THE GLEADLESS VALLEY
Until the middle of the 19th century, the Gleadless Valley was an isolated rural area lying between the small villages of Heeley and Norton. At least four farms are known to have existed in the Lees Hall area since before the 17th century. As Sheffield grew to take in Heeley and Meersbrook, the valley began to be used by residents of nearby urban areas for walks and recreation. In order to serve these people, recreational facilities including allotments, sports grounds and Lees Hall Golf Course were established in the western part of the valley from the 1920s onwards.

Although the nearby Arbourthorne estates were built in the 1930s, the Gleadless Valley continued to be farmed until the 1950s, retaining a rural landscape of hedge-lined fields, woodlands and scattered farms. Urban development of the valley began in the late 1950's and continued into the 1960's, with the valley's housing estates being built to accommodate approximately 17,000 people. This development was remarkable for the way in which a network of open spaces based around the valley's existing mature woodlands was retained, both within the development, and between it and neighbouring built up areas. Most of these open areas have remained to the present day.

ARCHAEOLOGY
Archaeological surveys of the valley's woodlands have revealed extensive evidence for the production of a range of woodland products. Charcoal, an important raw material and fuel for the early South Yorkshire iron and steel industry is known to have been produced within Hang Bank Wood because of the presence of charcoal burning platforms.

Whitecoal, a material somewhat similar to charcoal but used in lead smelting rather than iron and steel production, is also known to have been produced in the woodlands. Evidence for this comes from the the presence of characteristically shaped whitecoal pits (also known as Q-pits because of their shape). These pits have been found in a number of the woods, including Hang Bank Wood.

Pits and depressions thought to be the result of surface digging for coal can be found in parts of Hang Bank Wood. In addition, the remains of trackways can be found in parts of the wood.

ANCIENT WOODLAND STATUS
As for many other woodland areas, the history of the Gleadless Valley woodlands can be deduced from a variety of sources. Much of this evidence makes it clear that the valley's woodlands are 'ancient woodlands', meaning that they have been in existence since at least 1600 and in all likelihood for far longer than this. The earliest known documentary evidence for woodlands in the Gleadless Valley dates from 1462 and refers to 'Herdyng Wood', the name given to the then more extensive area of woodland now split up to produce the two woodland areas of Herdings Wood and Rollestone Wood and The Lumb.

Although no documentary evidence exists for Hang Bank Wood, other features strongly suggest that it is an ancient woodland. One such clue is the name of the woodland, 'hang' being an Old Norse word meaning steep bank. The shape and location of ancient woodlands often indicates the way in which previously wooded areas were gradually taken into agricultural production, leaving those woodlands that still remain on ground unsuitable for agriculture because of its terrain. Hang Bank Wood is like a number of other woodlands in the Gleadless Valley on a steep slope not suitable for agricultural use.

Another way in which ancient woodlands can be distinguished from more recently established woodlands is their diverse flora and fauna. Indeed, certain plant species, usually those that spread relatively slowly by vegetative means, 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 species are found together, there is a high likelihood that the wood in which they occur is of ancient origin. A wide range of ancient woodland indicator species occur in woodlands in the Gleadless Valley, including Bluebell, Dog's Mercury, Ramsons, Wood Anemone, Wood Sorrel and Yellow Archangel.

WOODLAND MANAGEMENT
For nearly 250 years Hang Bank Wood was, in common with nearby Buck Wood, owned by the Dukes of Norfolk. Archaeological features show that it, like many other of the valley's woodlands, was coppiced over several centuries in order to produce charcoal and other woodland products. Coppicing is a form of woodland management in which deciduous trees are cut back to just above their base to form coppice stools. These 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. Coppicing for charcoal production within the Gleadless Valley woodlands is known to date back to at least 1492 when a record referring to Herdyng Wood states that this was leased by its owner for charcoal production.

Having lasted for hundreds of years, coppice management died out in the Sheffield area during the latter half of the 19th century as a result of a decline in demand for coppice products, particularly by the steel industry in which coal replaced charcoal as a fuel. Hang Bank Wood, like the other woodlands in the valley, became managed purely for timber and was converted to high forest by the planting of non-native species such as Beech, Sweet Chestnut, Sycamore and, to a lesser extent, Common Lime, Hornbeam and Larch from the middle of the 19th century onwards. The first of these is still very evident throughout the wood.

FURTHER INFORMATION
More general information on the history of the Heritage Woodlands is available elsewhere on this website.