Robin Hood Of Yorkshire

EDM number 535 in 2003-04, proposed by David Hinchliffe on 03/02/2004.

That this House contrasts the complete lack of any factual basis to Nottinghamshire's claims to be the county of Robin Hood with actual records of his Yorkshire connections; believes he was most likely to have been Robert Hode of Wakefield, a forester, recorded in the Wakefield Court Rolls as living with wife Matilda at Bichill, Wakefield, in 1316; notes he is not among the defaulters when, in 1320, Thomas, Earl of Lancaster, took over the Manor of Wakefield and raised an army against Edward II; believes that Robert Hode was one of the rebels outlawed when Thomas was defeated and executed in 1323, when records also indicate that his house in Wakefield was among properties seized and that, after this failed rebellion, Robert and Matilda fled to what became the focus for much of the Robin Hood legend, the Barnsdale Forest; recalls that the outlaw is known to have met his death at the hands of the Prioress of Kirklees, around 1347; notes, in addressing Nottinghamshire's claims, that in medieval times there was afforestation from Sherwood, through Barnsdale, nearly to Leeds and that prior to the creation of the title of Sheriff of Nottingham in 1449, the Sheriffs were actually of Nottinghamshire with a jurisdication including parts of Yorkshire and no doubt a role in bringing to justice the rebels; and concludes that just as the current Sheriff of Nottingham is a Yorkshireman, historical evidence also indicates that so was the real Robin Hood.

This motion has been signed by a total of 30 MPs, 1 of these signatures have been withdrawn.