Sherwood Forest: Archive Training PIRO

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Here is the link to the background notes for the Archive Workshop. You can view them on line - copy them as a pdf. or print them off. For use as a personal educational resource. Copyright Public Information Research Organisation.

Events Diary 2012 Thynghowe and the forgotten heritage of Sherwood

Thynghowe and the forgotten heritage of Sherwood

These are the events coming up in this project. You are welcome to join us and to volunteer to take part in our activities.

Places may be limited so booking is essential

All of these events are free.
Young people under 16 must be accompanied by a responsible adult.
If you have difficulties with mobility, transport or getting away from family responsibilities get in touch as we may be able to help.

You can reserve your place by contacting the Greenwood Community Forest team by email on greenwood@nottscc.gov.uk or by phoning them on 0115 969 6518 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              0115 969 6518      end_of_the_skype_highlighting or 01623 827326 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              01623 827326      end_of_the_skype_highlighting

14 April 2012	Volunteer workshop 1 Introducing the story of Birklands and the strands of the project (see details below)	BOOK NOW
21 April 2012	Annual Perambulation walk to Thynghowe (see details below)	BOOK NOW
17 and 20 May 2012	Archive training and research at Mansfield Library (see details below)	BOOK NOW
3 November 2012	Volunteer workshop 2 with ground truthing training and feedback on archive research	Details to follow
November 2012 to February 2013	Ground truthing involving on-site surveying in the woodlands to identify and record the features located by LIDAR	Details to follow
March 2013	Volunteer workshop 3 to include ground truthing debrief and consultation on management options.	Details to follow
20 April 2013	Annual Perambulation Walk to Thynghowe	Details to follow
18-19 May 2013	Viking Spring Thing event at Sherwood Pines celebrating the Viking heritage of Sherwood Forest and promoting the outcomes of the project	Details to follow

Introductory Workshop
Sherwood Pines – Saturday 14th April 2012 – 10am start

This workshop is your chance to discover more about Thynghowe, Birklands and our project 'Thynghowe and the forgotten heritage of Sherwood'.

The morning sessions will cover the history of the area, how it is linked to the Viking Age and what we have discovered so far about the rich heritage of our woodlands. The three main strands of the project will be introduced: looking for evidence in the archives; surveying and 'ground truthing' in the Forest; and 'telling the story' of the past of Birklands.

After a lunch break there will be mini-workshop 'taster sessions' – meet and chat with the people involved. These sessions will end around 3pm.
Drinks will be provided during the morning session, bring a packed lunch or food is available at the Sherwood Pines Café

Car parking for people attending this event is free and it is suitable for folk of all ages.

The Friends of Thynghowe Annual Perambulation Walk
Birklands Forest – Saturday 21st April 2012 – 10am start from near Budby Pumping Station

Join us for our annual walk in the footsteps of the 1816 Perambulation of the Manor of Warsop. Walk along an ancient boundary and hear stories from the past of Birklands as we head towards the Viking Age assembly site of Thynghowe.

The walk to Thynghowe and back is about 3 miles and should take between 3 and 4 hours. After a lunch break there will be the option of extending the walk by a couple of miles by continuing along the boundary to Warsop Windmill. Transport will take you back to Budby.

This event is free and suitable for active folk of all ages. Young people under 16 must be accompanied by a responsible adult. There are no toilet facilities in the Forest (but plenty of trees!). If you have difficulties with transport or getting away from family responsibilities, get in touch as we may be able to help.

You will need waterproof clothing and sturdy footwear. Bring a packed lunch and a drink.

There will be a small number of places allowing folk with mobility problems to accompany the walk by traveling in a vehicle. These places must be reserved in advance.

Archive Research Workshop
Mansfield Library - Thursday 17th May 2012 – 6pm to 8pm - repeated on Sunday 20th May 2012 – 11am to 1pm

Join the Friends of Thynghowe history detectives “searching out evidence” of the lives of people who lived and worked in the Forest. We will investigate our social history and cultural heritage by looking at documents, maps and books. We will use the computers in the Discovery Room and the Local Studies Area.

