Maid Marian, a Blidworth girl.

 

According to local legend the real Maid Marian was a girl from Blidworth Village. Other stories say she only stayed there in a house on a hill, opposite the Black Bull Pub, during the night before her marriage to Robin Hood. In reality the Black Bull is at the base of a hill, but if you walk up it, you reach a spot  opposite the church where Will Scarlet was buried.

On her wedding day, Will Scarlet, also thought to have been a Blidworth man, is said to have escorted Marian from the house to Edwinstowe. There is also a story that Robin Hood's Outlaws used a nearby cave on the hillside in which to hide their stolen loot.

Above: "Robin Hood" (1922). "The Story of Robin Hood and his Merry Men" (1952). "Robin of Sherwood" (1984 - 1986). "The Adventures of Robin Hood" TV series, (1955 - 1959). Patricia Driscoll makes a brief return to the role in "Labyrinth" TV series (1980).

Will Scarlet's Grave, Blidworth. Part 2.

 

In the grave yard at the rear of the Church of "St Mary of the Purification", Blidworth, just inside the iron gates, lays Will Scarlet's grave. In actual fact this oddly mismatched assembly of old stones was formed using the original apex of the church tower, and is not really a grave stone at all. But was Will Scarlet buried here?

There are graves on this hill side, within the boundaries of Sherwood Forest, which are much older than the present building, and no doubt some of the men buried here had disputes with the Sheriff of Nottingham. Possibly one such man was Will Scarlet himself. Whatever the truth, these unmarked stones serve as an appropriate focal point for those wishing to pay their respects.

Above: "Robin of Sherwood" TV series, 1984/86. Below: "The Adventures of Robin Hood" (1938),    "Bandit of Sherwood Forest" (1946).

Will Scarlet grave, Blidworth. Part 1.

 

Blidworth Village has several connections to Robin Hood via both Will Scarlet and Maid Marion. The present Church of St. Mary of the Purification in Blidworth, dates from 1739, but a wooden church stood on the crest of this hill since time immemorial. The Saxons replaced that wooden structure with stone, and it was probably that stone building which Will Scarlet, his friend Robin Hood, and Maid Marian would have known, and which later became the source of the Chapel of St Lawrence. In the rear graveyard one can still see the beautiful remnants of this stone building. According to legend, Will Scarlet was buried in this graveyard up against the original church wall.

In the 15th century, during the reign of Richard 3rd, a tower was added and it became the church of St Mary of the Purification. When the building fell down in the early 18th century that tower was left intact, and the current building added on to it. A part of the tower was used as a marker for Will's grave. Probably not the actual spot, but a well intended and respectful tribute nevertheless.

Above: "The Story of Robin Hood and his Merry Men", 1952. Below: "The Adventures of Robin Hood", 1938, and Will Scarlet lies wounded and dying, "Son of Robin Hood", 1958.