees of venerable age. We got permission from the Forestry Commission and spent the winter of 2004/2005 walking the forest with a transcribed version of the document and various maps. Recording the boundary stones and ancient trees as we located and identified them. The boundary stone on the left is a marker for Warsop and the one on the right Edwinstowe.
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PIC 7 Old Oak This old oak tree is described in the document as the most ancient tree in the Manor of Warsop. PIC 8 Parliament Oak This boundary oak is called Parliament Oak possibly a 1000 years old – it has grown – hollowed out and regrown again. In the 1816 document it tells of a 'parliament' King John held beneath its branches prior to signing the Magna Carta in 1215. King's Wood is seen on the skyline on the right – Thynghowe is beyond to the left. As the jurors walked the boundary they also marked the ground with dug out crosses, and told stories of local characters. They got young boys to run races, and stand on their heads for gold coins! Again to make it memorable. Included in this 1816 account was a simple reference, 'according to ancient custom', describing the act of historical assembly on a place called Hanger Hill. This assembly of the people of Warsop included the 'drinking of ale and the eating of bread and cheese brought from the village; and the running of races'. The document also identified the special significance of this particular place by mention of three stones on the high point of the site, two boundary stones for Edwinstowe and Warsop and an unmarked standing stone. The whole area of Hanger Hill was surrounded by plantations of pine and beech – it was difficult to identify the top of Hanger Hill - and the location of the stones - not easy when hidden in a closed canopy woodland. PIC 9 Summit Thynghowe overgrown Lynda Mallett & Andy Norman Then in 2005 on a memorable day in January we finally found the place where those people of Warsop had met on Hanger Hill. We were able to identify it by the presence of the three stones as recorded in the perambulation document. Two boundary stones and an unmarked stone. They appeared to be on a mound. At that stage the site had been absorbed into the middle of dense forest, and lost to community memory. After a long search we were over the moon to have located this place. This photograph is a little later when we took a Forestry Commission Ranger to see the site. We had found that very place where the local people and jurors in 1816 had assembled and partaken of bread cheese and ale and run races – hard to see how that could have happened as it was so overgrown. We were very excited! But were going to get even more excited! PIC 10 Birklands Forest Stone We searched the archives and records and discovered that this site, up until the early 1600's, had been called Thynghowe, and the unmarked stone was called the Birklands Forest Stone. Thynghowe then seems to have had its name changed as on all future maps it became Hanger Hill. This appears to coincide with the estates around Sherwood Forest passing from Crown ownership to ducal ownership in the 1600's and Hanger Hill is therefore the name by which it is known today. Realising the significance of a Thyng as a Viking assembly site, we knew we were looking at a possible Danish Viking or Dane-law assembly site in Sherwood Forest. This was a part of the forest history that had never been recorded before. Also, this site appeared to have undergone little change over time apart from being reclaimed by the forest. PICS 11 Rescue Survey before a forestry clearcut Stuart Reddish It appeared we had found a possible Viking assembly site on Hanger Hill - and we brought it to the attention of the Forestry Commission. They manage this part of the forest as a commercial forestry plantation – at this stage they were interested but not convinced. We continued to do our research
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over the next few months - and then we were informed at short notice - there would be a clearcut of the area in May and June. Stuart & I were worried that the forestry machines could possibly destroy delicate evidence - so we undertook a plain table rescue survey of the summit and area surrounding it. We found some plough furrows and some interesting 'humps & bumps'. Because, of the evidence we were able to show the Forestry Commission - they directed their forestry contractors to take particular care and stay out of the area close to the summit. Now we realise how important that was. PIC 12 Top of Thynghowe Over the last decade the birch trees, bracken and brambles have grown to cover the hill and have to be constantly managed and cut back. Our volunteer members do this now very sensitively with hand tools. There is an iconic holly tree that appears to be a clone and could have been there for hundreds of years – clearly marking the top of the hill from afar when cleared of all other trees. This was unfortunately cut during the clear-fell but has grown back strongly. PIC 13 Viking warrior shouting Our research has shown that in 874 Danish Viking warrior farmers - a coalition of Scandinavian warriors, originating from Denmark and Norway and possibly also from Sweden - came over with the Great Heathen/Danish Army and achieved a victory over the local Saxons – gained land grants and stayed. The Army overwintered in Torksey (east of Thynghowe) on the River Trent and in Repton (stragetically close to Nottingham) and also on the River Trent. The Trent was the artery into the middle of England from the North Sea. Repton is significant because ancestors of the Saxon Mercian king were interred in the crypt of the Anglo Saxon church St Wystan. There is also a large a 'heathen cemetery' site at Ingleby close to Repton. PIC 14 Heathen Army Map It is believed that around 1500 Viking militia were allocated farm-steading plots in Sherwood Forest - with their land grants they created a unique settlement of free peasantry, established Thynghowe as an assembly site, and promoted an