Resting place of 'Sheffield-born' Robin Hood could be bulldozed and covered in concrete

A dying Robin Hood is said to have fired his final arrow out into the meadows around the Kirklees Hall estate in West Yorkshire before being buried, at his request, at the very spot where it landed.

Some historians now believe Robin Hood could have been born at the site of present day Normandale House in Loxley, Sheffield, in 1160 and may have done most of his robbing of the rich and giving to the poor in Barnsdale - between Barnsley and Doncaster - rather than Sherwood Forest.

The plans to cover what could be his final resting place have sparked protests from heritage enthusiasts.

Robert Bamforth, from the Campaign to Protect Rural England, said: "Everyone locally believes that is where Robin Hood died and no one has ever challenged that legend – not even Nottingham.

“If you have a Japanese tourist and you say to them 'Robin Hood died here and he shot his arrow over that warehouse' it doesn’t quite have the same ring to it.”

Max Rathwell, Chairman of Spen Valley Civic Society, said: “We know how well preserved the land is because it is still exactly as Charlotte Bronte described it in Chapter 12 of Shirley.

“It is a treasure island in an industrial landscape and Robin Hood’s grave would be a focal point.

"Instead of woodland and meadows and fields of wheat and barley it will just be a sea of monstrous sheds.”

A public inquiry into the Kirklees Council Local Plan is underway.