Key Characteristics

● Rolling landforms with numerous dry valleys.

● Large amount of woodland, particularly oak-birchbroadleaved woodland and conifers.

● Extensive, enclosed, arable farmlands with rectilinearfield patterns divided by low, treeless hedges.

● Strong contrast between open arable fields andwoodlands.

● Strong heathland character, diminishing in north,often evident at roadsides and in woodlands.

● Parks and estates.

● Conspicuous remains of coal industry - includingdisused mines, pit heaps, old railway lines andmining settlements.

● Narrow river corridors with pasture, flood meadowsand woodland, often in sharp contrast to theadjacent arable farmland.

● Urban influences around Nottingham and the largerwestern towns.

● Quarrying of sandstone for industrial aggregates.

● Buildings of local sandstone with older buildingmaterials being generally red brick and pantile.

Landscape Character

Sherwood contains a wide range of landscapes. It includesthe historic heartlands of Sherwood Forest, the extensiveparklands and estates of the Dukeries and the estatefarmlands south of the hill settlement of Blyth. The area isrich in historic and cultural associations, including those ofLord Byron at Newstead Abbey, the Pilgrim Fathers andthe legend of Robin Hood. It extends in a broad band fromthe northern edge of Nottingham and lies chiefly on well-drained, infertile, sandstone-derived soils which historicallysupported extensive heathlands and woodlands and are nowsubstantially converted to arable. The agricultural lands and

woodlands of the Southern Magnesian Limestone lie to thewest and the open arable land of the Trent and BelvoirVales and the Nottinghamshire Claylands lie to the east.The area abuts the Humberhead Levels to the north.

Mining and its associated activities are much in evidence. Itsdemise has created opportunities to recreate heathland and plantlarge blocks of conifer woodlands.

The woodland cover and the heathland character are astrong reminder of the formerly extensive forest and wastes.A range of features combine to produce a distinctive andsometimes unified landscape. These include rollinglandform, scattered areas of bracken, grass and heatherheathland, lowland oak-birch woodlands, large matureconifer plantations, enclosed arable farmlands, narrow rivercorridors and landscape parks. The landform ensures viewsof varying distance, frequently to wooded skylines, or, inthe more open arable areas, to the heads of dry valleys. Thearable land is, in many places, almost devoid of tree coverand the rectilinear pattern of low hawthorn hedges impartsa rather featureless character to the landscape. To the north,farmland is the dominant feature with a markedly differentextent and pattern of woodland cover. However, thelandscape parks add diversity.

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Sherwood

Character Area

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The Sherwood heaths commence at the northern edge ofNottingham and occupy most of the area as far north asWorksop. This landscape, which includes the remnantheartlands of Sherwood Forest, has a distinctly rollinglandform. It is intensively farmed but has a heathlandcharacter and is well wooded with many relics of theformer coal industry. The impression is of a patchwork oflarge and small woodlands interspersed with farmland. Thelatter is almost entirely arable, lying within large rectilinearfields divided by low hedges with almost no trees, althoughthe pattern is softened by the rolling landform. There arebracken, gorse and broom in roadside hedges and vergesand in the rides and edges of the woodlands. Views areconfined within dry valleys but can be open and panoramicfrom higher ground. Undulating land with greater reliefoccurs south-west of Retford, and around White Post. Treecover is particularly sparse in these areas so that the dryvalleys and crests are more pronounced and there are longopen views.

The Dukeries lie in the central-western area, south-west ofWorksop. Their distinctive character arises from extensivebroadleaved and coniferous woodlands, landscape parkswith large man-made lakes, open arable land and anundulating landform. In many respects similar to theSherwood heaths, this landscape is distinguished by itsmanagement as large parks and estates from the 18thcentury onwards. There are few roads and the populationis sparse, being concentrated in the few estate villages or inscattered, isolated farmsteads. The coal industry left thisarea largely untouched and there are no railway lines orpylons. Heathland is extensive in the eastern part of theDukeries, becoming less frequent to the west as the soilsbecome less acid. Views are generally to the middledistance, usually to wooded skylines, with a strong sense ofenclosure by woodland.