early form of democracy which later resisted feudal law. Evidence of this resistance is in the Domesday Book….this resistance continued into the 13 th century – and led to outlaws....we could ask was Robin Hood of Viking descent! The Danes seemed to choose this area because they were used to sandy soil conditions back in Denmark and so farming it presented no problems it also kept them away from conflicts with the Saxons in the more fertile Trent valley. Of particular interest is the Township of Budby (a close local village) – in Iceland buds are booths – and booths are found around the site of Thingvellir - the site of a Viking assembly there. We believe that Thynghowe is of an earlier date than Thingvellir. We have a settlement – Budby - the farm of the booths, and it's boundary meets at the summit of Thynghowe. Budby like Thynghowe is mentioned on the oldest maps. PIC 15 Community We have from the start included local people in all aspects of the research. In early 2005 recognising the significance of the site and the part it had once played in the cultural history of the local communities - we invited a group from the three local history societies to accompany us to Thynghowe -to decide how we could protect it. And so formed the Friends of Thynghowe, and we began to survey, research and record all that we found. We benefited in our early days by being involved with the Sheffield Hallam University project to develop The Heritage Woodland Manual. Our site became one of eight case-studies and our members received training in landscape
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investigation and interpretation as part of the Woodland Heritage Champions Project. Our site consequently attracted the interest of English Heritage the government organisation responsible for historic landscape and was for the first time designated as a national monument. We have continued as a relatively small group of volunteers to attract funding to further our research. Always engaging local people in active participation and learning opportunities – surveying skills, landscape investigation, workshops, managing a sensitive archaeological site in the middle of forest, trail management and signs, booklet and leaflet publications, talks and displays. And much more! PIC 16 Trail marker with boundary stone Our members created a Thynghowe Trail with way-mark posts and accompanying leaflets. To support this ongoing work we developed a website and now use social networking through a 'blogspot' and a presence on 'facebook'. PIC 17 Wapentake Every year we hold an annual perambulation walk along part of the original boundary route on the same day we took the original group in 2005. We celebrate with a gathering on Thynghowe with a wapentake! A 'wapentake' was a Viking version of a Saxon Hundred meeting. In the Viking context it was a counting of arms in support of an action or vote with the shout of aye. This shout can be heard for miles!! The Thynghowe summit and mound is on private land and therefore we do not actually signpost the site – it is also a sensitive archaeological site and is subject to foot erosion – so we take 'guided walks' to control the amount of people visiting it. We are able to interpret the landscape as we walk for members and visitors. PIC 18 THING Sites Collage We have linked with various other organisations and projects to network and gain as much knowledge as we can about 'Thing' sites throughout Northern Europe and Scandinavia. Through our association with the international THING project Stuart and I have given presentations in Shetland and Orkney- the Faroe Islands - and Iceland, and also visited the Gulatinget site in Norway. We have then linked information and opinion back to our Thynghowe site. PIC 19 THING sites Map We also got on the international THING site map! PIC 20 Artistic Rep of Thing Assembly A Viking assembly took place in many different locations – some on hilltops - some in valleys and some on islands. The defining feature was a circular enclosure – made of any local material to hand. Sometimes hazel hurdles (as represented in the drawing) – some made of stones. The two disputees would meet in the circle with 12 jurors and the Law Speaker. The assembly of the people would watch and listen outside the circle. The site would need good acoustics. We were about to discover just how significant this was. PIC 21 Stuart Brookes Magnetometry Through networking at the THING conferences we were able to collaborate with the University College London's research on The Landscapes of Governance – Dr Stuart Brookes UCL and Dr John Baker Nottingham University came and carried out an acoustics and magnetometer survey of the site in 2011. We also got funding to do a simultaneous topographical survey - this was carried out by Nottinghamshire Community archaeologists and the Friends of Thynghowe. When we got the
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results of this topographical survey - we were able to confirm what we had previously had a hint of – partial features of earthwork remnants of a large circle on the site. PIC 22 Two Ancient Boundary Stones The perambulation document enabled the re-discovery of a number of ancient Forest stones as well as parish boundary markers, many boundary features were discovered deep in the undergrowth. The stone on the left is the Budby South Forest Stone and is situated on a crossroads of trackways and hollow-ways. It marks a significant boundary in the forest. The Friends of Thynghowe are currently mapping and surveying these trackways and linking them to a wider network of movement through the area and this part of England. It was through re-engaging with the significance of the Thynghowe site and its relation to boundaries - that a further consideration had to be made to its topographical situation with regard to Kingdom boundaries. At various times in history the boundaries of Northumbria and Mercia had been disputed through the area PIC 23 Saint Edwin's Cross. The battle between King Edwin a Northumbrian (our first Christian king) and