The Ancient Boundary Wood of Sherwood

The Ancient Boundary Wood of Sherwood

Stuart Reddish

We are all familiar with the mythical stories of Robin Hood but what do we know about the name of his forest home Sherwood.

The first references are over a thousand years old and come from a family name. An ancient English surname which is derived from the Old English elements 'Scir' (pronounced 'sher') meaning 'bright' or 'shire', and 'Wudu' - a Wood or collection of trees. So the name may have begun to describe a 'dweller in the bright wood' or a 'dweller in a wood near a Shire or County boundary'. That would mean the name is of topographic origin (like the surname Wood) and may have developed independently in several regions at the same time. As it is the name of the forest and the place in Nottinghamshire it could be associated with a surname of toponymic origin. The earliest reference is in 958AD, when a SCIRWUDU was a prominent Saxon during the reign of the Wessex King Edwig ('The Literary Digest', 29 December 1928). Another early reference is to William de Shirewude 1219 Assize Rolls: Yorks.

There are other possible explanations. This is from The place-names of Nottinghamshire by John Eric Bruce Gover, Allen Mawer, F. M. Stenton:

"Others connect the first element with modern shire. In the earliest records, Sherwood is often spoken of as the "forest of Nottingham " (Victoria County Hist. I 365), which would seem to support the derivation from shire-wood, " the wood belonging to, or forming part of, the county."

This explanation is not thought to be wholly satisfactory either. The authors venture to suggest that the word sclr- is used here in the same sense as in Shireoaks, and Shire Dyke, a little stream forming part of the boundary between the counties of Nottingham and Lincoln. Its meaning is "boundary, division." Jellinghaus (p. 316) connects the word with modern Westphalian Sckier* y of the same meaning, which enters into numerous Low German field names, such as Sckiereneiken, " Shire-oaks," Schierenboken, "-beeches,"Schierholz, "-holt, or wood." There exists also a Shirland in Derbyshire, which goes back to older Scirlund, lund being the Scandinavian word for " wood."

If this explanation is adopted, the meaning would be " boundary forest." This seems a most appropriate name, seeing that Sherwood Forest stretches along the boundary between Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire, and that part of its ancient bounds, as laid down in the perambulations, actually coincides with the modern line dividing the two counties.

Our research at Thynghowe has included a further early boundary implication between Mercia and Northumbria and maybe a Viking role between the Five boroughs of the Danelaw and the Kingdom of York. This emphasis on boundary and dispute resolution underpins the long history of the Thynghowe assembly site in the heart of Sherwood.

Surveying the summit of Thynghowe Viking Assembly site where the boundary's of Budby, Edwinstowe and Warsop meet.