The northern part of Sherwood comprises sandstoneestatelands. These are intensively farmed and predominantlyarable landscapes characterised by regular, medium to largefields, small to medium-size woodlands and many smallpockets of parkland and estate farmland, set within a gentlyrolling landform. The area is sparsely populated and haslittle industry. Heathland influences are slight and woodlandcover is more diffuse so that the overall impression is oneof well-ordered and managed farmland. The gently rollinglandform, low hedges and dispersed woodland patternensure medium- to long-distance views. Waterside willows,alders and ash holts take on greater prominence due to thedispersed woodland cover and the general absence ofhedgerow trees. Small parklands, with mature trees overpermanent pasture, make an important contribution to thecharacter of this area. Several areas of clay farmland occuralong the eastern edge which is transitional to the adjacentTrent and Belvoir Vales. They lack the heathy character of

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Character Area 49She rwood

WORKSOP

RETFORD

Perlethorpe

MarketWarsop Edwinstowe

Ollerton

Bilsthorpe

Rainworth

Blidworth

Ravenshead

MANSFIELD

Calverton

Arnold

NOTTINGHAM

Beeston

A1

A1

A60

A57A60

A60

A614

A638

A616

A616A6075

A617 A617

A61

4

A61

4

A60A61

1

A60

A6097

A52

A609

A6005

A6211

A52

River Maun

River Meden

River P

oulter

River Ryton

5

6 SK

7

4

5

6

7

8

BassetlawDistrict

MansfieldDistrict

Newark andSherwoodDistrict

GedlingDistrict

BroxtoweDistrict

CITY OFNOTTINGHAM UA

N O T T I N G H A M S H I R E

GreatLake

New Clipstone

FarnsfieldAshfieldDistrict

D E R B Y S H I R E

ROTHERHAM UA

0 10km

Area 49 boundary

Adjacent Area

A Road

B Road

Railway and Station

County Boundary

District boundary

480-200'

height above sea-level in feet

200-400'

400-600'

39

30

38

69

48

the Sherwood heaths and have a more variable woodlandpattern. The landscape is predominantly arable but includescolliery villages.

Narrow river valleys cut through much of the area. Theycontain permanent grasslands and flood meadows, oftenwith fringing alders, willows and scrub, although arableland occasionally extends right to the water’s edge.Bankside woodland occurs extensively in some sections,often along steep flanking slopes, and ash holts are aparticular feature of the river Ryton. In the Dukeries andthe northern sandstone estatelands, the rivers have beenengineered to create large ornamental lakes.

Deep coal-mining has had a profound and extensiveinfluence throughout much of the area in the 20th century.There is a legacy of conspicuous spoil heaps, settlinglagoons and former workings. Some of these have beenreclaimed to agriculture or woodland and amenity uses butsome intrusive unreclaimed sites still exist and dominateskylines for some distance. Sandstone quarrying is alsolocally conspicuous with some large quarries still beingactive.

Many of the Sherwood heaths have transformed into woodlandthrough natural colonisation or plantation.Woodland tracks makeup an extensive network for walking and riding.

Physical Influences

The area is mostly underlain by the Sherwood Sandstone(formerly known as the Bunter Sandstone) of Triassic age.The Permian Magnesian Limestone, consisting of dolomiticlimestone and marl, borders the area to the west andMercia Mudstone (formerly Keuper Marl) underlies theTrent and Belvoir Vales to the east. The SherwoodSandstone is highly permeable and is a reasonally importantaquifer containing vast resources of potable groundwaterwhich are extracted by numerous water wells in the area.

These groundwater resources are constantly replenished byrainwater soaking into the sandstone and by downwardpercolation of water from the rivers flowing across it.

The area is underlain at depth by the Coal Measures ofCarboniferous age which form the concealed coalfield ofNottinghamshire. The Coal Measures strata are tilted gentlydownwards towards the east so that underground coal-mining operations become progressively deeper in thatdirection.

The Sherwood Sandstone gives rise chiefly to sandy soils,with well-drained coarse loamy soils in the lower parts ofthe dry valleys. Acidic podzolised soils occur locally,particularly under woodland in the Clumber area, andacidic, well-drained, sandy soils occur under woodland tothe south and east of Mansfield. The eastern boundary ofthe area is influenced by the adjacent Mercia Mudstone,producing gley soils on low ground. Calcareous soils occuradjacent to streams draining the Magnesian Limestone tothe west.