Penda a Mercian chief in 633 - is now thought to have been fought at Cuckney only a few miles from Thynghowe - and is testimony to this. When Edwin died in battle his body was carried through the forest - wherever it was laid that place was marked. Edwin became a saint and King John set up a chantry in the 1200's in the forest – it is now marked by an iron cross erected by the Duke of Portland. This is also on a boundary. The nearest local town is called Edwinstowe. Also – consideration has to be given that the border between the Kingdom of York and the Five Boroughs of the Dane-law could have been in this area. The site of Thynghowe is at the point where three boundaries meet; the Parish of Edwinstowe, the Lordship of Warsop and the Township of Budby. These boundaries meet at the summit and still today represent the parliamentary constituency boundaries. We should also mention Creswell Crags an enclosed limestone gorge only 6 miles away. The cliffs in the ravine contain several caves that were occupied by stone age hunters during the last ice age between around 43,000 and 10,000 years ago. It has been extensively excavated and its caves contain the northernmost cave art in Europe. PIC 24 Forest Book Researching the archives, libraries and private collections has provided the earliest record of Thynghowe we have found (so far) to around 1251. In this Forest Book it records a Royal Survey and perambulation in Birklands identifying the name Thynghowe and the hilltop in relation to other recognisable topographical features recorded along the boundary of Sherwood Forest. The term forest is used in a different context here – forest with a small f is trees – but with a big F it means a judicial area that may contain villages and towns and all comes under the Crown and Forest Law. Sherwood Forest with a big F - was once 20 miles long and 10 miles wide - contained many villages and farms - and belonged to the king. The significance of the status of a royal hunting forest plays a part in the recording of the laws and practises of the Forest and the importance of deer management within its boundaries. It also explains why the site has not been subject to normal farming development since the time of the Norman Conquest. PIC 25 King John's Palace
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The hunting of deer is always associated with Sherwood Forest. The remains of a large hunting lodge and complex - known colloquially as King John's Palace or the Kings Houses - is only two miles south of Thynghowe in the village of King's Clipstone. An adjacent deer park was used often by King John - who signed the Magna Carta in 1215 – and it was visited by all subsequent Plantagenet kings. King Richard the Lionheart stayed here despite the short time he spent in England. The royal visits ensured its desired use for future centuries. King's Wood our woodland is on the boundary of the royal deer park and features deep ditches specifically used in trapping deer into the park area. PIC 26 Belvoir map + elipse We are fortunate to have discovered maps containing details showing the significance of the site both as Thynghowe and more recently as Hanger Hill. A map of Nottinghamshire in the late 14th century, from the archives of the Duke of Rutland, clearly shows the King's deer parks and Thynghowe. Various other Royal Forest Surveys have recorded landscape places and features. PIC 27 1609 Map The 1606-1609 survey clearly shows Thynghowe, the Birklands Forest Stone and the Warsop Lordship Boundary as it still is today. Thynghough Assarts are clearly shown on 17th century estate maps. There was then the re-naming on maps to Hanger Hill, but still, it was recorded in preference to some nearby village names. Many place and village names in the area are of Danish Viking origin. PIC 28 Surveying In 2012/13 the Friends of Thynghowe were awarded £50,000 by the Heritage Lottery Fund - to embark on extensive research and inclusive community activities. We had a LiDAR survey done – LiDAR this stands for light, imaging, detection and ranging - the first we understand that was funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund to a community group. Stuart will talk about this. We used some of our funding the get the top experts from English Heritage and the Forestry Commission to teach us how to interpret the LiDAR. We embarked on ground truthing surveys with our volunteers. PIC 29 Re-enactors Nether Warsop gate We trained volunteers and surveyed many sites through the forest of Birklands. As a result of the evidence from the LiDAR in 2013 we put in a small archaeological test trench across the circular feature that had been previously been partially identified. The LiDAR showed it as a complete circle We also used our local re-enactor group Conroi De Vey to walk along some of the Viking trails we discovered like Nether Warsop Gate – A Viking trackway leading to Thynghowe – to evoke a sense of place in another age – and to help with our publicity! PIC 30 Spring Thing In 2013 to complete our Heritage Lottery Fund requirements for community feedback we recreated a Viking Spring Thing assembly – in Sherwood Pines a recreational forested area managed by the Forestry Commission. I planned and organised on behalf of the Friends of Thynghowe - a Spring Thing event using a nationally acclaimed re-enactment group Regia Anglorum. We created a living history camp - a large Viking tented village or wyc - with Viking re-enactors displaying skills and trades, weapons and battle skills, food and drink, butchery and forging and
