ARCHAEOLOGY
Of the two parts of the site, Hail Mary Hill Wood is of the greatest archaeological interest. An archaeological site dating from the Mesolithic (Middle Stone Age) period lies just below the summit of Hail Mary Hill. Here the raw materials, chert and flint, were fashioned into 'tools' used for a variety of purposes. Elsewhere in the wood, archaeologists have found a broken arrow point and flint flakes. A pottery fragment of Roman age has also been found on the summit of Hail Mary Hill.

More recent woodland management has left its mark in the form of a woodland bank on the boundary between Hail Mary Hill Wood and Falconer Wood.

ANCIENT WOODLAND STATUS
Whilst historical records for both Hail Mary Hill and Falconer Woods are less comprehensive than those for nearby Treeton Wood, they are both thought to be of ancient origin and there is certainly clear evidence for their existence since at least the mid-18th century.

Hail Mary Hill and Falconer Woods are situated in exactly the kind of place where ancient woodlands are generally expected to be. They are located in the corner of the parish of Aston-cum-Aughton and are on relatively steeply sloping ground, this being less likely than other areas to have been cleared for agriculture.

Ancient woodlands can be distinguished from more recently established woodlands is by their diverse flora and fauna. Indeed, certain plant species, usually those that spread relatively slowly, are known to be either entirely restricted to, or only rarely found outside, ancient woodlands. These are known as 'ancient woodland indicator species'. Where a number of these are found together, there is a high likelihood that the wood in which they occur is of ancient origin. A wide range of these indicator species occurs in Hail Mary Hill and Falconer Woods, including Bluebell, Dog's Mercury, Ramsons, Wood Anemone, Wood Sorrel and Yellow Archangel.

WOODLAND NAMES
Falconer Wood in common with the adjacent Falconer Farm is thought to derive its name from Robert de Faulkener, a fourteenth century Norman lord and landowner in the parish of Aston-cum-Aughton.

The name of Hail Mary Hill Wood is thought to have originally been Hell Mother Hill Wood. On a map dating from 1828, it is referred to as Hail Mother Hill Wood.

Oak trees on the edge of Treeton Dyke submerged by high water levels during the wet autumn of 1999.

WOODLAND MANAGEMENT
The vegetation which developed naturally in the Sheffield region after the last Ice Age is thought to have consisted of wet woodland dominated by Willow and Alder in the valley bottoms; with Oak-Birch woodland on lower valley slopes; and Birch-Rowan scrub on more exposed sites.

The clearance of this 'wildwood' began slowly with the arrival of Neolithic settlers in around 4,000B.C. The rate of clearance accelerated with the growth of agricultural settlements and continued apace until the time of the Norman conquest. By 1086, at the time of the Domesday Book, the Treeton area was, in common with large areas of Rotherham and Sheffield, dominated by wood pasture, in which the upper levels of the woodland were exploited for its trees whilst the lower levels were used as pasture for animals. This type of woodland management was common where woods were widespread and the population sparse and scattered.

As populations grew and as demand for timber increased, woods became scarce and valuable resources. As a result, coppicing, a type of woodland management which gave a continuous and self-renewing supply of trees was introduced. When a wood is coppiced, deciduous trees are cut back to just above their base to form coppice stools which then sprout quickly, forming numerous poles, of value in construction and as a fuel. The process can be repeated again and again, usually at about 15 to 20 year intervals.

Although the history of Hail Mary Hill and Falconer Woods is less well documented than that of nearby Treeton Wood, it can be fairly safely assumed that, in common with the great majority of other woods in the area, coppicing took place here and continued until the mid to late 19th century.

The woodlands are also known to have been exploited for other products, both officially and unofficially. Records dating from around 1710 and 1882 show that Treeton Wood was exploited for its oak bark, which was used in the leather tanning industry. The practice by local people of collecting hazel nuts within the woodlands could cause considerable damage to wood boundaries and to the woodland itself and in the autumn of 1812 the Duke of Norfolk posted notices around the boundary of Treeton Wood, warning of prosecution for 'nutters'. A copy of this can be seen in the book, Rotherham's Woodland Heritage.

Following the middle of the 19th century, coppicing declined because of the substitution of charcoal as a fuel by coke, and also as a result of the way in which products previously made of wood were now being manufactured using iron and steel. Like many other woods in the area, Treeton Wood was converted to high forest by the planting of non-native tree species such as Sycamore, Sweet Chestnut (some of which still remain), Lime and Larch, as well as native species, for example Oak, Ash and Birch. The presence of mature Beech and Sweet Chestnut trees in Hail Mary Hill and Falconer Woods also points to planting in the past.

Both Treeton Wood and extensive parts of Hail Mary Hill and Falconer Woods are now dominated by young trees with occasional mature standards. This suggests extensive felling in the past century, perhaps during the 1926 General Strike or the Second World War. At these times it is known that large areas of woodland in the Rotherham area, including Canklow Wood, were felled as an unofficial source of domestic fuel.

Hail Mary Hill and Falconer Woods were acquired by Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council from the British Coal Corporation in 1989.