Wellow is a village in

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated Notts.) is a landlocked county in the East Midlands region of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. The traditi ...

, England. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 444, increasing to 470 at the 2011 census. It has a village green and a

maypole A maypole is a tall wooden pole erected as a part of various European folk festivals, around which a maypole dance often takes place. The festivals may occur on 1 May or Pentecost (Whitsun), although in some countries it is instead erected at ...

, which is still in use. The parish church of St Swithin is 12th century, which was restored, with a new chancel, in 1878–9. On the east and south sides of the village are the remains of a defensive ditch, which originally encircled the village. To the south is the

deserted medieval village In the United Kingdom, a deserted medieval village (DMV) is a former settlement which was abandoned during the Middle Ages, typically leaving no trace apart from earthworks or cropmarks. If there are fewer than three inhabited houses the convent ...

of Grimston, which now forms part of the Manor of Wellow. To the north east is Jordan Castle, a

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

ringwork consisting of a circular earthwork surrounded by a bank and ditch. Wellow also has, in Wellow Park, the largest remaining example of ash-wych

elm Elms are deciduous and semi-deciduous trees comprising the flowering plant genus ''Ulmus'' in the plant family Ulmaceae. They are distributed over most of the Northern Hemisphere, inhabiting the temperate and tropical-montane regions of North ...

woodland A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with trees, or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the ''plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade (see ...

in Nottinghamshire.

History of The Lordship of the Manor of Wellow

The manors of Wellow and Grimston have anciently been held by the lords of Jordon Castle, and the lords of the manor of Wellow In 1290 Richard Foliot,

Knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...

of Jordon Castle had the rights of Stallage of the market and fair on St. Swithuns day valued at 40s yearly in Wellow. Jordan Foliot,

Baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knig ...

de Foliot,

Lord Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or ar ...

of Jordon Castle was granted the power to embattle his dwelling at Jordon Castle, he was the

Lord of the Manor Lord of the Manor is a title that, in Anglo-Saxon England, referred to the landholder of a rural estate. The lord enjoyed manorial rights (the rights to establish and occupy a residence, known as the manor house and demesne) as well as seig ...

of Grimston, and Wellow, and of Besthorpe, with the Soc of Grimston, and its members, in Kirton Schidrintune, in Willoughby, and Walesby, in Besthorpe, and Carleton, and in Franesfeild.

Cratley Cratley is a lost village in Nottinghamshire, England. It may have been located close to North Laithes Farm at Kneesall although an alternative site east of Laund Wood has been suggested. Another name's for the settlement is Cratela, or Creilage. ...

and Walesby have been held as Sub Manor of Wellow and Grimston. There was an

assize The courts of assize, or assizes (), were periodic courts held around England and Wales until 1972, when together with the quarter sessions they were abolished by the Courts Act 1971 and replaced by a single permanent Crown Court. The assizes e ...

in the time of King John, between the Abbot of Rufford, and William, son of Robert, and others, concerning Common of Pasture in Wellow and Grimston, The Abbot pleaded that they could not claim nor have any common of pasture in the pasture of the said Abbot, nor he in theirs, because the said lands and pastures were granted from lands of divers Baronies (or lordships) viz. of the

Barony Barony may refer to: * Barony, the peerage, office of, or territory held by a baron * Barony, the title and land held in fealty by a feudal baron * Barony (county division), a type of administrative or geographical division in parts of the British ...

of Robert de Cauz, and the Barony of Gilbert de Gant, and that bounds were made between them, that neither Barony could have Common of Pasture in the other, and produced the letters of King John, which testified to these facts. Wellow is reputed to have the second largest acreage of registered

common land Common land is land owned by a person or collectively by a number of persons, over which other persons have certain common rights, such as to allow their livestock to graze upon it, to collect Wood fuel, wood, or to cut turf for fuel. A person ...

north of Watford, over parts of which the Wellow toftholders still have grazing rights. The village is associated with

Robin Hood Robin Hood is a legendary heroic outlaw originally depicted in English folklore and subsequently featured in literature and film. According to legend, he was a highly skilled archer and swordsman. In some versions of the legend, he is depic ...

. An historian has claimed Robin Hood was a pseudonym by which the ancient Lords of Wellow were once known.Molyneux-Smith, Tony. 1998. ''Robin Hood and the Lords of Wellow''. Nottingham: Nottingham County Council Leisure Services Department

References

External links

* http://www.britannia.com/tours/rhood/wellow.html Thorotons History of Nottinghamshire volume 3by John Throsby 1796 P.199-203 'Welley, Grymston', * http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=76963 {{authority control Newark and Sherwood Villages in Nottinghamshire