These are introductory workshops and there will be opportunities for further research using a range of archives.

Viking Survey in Sherwood Forest is Seeking Volunteers

The Friends of Thynghowe will launch their new Heritage Lottery funded project on Saturday 3 March 11.30am at Mansfield Museum.

An interesting visual display will feature photographs, information, maps and documents.

We are looking for volunteers to join us in becoming 'history detectives'.

We will be searching the forest for archaeological features from the Iron Age to the Second World War! Including the Viking Age when Sherwood Forest was the home to Viking warrior farmers and the cradle of early democracy.

We will be searching the records and archives for historical information on our area of Sherwood Forest.

Come and meet us and have a chat and find out what we have done and are planning to do.

The display will be in the Mansfield Museum from 3 – 28 March.

Our timetable of events starts in April.
April 14 - an Introduction Workshop to all aspects of the project, including 'taster' sessions, will be held at Sherwood Pines.
April 21 - Annual Perambulation (walk approx. 3 miles) along the 1816 boundary through Birklands.
Both are bookable events as places are limited.
To book: Contact Gill Grievson 01623 827326 or 07740 845574

BBC : Archaeologists hunt for Viking heritage in Sherwood Forest

The land surrounding a mysterious ancient monument in Sherwood Forest is to be researched after a local history group received a £50,000 lottery grant.

A Thynghowe or Thing, an open-air meeting place where Vikings gathered to discuss the law, was discovered in Sherwood Forest seven years ago.

Experts surveyed the site this year and suggested the wider area be looked at.

The Friends of Thynghowe now plan to search for further evidence of Vikings including a "court circle".

Click to read the full story

New Mansfield Library Opens January 3rd 2012

The new Mansfield Library Opens on January 3rd 2012. This exiting venue will hopefully host some of our Thynghowe project training sessions and give us direct access to the Local Studies Section where we hope all our project findings will be kept. Go along and check it out.

Press item on Thynghowe Sherwood HLF Project Yorkshire Post

Click on the logo to read more

Click on The Yorkshire Post Logo to read more.

Lynda has also been interviewed by TraxFM Today.

Finding The Vikings of Sherwood Forest

The Friends of Thynghowe have just been awarded £49,900 from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF).

This money will fund a two year project 'Thynghowe – and the forgotten heritage of Sherwood', in the Birklands area of Sherwood Forest.

The project starts with a Lidar survey in January (Lidar is an optical remote sensing technology, a type of aerial photography). To investigate further the results of the Lidar survey the project team will recruit local people to join in the research activities. These activities will include volunteers going into the forest and 'ground truthing' – a form of surveying that uses the Lidar results to see what is actually on the ground. The project will also train people to use the Nottingham Archive and other sources to research and record their findings and discover their local heritage. It is hoped volunteers will include young people and people who may not have done anything like this before. The project will have a public launch and display at the beginning of March at Mansfield Museum.

The Friends of Thynghowe group was formed seven years ago from members of the three local history groups of Edwinstowe, Clipstone/Kings Clipstone, and Warsop after Stuart Reddish and Lynda Mallett rediscovered a Viking Assembly site called a Thyng or Thing deep in Sherwood Forest. During the last seven years the group have worked hard to research the area and to bring it to national and international attention.

Lynda Mallett one of the project managers said “We aim to include people who would not normally participate in these sort of activities for all sorts of reasons. We have funding to pay for transport where required, and even carer support for those who have elderly parents or children. One of our partners is Greenwood Community Forest and Gill Grievson their Greenwood & Conservation Projects Officer is very experienced in recruiting people particularly young people who need encouragement to participate”.

Emma Sayer, Head of Heritage Lottery Fund East Midlands, said “We at HLF are delighted to be able to offer our support to the Friends of Thyghowe. This is a fascinating site, this project has the potential to open up our understanding of the history of Sherwood Forest. By giving volunteers from across the community the opportunity to get involved in researching and interpreting the results of the survey, more people will have the chance to learn about and explore the heritage of their local area. We look forward to sharing in their discoveries as the project progresses.”