Robin Hood’s Bow
Posted by Robert Fortunaso, 21/11/2024.
There is a bow on display at Renishaw Hall, Derbyshire, along with a document of authenticity which states that the bow belonged to Robin Hood. The document reads:
‘Robin Hood’s bow was given to Mr. Bartlet by the family at Kirklees Hall in Yorkshire which formerly was a Nunnery, a Relation of his being Lady Abbess and to which place Robin Hood fled for safety and tradition says he was taken very ill and ordered to be bled, his Relation procured a Hole to be cut in the bottom of the Porringer by which he bled to death – he was buried in the Park where a Tomb Stone said to be his is to be seen’.
‘This bow was given to Mr. Bartlet, upwards of 40 years ago it had been in the house beyond the memory of man and always been considered as Robin Hood’s’.
Below this is a statement in later handwriting: ‘Account of Robin Hood’s Bow by Benjamin Bartlet, husband of Martha Heathcote, daughter of Dr. Gilbert Heathcote and niece of Sir John Rodes of Barlborough’.
Sir Reresby Sitwell (1927-2009), owner of Renishaw Hall and author of Robin Hood’s Bow, could not supply any information on Benjamin Bartlet* but he does mention that his wife’s family, the Heathcote’s, owned Barlborough Hall and its estate near Renishaw Hall. The bow was apparently hanging in Barlborough Hall much to the interest of Sir Osbert Sitwell, in his youth at the turn of the twentieth century; he bought the bow in 1949. Sir Osbert passed Renishaw Hall to his nephew Sir Reresby, who owned it from 1965 to 2009, when he bequeathed it to his daughter Alexandra. Renishaw Hall has been the home of the Sitwell family for some four hundred years.
* I have discovered (on Stirnet.com ‘Heathcote01’) that Martha Heathcote (died 1/1/1785) was married to Benjamin Bartlett of Bradford (died 02/03/1787). They were married on 21/6/1744.
THE SALE OF THE BOW
The Worksop Guardian of 8th August, 1952 reads:
‘This talk of archery calls to mind the sale in November 1949, at Worksop, of a bow reputed to have belonged to Robin Hood. After brisk bidding, the relic was knocked down under the auctioneer’s hammer to Sir Osbert Sitwell, the author, for £27. There was authentication for the bow written in mid 17th Century handwriting. This document describes how Robin Hood sought refuge at Kirklees Priory – now Kirklees Hall – where one of his relatives was the Lady Abbess. He was very ill, and in an effort to cure him he was bled; but bled to death. The Abbess took possession of the bow. Mr. H. C. Hall, of Ruddington, who was at the same auction as Sir Osbert, said he had been determined to get the bow for Nottingham. He kept bidding up to £26 but seeing that Sir Osbert was determined to get it at any price he decided to give up’.
There was an ironic situation: The auctioneer was Mr. Rupert Spencer, a partner in the firm of Henry Spencer & Sons, fine art dealers and land agents, who at one time managed the estates of Sir Reresby. Rupert Spencer’s colleague, Luke McQueen Seymour, was an old friend and mentor to Sir Reresby. Seymour was present at the sale of the bow, and he revealed that when the sale was over, and Henry Spencer’s porter handed the bow to Sir Osbert, it slipped from his grip, fell to the floor and smashed into pieces; it cost Sir Osbert another £19 to get the bow repaired. Seymour had provided a cutting from the Worksop Guardian which reveals that: ‘The vendor of the bow and accompanying letter in 1949, was a Mr. Fox, Principal of the Technical College of Worksop. We may safely assume that this gentleman bought bow and letter from an earlier sale of the contents of Barlborough Hall’.
CONCLUSIONS
The so-called document of authenticity which states that ‘Robin Hood’s Bow was given to Mr. Bartlet by the family at Kirklees Hall in Yorkshire’ is curious; this must be the Benjamin Bartlett of Bradford that I have discovered. However, according to Sir Reresby, ‘the charming Lady Armytage, widow of Sir John*, eighth baronet, swears she has never heard of any such bow or arrow in safekeeping at Kirklees’. The history of the bow is dubious, whether it was ever at Kirklees is impossible to say. In the words of Sir Reresby, ‘One can only conclude that, if there ever was a Robin Hood – and we have to accept there were several – each one must have mustered a fistful of bows and a quiverful of arrows’.
* Sir John Armytage, whose family had owned Kirklees estate since 1565, took possession of Kirklees in 1947, he married Lady Armytage in 1949, and they had one daughter. Sir John died in 1983, but Lady Armytage remained at Kirklees Hall until 1997, when she moved to a smaller property on the estate; she died in 2008. See also, Robin Hood’s Grave.
This page contains information found in Robin Hood’s Bow: From a lecture by Sir Reresby Sitwell Bt, D.L., Litt. D., Paperback, 36 pages, publisher, Renishaw Hall, 2000?; YorkshireLive, 11 April 2008 – Updated 12 July 2013 (online); The Sitwell Family, Prepared By Alexandra Sitwell & Renishaw Archivist, Christine Beevers (online).
The bow above the fireplace at Renishaw Hall, behind protective glass, with the document of authenticity to the left of the mantlepiece.
The document of authenticity.
Sir Reresby Sitwell holding Robin Hood’s Bow, from his booklet, which can be purchased at Renishaw Hall.