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much more. We wanted to recreate the sounds, sights and smells of a Viking settlement under the Danelaw in Sherwood Forest in order to convey some of the intangible cultural heritage of the area. This has now become an annual event in spring and over the four years we have been doing it it has attracted thousands of people. The most satisfying part of this wonderful weekend event is seeing the visiting children react to living history. PIC 31 Spring Thing Children This is not a show – each re-enactor is a volunteer and an historian – Regia Anglorum is an affiliated organisation of local groups from all over the British Isles. They try to authenticate everything they display – if they can't get strong evidence for its use then they don't use it. They also bring their own children so we have modern kids watching Viking kids play games, eat food, and work at crafts and skills. Visitor parents have told me that their children were immersed and enthralled by their experiences at the Spring Thing......and so were they! PIC 32 School Wapentake We involve local schools – the Vikings are part of the curriculum - by giving talks and taking them to the Thynghowe site for an 'assembly and wapentake'! Local schools also like to visit the Spring Thing. We have recently found that Thynghowe and it's discovery is on the history syllabus of the state of New South Wales in Australia. PIC 33 Dig Group & Dig Last year 2016 was a a very special year on many levels for the Friends of Thynghowe. We finally got funding to do a community dig - on various sections of the circular earthwork – hinted at by the topographical but confirmed by the LiDAR. We chose Mercian Archaeological Services CIC to do the dig for us. It is unusual in the UK for a volunteer group to be granted funding and lead an archaeological excavation - and also to be able to choose the archaeologists they want to work with. We have pushed the limits of the Heritage Lottery Fund – the organisation that awarded us this funding. During the months before the dig Mercian trained a significant group of volunteers to undertake a week's archaeological investigation on Thynghowe. So many signed on that we had to do the dig in shifts! Our relationship with the three archaeologists Andy Gaunt, Sean Crossley and David Budge from Mercian has been crucial - and somewhat unique. They have worked with us for years and a profound trust has developed between them and the Friends of Thynghowe. As a community group working on this site we have developed our own expertise and insight and a certain level of ownership. The Mercian guys have been acutely sensitive to that and have shown us - through their work with us and other community archaeology projects in the Sherwood Forest area - that they do not 'take over'. They consult at every level and deliver a high level of training with an awareness as to what can be achieved. They are highly professional in every aspect of their work but also like us have a passion for the site. So an honesty and an extraordinary working relationship has developed between us – we the Friends of Thynghowe have gained scientific skills and knowledge – Mercian appreciate that our group will pass on and keep vibrant all the information and discoveries of this incredible site.
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Stuart also did a piece of ethnographic research based on volunteers response to the dig. Which gave some surprising results. PIC 34 Perambulation & Food Also in 2016 the Warsop Footpaths & Countryside Group got funding to recreate the 1816 Lordship of Warsop Boundary Perambulation – in partnership with the Friends of Thynghowe. In April a large group of local people walked along a section of the 1816 boundary and finished on Thynghowe/Hanger Hill consuming bread, cheese and ale just as they did in 1816 - a two hundred year celebration of that meeting on Hanger Hill – a number of people possibly being the descendants of those original jurors. We are endeavouring to ensure that Thynghowe and all its history is still maintained in community memory. One of our members Steve Horne wrote and produced an informative booklet describing the 1816 Warsop from the Perambulation document and brought it up to date with modern directions around the boundary. PIC 35 Spring Thing The Friends of Thynghowe have now created four Spring Things. Our first Viking Spring Thing was in 2013. 2014 and 2015 were dedicated to our local association with King John and the Magna Carta in 1215. In May 2016 we returned to the Vikings - we celebrated the Danish King Canute becoming king of all England in 1016. A 1000 years of Viking history. He would have got a lot of support from our local Danish Viking warriors farmers! We got private sponsorship from the Canute Transport Group – an international logistics group - to fund our annual Spring Thing and the funding enabled us to bring a Viking boat to the middle of Sherwood Forest to show how the Danish Vikings travelled along the River Trent to trade and conquer. The Spring Thing enables the Friends of Thynghowe to showcase our local heritage and reach much further than workshops and walks. We have a large tent on site during the weekend and display our research – LiDAR – maps – booklets and leaflets. Members are there to chat to the public and we often sign on new members. Our group raise funding for the Spring Thing and we put it on free for the public. The Forestry Commission charge a car park fee and assist us with masses of staff time and give us the site without charge. The work of the Friends of Thynghowe goes on all year – with workshops, walks, talks, surveying and site management. The Friends of Thynghowe group continues and has flourished. Throughout the years the Forestry Commission have fully supported all aspects of our research and have enabled our group to maintain and manage the heritage of this part of Sherwood Forest. They provide staff time and financial assistance from various budgets. We are consulted by the Forestry Commission so that as partners we continue protect and manage the site – quite a responsibility for a bunch of volunteers! It is our place – and we all feel a special relationship with it. PIC 36 Summit Jon & Donna We hope that by our most recent archaeological intervention we can demonstrate that this site has been used as a significant meeting place for over a 1,000 years and will continue into the future! You will now need to access Stuart's slides and notes.
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