| Notes |
- Sir Knight William III Whittington was twenty years older than hiswife Joan Mansel. He died at forty nine years of age.
The first locality of ancestry was mentioned at Warwick, Warwickshire,England after the Norman invasion. "We know that the family had ashire in Warwick. The first mention we have of Pauntley,Gloucestershire, England is with William Whittington in 1260. Whenarriving to William (III) Whittington on the genealogy list we seethat he is mentioned as "Lord of Pauntley", and he died in 1359. Hisson Robert Whittington, "This Robert was Sheriff of Gloucester in1402-3. He died in 1424", and he too was referred to as "Lord ofPauntley". Many of their descendants are mentioned as being born inPauntley before and after this Robert. It is also noted that severalof the "Lords" were married in castles, plus mentioned as sheriff?sand "Sir" in titles.
By KATE SCHUMAN, Associated Press Writer
Sun Nov 4, 2:34 PM ET
EDWINSTOWE, England
Robin Hood might have a hard time hiding out in the Sherwood Forest oftoday.
The forest once covered about 100,000 acres, a big chunk ofpresent-day Nottinghamshire County. Today its core is about 450 acres,with patches spread out through the rest of the county.
Experts say urgent action is needed to regenerate the forest and savethe rare and endangered ancient oaks at its heart.
Some 15 organizations have joined forces to draw up a rescue plan,hoping to win a $100 million grant through a TV competition inDecember.
"If you ask someone to think of something typically English orBritish, they think of the Sherwood Forest and Robin Hood," saidAustin Brady, the regional director of the East Midlands ConservancyForestry Commission. "They are part of our national identity ... butthe Sherwood forest is a real place and the real forest needs helptoo."
The forest is beloved for its connection to Robin Hood, the legendary13th century bandit who supposedly hid there from his nemesis, theSheriff of Nottingham, in between stealing from the rich and giving tothe poor.
One of Sherwood's oldest and most celebrated trees is Major Oak nearEdwinstowe, the town where legend has Robin marrying Maid Marion.Historians believe it and other Sherwood oaks could have been saplingsback in Robin's time.
Park rangers say the collection of ancient oaks is one of the greatestin Europe. But they see an increase in the trees' rate of decline.
Over the centuries, the forest was carved up for farms, mines, townsand logging. Sherwood timber built medieval ships and even part ofLondon's St. Paul's Cathedral.
Now, the ravages of age ? and, some fear, climate change ? are takingtheir toll. On average one veteran oak per year would fall; this yearseven have come down and the rate seems to be accelerating, said IziBanton, the forest's chief ranger.
Currently 997 ancient oaks stand on the 450 acres known as the"beating heart of the forest," Banton said. About 450 are stillliving, and of those, 250 are good shape, while the other 200 areparticularly vulnerable. The remainder are standing deadwood, stillvaluable to the forest because of the life they support.
Each oak has its own management plan and some even have names, likeMedusa, Stumpy and Twister. Rangers monitor them closely, watching forbranches that look droopy or stressed, anxious to ensure that eachtree lives as long as possible, said Paul Cook, a senior ranger.
"Every time I come up here I think, 'Has that one gotten slightlylower?'" Cook said, looking at one aging oak. "It is a shock everytime one comes down."
Ancient oaks survive about 900 years, of which 300 years are spentgrowing and 300 dying. Of the seven trees already lost this year, fourwere felled by high winds on one February night.
With fallen trees go the mostly unique kinds of beetles, moths andbats that live in them.
"It's the hidden side of Sherwood ? everyone knows about the amazingtrees, but they're not aware of life it supports," Banton said."They're not all cute and fluffy, but they have just as an importantrole to play."
The oaks and wildlife will become more vulnerable as long as theyremain isolated from the rest of the forest, Brady said. The rescueplan would focus on planting 250,000 trees to knit the parts of theforest back together.
Hopes are high that Sherwood Forest will win the grant from BIGLottery, a branch of the National Lottery that gives out money to goodcauses. Last year, the lottery launched Living Landmarks, a TV programthat encourages communities across Britain to work together to improvequality of life and environment.
The lottery committee has shortlisted Sherwood and four other projectsto vie for the $100 million.
"This lottery project is the biggest one that there's ever been,"Brady said. "It's almost a once in a lifetime opportunity to get theforest back on track."
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Abt 1310 - 1359 (~ 48 years)
