Heritage Woodlands
These areas of woodland in the Borough of Rotherham have been given Heritage Woodland status which means that the area has been woodland for at least four hundred years. A series of leaflets are available about Heritage Woodlands. I picked mine up at Rotherham Show but if you are interested contact the Woodlands Officer on 44 (0)1709 822177.
Back in the Middle Ages and probably long before, woodlands were managed by a system referred to now as coppicing with standards. These woods often covered areas that were deemed unsuitable for cultivation and are most often irregularly shaped. They were usually protected by dry stone walls, or by a fenced or hedged bank with a ditch, to prevent livestock from grazing on the young shoots. The coppicing produced wood suitable for a variety of uses including baskets, hurdles and for making charcoal. The standards, left to grow tall, produced beams and planks for local building and many other uses.
Charcoal was used for heating the houses of the rich and more importantly around Rotherham, for the smelting of iron ore since the impurities in the coal made it unsuitable for the process. As late as the 20th charcoal was still used for making blister steel. Eventually the various uses of charcoal all but ended and charcoal-making largely ceased. No longer needed, the ancient woodlands became neglected. At the end of the 20th Century the ancient woodlands in Rotherham were included in a system of management, restored and improved for the enjoyment of the community.
Rotherham Council manage about a thousand acres of woodland in the borough. About half of these are classified as ancient woods and 576 acres of these are Heritage Woodlands.
For more information about visiting the woods, land forms, rocks and soils, history and heritage, plants, trees and vegetation, birds and animals, walks, educational use, woodland restoration and management work involved in each wood visit the website at Heritage Woodlands in South Yorkshire www.heritagewoodsonline.co.uk.
If you are interested in more about the woodlands in Rotherham there is an erudite tome for you to peruse or purchase at Rotherham Library:–