Our project focuses on the local heritage of the Forest of Birklands and the Viking age site of Thynghowe which is contained within a 5km by 4km area along the western edge of Sherwood Forest.
Using an original 1816 Warsop Lordship Boundary Perambulation document we have rediscovered a lost local heritage. Included in this document is reference to the ancient custom of assembly on Hanger Hill (Thynghowe) and forms the basis of our intangible cultural heritage research.
The tangible heritage includes a possible Bronze Age burial mound, a Saxon Moot with Viking Assembly (Thynghowe), Forest and parish boundary marker stones, a 13th century chantry, a 19th century water meadows scheme, centuries of woodland management features and World War II archaeology. Researching the written archives could provide information to support the physical archaeological evidence and provide new knowledge.
As a result of our research Thynghowe is now included on the English Heritage National Monuments Record. We now need to collect more evidence to ensure that it becomes protected as a Scheduled Monument.
This process has been supported by a topographical survey of the top of Thynghowe carried out by Nottinghamshire County Council Archaeologists and a survey undertaken by the University College London as part of the Landscapes of Governance Project.
The Project
The Project is to discover and record features of historical and archaeological interest within the Forest of Birklands, also to promote our findings in various ways so that a
wide audience can enjoy learning about our local heritage.
Potential sites will initially be identified by an aerial LIDAR (Light Detection And Ranging) survey. We will then train volunteers in the skills required to assess these sites, by identifying and recording historical features discovered in the woodland landscape.
This process will be supported by research from documents held in archives and the outcomes of our research will be published, both in print and on-line. The digitised and archived documents will be made accessible in various media including a website, social media and published materials.
This process will be supported by research from documents held in archives and the outcomes of our research will be published, both in print and on-line. The digitised and archived documents will be made accessible in various media including a website, social media and published materials.
We aim to preserve our heritage by keeping alive the stories of Birklands amongst local people through walks, talks and events tailored for different groups. Our project includes school workshops to allow younger people to gain an understanding of the site.
We will also organise a major public event at the end of the project to stir the imagination, to promote our findings, and to encourage interest in heritage.
Through community involvement in collecting this evidence, and by co-ordinating a management plan for sensitive parts of Birklands, we aim to ensure that the overall heritage is maintained and Thynghowe becomes protected, possibly as a Scheduled Monument.
