Ring Wood

Near Hartcliff Hill, this beech plantation is exactly what its name implies - a perfectly circular woodland, surrounded by a protective stone wall. On the opposite side of Hartcliffe Hill Road is a corresponding circular stone wall which is dilapidated and has no trees; though a map from the 1850’s suggests that this may not always have been the case. These enclosures where most likely sheep pens, also called a folding or sheepfolds. However, such structures with trees were also referred to as sheep stells or wooded stells - a plantation shelter built to provide protection during spells of severe winter weather. They were placed in spots where snow would struggle to settle or form into drifts ie on ridges and knolls or between gullies and rivers. Circular sheepfolds are especially good at deflecting and dispersing snow. It’s highly likely that the a rare breed of sheep known as the Whitefaced Woodland (also called Penistone sheep) were kept here. This being the case, this woodland encased in a ring of stone may be as significant to Penistone as the old cotton mills are to Manchester or the steelworks to Sheffield. A forgotten monument to Penistone farming heritage which spans centuries. Set into the wall surrounding the wood is a milestone for the old salt route. Made of millstone grit, and consists of a post with a rounded top, the milestone is inscribed with the Roman numerals "XV", indicating 15 miles to Rotherham. One of the oldest known trading routes to pass through our area, the Old Salt Road or Saltersbrook runs from Northwich in Cheshire and is known as the Salt route or Pack Horse Trail. This Cheshire to Saltersbrook route was made into a turnstile road by an Act of 1732 and the second part Saltersbrook to Barnsley and Doncaster in 1740. The section that once went over Hartcliffe Hill ended at Rotherham. This was replaced by the road through Millhouse Green, which was also made into a turnpike route.