The river Ryton drains the northern part of the area,flowing north-eastwards to join the river Idle. The centralarea is drained north-eastwards by a series of small rivers,including the Poulter, Meden, Maun and Rainworth Water,all of which also join the Idle along the eastern edge of thearea. The southern part of the area is drained by the riverLeen which flows southwards to join the river Trent atDunkirk, Nottingham. Surface water is scarce away fromthe main river valleys, with most rainfall being directlyabsorbed by the porous sandstone.

Historical and Cultural Influences

Extensive woodland clearance had already occurred by themedieval period, although woodland remained abundant onthe Mercia Mudstone east of the area. Through the MiddleAges, Sherwood Forest was probably composed primarily ofopen heathlands and waste with scattered blocks ofwoodland. Woodland cover increased in the 18th and 19thcenturies as a result of the development of landscape parks,timber production, game management and fuel supplyneeds. The development of landscape parks was particularlysignificant around the many large houses, parks and estateslying on the agriculturally unproductive sandy soils, such asthose of the Dukeries.

The sandy soils of the Sherwood Sandstone have historicallybeen poorly suited to agriculture, being low in nutrientsand prone to parching. Many marginally viable farms wereabandoned at times of economic hardship (such as in theearly 20th century) and reverted to heathland andsecondary acid scrub-woodland. The soils could not supporthigh quality pasture and the most fertile areas weretherefore put to arable production and, periodically, foddercrops. Modern farming methods have overcome many of

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these problems, however, allowing more widespreadcultivation and better yields from crops such as barley andwheat.

The coal industry has played a significant role in thedevelopment of the area especially in the south and west.Deep coal mines were sunk in the late 19th and early 20thcenturies, with a number of pits being established nearexisting villages away from the main centres of population.This led to the expansion of the villages and nearby towns,and the creation of new mining villages. The coal industryhas declined in the latter half of this century, leaving behinda legacy of former colliery sites and spoil tips. A densenetwork of railways developed to serve the coal industry,most of which are now disused. The Chesterfield Canal,which links the 19th century industrial centres with the riverTrent, crosses the region between Worksop and Retford.

The Sherwood landscape is associated with the PilgrimFathers and most famously with the legend of Robin Hood.The association with Lord Byron and his family home atNewstead, however, has more substance:

‘Through thy battlements Newstead, the hollow windswhistle:

Thou, the hall of my Fathers art gone to decay;In thy once smiling garden, the hemlock and thistleHave choak’d up the rose which late bloom’d in the way’.

Older buildings are generally local sandstone and limestone withpantile roofs. Former rural villages, such as Edwinstowe, have beenextended by 20th century red brick housing.

Buildings and Settlement

There is a variety of traditional building materials in thearea: red brick and pantiles are frequent in the east,limestone in the west and sandstone elsewhere.

Settlement on the Sherwood heaths takes the form ofscattered villages and farmsteads. These were originallysmall farming settlements but many have expanded thiscentury to become mining villages. Extensive collierysettlements also occur around villages such as Calverton,Bilsthorpe, Edwinstowe and Rainworth. Ravenshead is a

distinctive settlement in the heaths landscape, being built inan area of former waste and now developed into a sizeablecommuter village. It is characterised by large houses set inwell-wooded gardens with a strong heathy character.

Sherwood’s woodland is distinguished by large blocks of coniferplanting and oak-birch broadleaves. Here, at Clipstone, pitheadreclamation will be planted, extending the wooded area.

In the Dukeries there are a few nucleated estate villages,such as Perlethorpe and Hardwick, but the mainsettlements are isolated farmsteads. Colliery villages arevirtually absent from this area although there are largecountry houses with parkland estates. Notable examplesinclude Welbeck Abbey, Thoresby Hall, Worksop Manorand Clumber Park.

In the north there is a dispersed pattern of scattered villages,hamlets and isolated farmsteads. Small parklandssurrounding substantial country houses are a significanthistoric feature, including Babworth Park, Hodsock Priory,Osberton Hall, Ranby Hall, Hermiston Hall and Serlby Hall.Industrialised urban edge influences of larger commutersettlements extend into the northern parts of the area.

