Beeley Wood

Beeley Wood is a woodland in the north of the City of Sheffield, near Middlewood, South Yorkshire, England. It is one of 35 ancient woodland areas within the Sheffield City boundary. An ancient woodland is defined as a site that has been continuously occupied by woodland from the year 1600 or before.

The woods are situated on the eastern side of the River Don between the village of Oughtibridge and the Sheffield suburb of Middlewood. Most common access from the Middlewood end of the wood is from the end of Clay Wheels Lane or from Middlewood Road South over the Don by the Rocher footbridge. The woods cover an area of approximately 150 acres (60 ha) and slope up quite steeply from the river gaining around 230 feet (70 m) in height before ending at farmland. The wood is traversed by two public footpaths, the lower of these is a pleasant and recently re-covered riverside walk which is part of the Upper Don Walk, a scenic walk by the river from the centre of Sheffield to Oughtibridge. The other public footpath runs the length of the upper wood at its highest point, there are many other paths not marked on the OS map. Beeley Wood is traversed by the famous Woodhead railway line, there is one level crossing and one footbridge for pedestrians to cross the line. The woods are home to a large colony of bats and all three species of woodpecker native to Britain can be seen in the woods. In spring there is a large covering of bluebells on the woodland floor. Wilson Spring Wood, a small area of wood, classed as an ancient and semi natural woodland, measuring approximately 980 by 820 feet (300 by 250 m) lies to the north-east of the main wood, separated by an area of farmers fields 980 feet (300 m) in width.

The earliest written reference to Beeley Wood is in a deed dated from 1161 in which the monks of Ecclesfield Priory were given permission to graze their flock every year from January to Easter in a large wood stretching from Birley Edge down to the River Don. Beeley Wood is a surviving part of this large wood and part of it is still called Priory Wood. In this 12th century document the wood was referred to as "BYLLHAUWODE" which is derived from the two Old English words Billa and haga and means Billa's enclosure and suggests that the woodland was originally attached to an Anglo-Saxon farm belonging to Billa. Further mention was made in a document released upon the death of Thomas de Furnival in 1332 when Beeley Wood was named as one of eleven locations under the heading of Woods, Moors and Commons. Under this agreement people were allowed to graze their animals in the wood. However, by the 16th century Beeley Wood had become a coppice wood in which the pasturing of animals was discouraged. At the end of the 16th century Beeley Wood was one of eleven coppice woods in Sheffield which were mentioned in a document drawn up for Gilbert Talbot, 7th Earl of Shrewsbury.

...
Wikipedia