Edwinstowe History
Edwinstowe was
named after Edwin, King of Northumbria. At that time, the kingdom of
Northumbria extended from the River Trent to Edinburgh, Scotland (Edwin's
Borough). Edwin married a Christian princess (Ethelburga) from Kent,
which was the first Christian kingdom in England.
In 633 A.D. King
Edwin marched south to fight King Penda of Mercia. Edwin was killed
in the ensuing battle, which took place near Edwinstowe at a small hamlet
called Cuckney (then known as Hatfield). To prevent his body falling
into enemy hands, King Edwin's friends buried it secretly in a clearing
in the forest, intending to return later to give him a proper burial.
When they
eventually returned, his followers discovered that people were now calling
him Saint Edwin, so they built a small wooden chapel on the spot and
installed a priest. So began Edwinstowe - "the holy place of Edwin."
In 1066 Edenstou
was royal land, part of the Saxon king's manor of nearby Mansfield.
The Domesday survey of 1086 records that in Edenstou was a church, a
priest and four bordars (slaves who worked on the priest's lands). Edwinstowe
stood well within the roughly 20 miles long by 7 miles wide Royal Forest
of Sherwood.
The villagers were
bound by harsh forest laws, and courts to punish offenders were held
frequently. It was a punishable offence to damage living timber in any
way, and all dogs taken into the forest had to be "lawed,"
i.e. three claws had to be removed from each front foot. Death
and dismemberment was the punishment for deer poaching and these harsh
laws were not changed until 1217 A.D. In 1334 A.D. the Vicar of Edwinstowe,
John de Roystan, was convicted of "venison trespasses," a
major crime.
Edwinstowe villagers
had various privileges regarding the forest e.g. gathering brushwood
and letting their pigs root for acorns. They were also free born and
could marry without permission.
Much had changed
by 1600 A.D. Queen Elizabeth owned parts of Sherwood Forest but it was
no longer regarded as a hunting forest. Parts were cleared for farming
and the oaks were felled for ship building. In 1609 A.D. there were
49,909 oaks in the forest areas just north of Edwinstowe. By 1790 there
were only 10,117! Ship building accounted for the best timber although
10 oaks were used for the roof of Saint Paul's Cathedral in London.
By 1801, the total
population of Edwinstowe had risen to 506! Piped water was available
in Edwinstowe for the first time in 1905. In 1912, more than thirty
Suffragettes (including Mrs. Emeline Pankhurst) visited Edwinstowe.
In 1925 the nearby Thoresby Colliery began operation with benefits to
the village.
During World War II the nearby forest housed one of the largest ammunition
dumps in the U.K. The area was also used for tank training and for housing
thousands of troops prior to D-Day. The facilities were used after the
war for European displaced persons.
Popular belief
has it that Robin Hood and Maid Marian were married in St Mary’s
Church! There was certainly some sort of church here during any of the
periods ascribed to Robin Hood.
Do
you have memories of Edwinstowe you'd like to share? Visit
our Message Board and leave a message>>>
