There were farms, enclosures, and towns such as Nottingham, Mansfield, and Ollerton within the bounds of Sherwood, and so was Annesley Castle. Originally the term forest did not imply a wood, but rather a great waste (uninhabited or uncultivated land) or ‘chase’ reserved for hunting, including certain woods and underwoods as cover for the deer and other game.
The central and western parts of Nottinghamshire were thickly wooded, however the place-name relating to an area as in ‘field’ which was spelt ‘feld’ in old English, meaning a place where trees have been felled, or as we now say a clearing, is to be found in the western half of the shire, as in Ashfield, Balkfield, Basingfield, Eastfield, Farnsfield, Haggonsfield, and Highfield.
Although it contained various tracts of open country, it was far more thickly wooded than many of the old forests, a notable contrast to the forest of the High Peak in the adjoining county of Derby, where the proportion of woodland was quite small. It was not the largest forest in medieval England, and it owes much of its fame to the Robin Hood legend. Contrary to popular belief, Sherwood was not a continous forest.
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