Within the heart of Sherwood Forest lies the medieval ruins of King John’s Palace, a hidden secret being excavated to find out more about Nottingham’s past.
The grade two listed ruin at Clipstone, Nottinghamshire, is an integral part to the legendary Sherwood Forest. The 12th century palace once stood proud as a popular leisure centre for eight royal monarch’s as a hunting ground.
In late 2014, Sherwood Forest Trust secured funding from the Lottery and the Magna Carta Committee for a yearlong project throughout the year called ‘Discover King John’s Palace’.
                                              Ian Major, Project manager for Sherwood Forest TrustÂ
Channel 4’s Time Team filmed an episode on the site in 2011. Four years on Andy Gaunt and Sean Crossley from Mercian Archaeological Services CIC, lead a team of volunteers exploring the palace in an attempt to discover the grounds layout .
Director Andy Gaunt said: “Volunteers are digging 50cm test pits into the ground on a grid every 5 metres. It’s all being done by local people and volunteers.”
Owner of the grounds Mickie Bradley, a long term resident in the area knew very little detail of the history of the site until excavation took place.
“We’re getting people from the local area who have known about the site or seen it, but never visited to come along and learn about it’s past,” she said.
Project manager of Sherwood Forest Trust, Ian Major, hopes the attraction will bring more visitors to the area to discover part of Nottingham’s lost history.
“Not many people know about it,” he said. “What we want to do, and what we’ve been doing for the last fortnight is bringing people to the site. We’ve bused in over 600 children, and we’ve had probably the same number in adults. What we’re trying to do is make sure the royalty have the same standing as Robin Hood.”
The aim of the funding is to bring as many visitors to the site as possible, whilst mapping where the palace grounds once stood to remember Nottingham’s medieval past
