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 Leeshall 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 Leeshall 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.

The Meers Brook, the major watercourse in the Gleadless Valley, is of historical importance as it once formed part of the boundary between the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of Mercia and Northumbria. The name of the river dates from this time, 'Meer' being the Saxon word for boundary. The river continued to form part of the county boundary between Yorkshire and Derbyshire until as late as 1933.

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 at least some of the woodlands because of the presence of charcoal burning platforms.

Boundary banks have been found on the south-eastern and western edges of Leeshall Wood and the first of these is thought to be medieval in age. These would probably have been made to keep animals and intruders out of the woodland whilst coppice wood, used in the production of charcoal and whitecoal, was growing.

Areas of pits and depressions in Lees Hall Wood are thought to be the result of the digging of surface coal. The remains of trackways can also 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. The earliest written record for the Leeshall area dates from 1583 and refers to Carr Wood.

The wood takes its name from Lees Hall, a now vanished farm known to have been established before 1616. 'Lees' is a Saxon word for a woodland clearing and reflects the way in which flatter land was converted to agriculture, with residual areas of woodland being left on steeper terrain. Although no documentary evidence exists for Lees Hall Wood, its shape, boundaries, archaeological features and terrain are similar to those of the known ancient woodlands in the valley and strongly suggest that this woodland is also ancient.

Another way in which 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 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. The rich flora of Lees Hall Wood includes many of these ancient woodland indicators.

WOODLAND MANAGEMENT

This event in Lees Hall Wood was designed to show both children and adults the kinds of woodland crafts that would have taken place in the woods in the past.

Charcoal platforms scattered throughout Lees Hall Wood indicate that it, like most of the other ancient woodlands in the Gleadless Valley, was managed as a coppice woodland for several centuries. 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. Further evidence for past coppicing is that some of the mature Oaks are multi-stemmed and appear to be growing from large old coppice stools. 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 this purpose.

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 Lees Hall Wood. Evidence for this comes from the the presence of characteristically shaped whitecoal pits (also known as Q-pits because of their shape). There is a well-defined example in the central part of the wood.

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. The woods became managed purely for timber and were converted to high forest by the planting of non-native species. In Lees Hall Wood, the main non-native species planted was Sycamore, along with smaller quantities of Beech, Poplar and Larch. Most of the woodland's mature Oaks were probably also planted at this time.

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