Many of us are aware of some the stories from our part of Sherwood Forest. Tales of kings and dukes, of ancient trees and ammunition dumps are part of our local folklaw. Now a local group, the Friends of Thynghowe, has been researching into the past of Birklands and one of the first outcomes is the Thynghowe Trail. This 3 mile long waymarked walk runs along the edge of Warsop Parish from Warsop Windmill to the white gates at Gleadthorpe. Last summer volunteers from the group, supported by Warsop Footpaths & Countryside Group, marked the route and designed a guide describing some of features that remain from our remarkable past. This is our history but it could easily become forgotten if we do not keep the stories alive and pass them on to the future generations.

The Thynghowe Trail
On 26th July 1816 a group of Warsop folk walked around the entire boundary of the Manor of Warsop, checking the positions of markers and participating in events to establish the route in their memories. The rediscovery of a document describing this perambulation has raised awareness of the significance of this boundary and provided the stimulus for further research. The most prominent feature along this trail is Thynghowe, now known as Hanger Hill. This site has still to reveal many of its mysteries but it has been an important meeting place for well over a thousand years. It is located on the boundary between three parishes and may once have been an important location on the border of the kingdoms of Northumbria and Mercia. Throughout this walk you may become aware that the paths lead up to this hill and that you are following in the footsteps countless generations of forest folk and the aristocracy who controlled their lives. This trail hopes to give an insight into the past of the Birklands area of Sherwood Forest through Saxon times, the Crown Forest, the era of the Welbeck and Thoresby estates, to modern forestry and military use.

The Friends of Thynghowe
The Friends of Thynghowe was formed in 2005 with members from the villages of Edwinstowe, Clipstone and Warsop. We are interested in discovering more about the history and ecology of the part of the Forest of Birklands centred on Hanger Hill, formerly known as Thynghowe.

The Countryside Code
• Be safe, plan ahead and follow any signs
• Leave gates and property as you find them
• Protect plants and animals and take your litter home
• Keep dogs under close control
• Consider other people

From Warsop Windmill follow the public footpath sign along the hedge into the forest. Thynghowe Trail waymark posts mark the rest of the trail.
• The distance from the roundabouts at Warsop Windmill to the road at Gleadthorpe is 3 miles.
• The trail follows public footpaths or bridleways and has a reasonably good surface and no stiles.
• Other routes in the forest may not be public rights of way.
• Ordnance Survey Explorer map 270 – Sherwood Forest is recommended if you are venturing away from this route.
• Limited roadside parking is available near Warsop Windmill. Public footpaths link the trail to Warsop, Edwinstowe and Budby.
• Please take care to respect the wildlife and archaeology of this special area.

Produced by The Friends of Thynghowe with support from The Parish Councils of Clipstone, Edwinstowe and Warsop

More information at www.thynghowe.org.uk

Further Information about the Thynghowe Trail

Q - Evidence of a Roman fort has been found in the cultivated field across the road to the north-west.

P - This circular earthwork is a World War II machine gun post.

O - The culvert that carried water beneath the drive is part of the water meadows scheme created by the 4th Duke of Portland in the early 19th century. His ideas were developed further in his larger scheme at Clipstone. The quality of the stonework is impressive.

N - These conifers were planted to enhance the view from the drive between Welbeck and Birklands.

M - An ancient stone in the nearby woodland marks the corner of Budby Forest.

L - This section of the Warsop / Budby boundary is marked by large lime trees. The old trackway and the hawthorn hedge can be seen. This path leads directly to the top of Thynghowe.

K - Hanger Hill Drive provided access to the pleasure grounds of Birklands from Welbeck Abbey. It is also known as Lady Anne’s Drive as it may been created for a visit by Queen Anne around 300 years ago.

J - This rectangular hollow marks the site of one on the many ammunition stores that were located in Birklands during the 2nd World War.

I - This view up Hanger Hill gives a sensation of the significance of this meeting place dating back more than a thousand years. Its old name of Thynghowe suggests use in Saxon/Danelaw times and it was still a significant spot on the 1816 perambulation as “according to ancient custom bread and cheese and ale … was given away to a number of persons from Warsop”.

H - This old oak was described in the account of the 1816 perambulation of Warsop Manor as “apparently as old as the most ancient tree in Birkland … remarkable as being the only ancient oak tree which remains standing in the Manor of Warsop”.

G - Looking past the conifers to the ancient oaks gives an indication of the wood pasture of Birklands before modern forestry arrived.

F - Along this stretch more boundary stones are found marked with a W for Warsop. The original trackway ran to the east of the present path and its route is indicated by a hollow in the ground and remnants of hawthorn hedge.

E - In the late 19th century plantations were established to the west of the boundary. This area is called The Lings and was previously uncultivated heathland.

D - Green Drive cuts straight through the forest towards Edwinstowe. It was created in 1710 by the Duke of Newcastle by warrant of Queen Anne. Around this time Sherwood Forest was passing from Crown ownership to the estates of the Dukeries.

C - A stone marked with E for Edwinstowe standing on the parish boundary is one of five boundary stones along this section of the trail leading to Thynghowe.

B - This track leads to a cross marking the site of St Edwin’s Chapel. Between the 13th and 16th centuries a chapel commemorated King Edwin of Northumbria who was killed at the battle of Hatfield at Cuckney in 633. Edwinstowe developed around the site of his burial.

A - We are at the south-west corner of Birklands. The open fields across the road are the site of the Clipstone Deer Park where Plantagenet kings hunted between 1181 and 1393. In the wood across the road is the medieval deer leap where deer from Birklands were herded into the park.