Land Cover

Most of the land is in agricultural use and a substantial partis in arable production producing cereals such as barley andwheat, with root crops such as sugar beet and potatoes asbreak crops. Livestock-rearing is also widespread particularlyintensive pig and poultry rearing. Pasture is uncommon,although there are some local areas of sheep rearing.

The farmland of the sandy soils is almost entirely arable,lying within large rectilinear fields divided by low hedgeswith few hedgerow trees. Woodland is most abundant onthe heaths and probably now covers a greater area than atany time since the Norman Conquest. Most is secondarywoodland. Large-scale planting of conifers occurred in thefirst half of the 20th century and many smaller woods wereamalgamated and expanded. Corsican and Scots pine arenow the dominant conifer species in these woods whichoften have mixed broadleaved edges.

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Smaller woodlands of native broadleaved and mixedwoodlands are also common with the main trees being oakand birch.

The area between the Maun valley and Worksop is the mostdensely wooded and contains the remnants of the woodlandsof Sherwood Forest as well as the emparked lands of theDukeries and many more recent plantations. The leastwooded area lies between Worksop and Retford and hassmall or medium-sized woodlands and plantations. The mainancient woodlands are the large remnants of SherwoodForest and woodlands around Newstead Abbey, with theirassociated heathland and acid grassland areas. Budby Forestrepresents the largest area of heather-dominated heath.

The Dukeries have a much greater extent of parkland,much of it retained as permanent pasture. The arable landtends to be in medium- to large-sized fields defined bybroadleaved woodland edges although there are also somelarge rectilinear enclosures. Some improved pasture alsooccurs particularly near the estate villages.

In the north, the land is dominated by arable land inregular, medium to large fields of rectilinear pattern,divided by low hawthorn hedges. There are many small- tomedium-sized woodlands. Woodland cover is generallyrather less than elsewhere in the area and tends to greaterdiversity. It includes species such as ash, oak, birch, sweetchestnut, wych elm, beech, alder and willows. Heathlandinfluences are relatively minor.

The Changing Countryside

● High inputs of fertiliser, cultivation and irrigation arerequired to maintain viable agricultural production. Theygive rise to soil deterioration (through panning) and loss(through wind-erosion) in some areas. There are alsoconcerns over nitrates entering the aquifer.

● The demise of the coal industry has left behind manycolliery sites, pitheads and spoil heaps. Miningsettlements often have rather ragged edges with an urbanfringe character.

● There has been a shift in emphasis from conifer tobroadleaved plantations.

● Hedges have been lost or over-cut and reduced in height insome areas, particularly on the more intensive arable land.

● There is pressure for the expansion of sandstone quarriesto meet demand for aggregates.

● The upgrading of the A1 and new bypasses in the southof the area are likely to have impacts on the landscape.

● Villages within easy reach of Nottingham and the largerwestern towns have been strongly influenced by recentresidential development.

Shaping the Future

● In the south and central parts of the area the GreenwoodCommunity Forest will be a focus for landscape, amenityand wildlife enhancement.

● The agricultural land is not of the highest quality and, ifEU and UK policies make arable more marginal, thereare opportunities to create more diverse landscapesincluding acid pasture and heathland.

● Pit heaps and other coal-mining features can beintegrated with the rolling landforms of Sherwood andheathlands and woodlands can be created.

● The trend for conversion of conifer woodlands to mixedbroadleaved woodland with areas of heathland can bedeveloped to enhance visual and wildlife interest.

● Many areas of land such as roadside verges, reclaimedcolliery land and old sandstone quarries are suitable forthe development of new heathlands.

● The conversion of arable fields to pasture withinparkland should be considered.

● There are opportunities to restore hedges and hedgerowtrees where they have traditionally been significantfeatures in the landscape.

● Care in planning residential development in and aroundsettlements would retain traditional layouts andmaterials. Opportunities should be taken to screen thehard edge of development from the open countryside.

Selected References

Nottinghamshire County Council, (1995) NottinghamshireCountryside Appraisal/Strategy: Draft.

Glossary

holts: woods or copses

podzolised: soil in which the bases of the upper parts havebeen leached out and deposited lower down

Around Rainworth, the area is dominated by arable productionwith large open fields, divided by low, gappy hedges, few trees anddry valleys.

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