- 13/06/2025
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00:00My walks take me to every corner of Britain as I seek out history embedded in the landscape.
00:09In this country, you're never very far from mysterious ruins or the shadow of unwelcome visitors.
00:18So from romantic moors to majestic peaks, I'm really enjoying some serious walking.
00:25Each of my walks leads me through a different time and a stunning location to find the stories you can only really appreciate on foot.
00:36This time I'm in Nottinghamshire, walking right through Sherwood Forest and up into the peaks of Derbyshire.
00:44I'm on the trail of an immensely unpopular king.
00:46A brutal medieval tyrant, sworn enemy of Robin Hood, and the man forced to accept the Magna Carta or lose his kingdom.
00:58Got it? Yes, I'm on the trail of Bad King John.
01:02Today, the Peak District National Park is famed among walkers.
01:18200 square miles of stunning Derbyshire parkland open to all.
01:22Over the border in Nottinghamshire, the peaks give way to the ancient oaks of Sherwood Forest, still famous for its folklore and legend.
01:34In the 13th century, these two very different landscapes were a playground for King John.
01:41And would become his central stronghold as the kingdom turned against him.
01:46Over four days and 70 miles, my walk across this region will follow John's downfall.
01:59Starting at the medieval boundary to Nottinghamshire's forest, I'll discover how his quest for cash made powerful enemies as I reach Rufford Abbey.
02:09On day two, I enter the modern remnants of Sherwood and join the trail of Robin Hood.
02:16Then it's on to Derbyshire and up to Bolsover Castle, before hopping over the M1 to reach my bed for the night.
02:24Day three, and I stop by Chatsworth to dig out some stonking evidence of John's approach to kingship.
02:30From there, the march to civil war leads me to Montal Head.
02:35As John's kingdom unravels, my final push takes me to his fortress at the centre of the peaks.
02:41And the momentous turning point in our history, that was Magna Carta.
02:53So, who was John?
02:55He was a Plantagenet and born in 1167.
03:01As Henry II's fifth and youngest son, no one expected him to become king.
03:07But one by one, John's siblings died off, edging him closer to the throne.
03:13And in the year this Nottingham pub claims to have served its first pint, Henry II popped his clogs.
03:22Now, just two sons were left, Prince John and big brother Richard.
03:27Richard I, or Richard the Lionheart as we know him, has always had this glowing reputation, hasn't he?
03:34Fearless and brave when he was on the Crusades, and noble and just when he was back home.
03:39So you've got him all heroic, and John all nasty and villainous.
03:43But is that fair, or is it just a cartoon version of history?
03:46I couldn't come to this part of the country without stopping by Nottingham Castle.
03:55The present building dates from the 17th century,
03:59but the site is still famous as the favoured hangout of John
04:02and his notorious henchman, the Sheriff of Nottingham.
04:08John was given the castle when he was still just a prince,
04:12together with the rich hunting counties of Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire.
04:17Like most royals at the time, he'd spent his childhood in France.
04:23But this was part of England, where he could feel at home.
04:29The next 20 years would be seismic.
04:33John would get the throne and he'd be in charge not just of Nottinghamshire,
04:37but the whole of England.
04:38And a few years after that, he would become so mistrusted
04:42that the country would rise up and demand that never again
04:46should a king of England enjoy absolute rule.
04:51To mark the Magna Carta's 800th anniversary,
04:54it's this story of John's fall from grace
04:57that I'm going to explore on my walk.
04:59I'm starting 25 miles north of Nottingham.
05:09I've had a tip-off that one of John's first dastardly acts as king
05:13took place at a castle just a few miles from here,
05:16and I want to find it.
05:17My route takes me through a landscape
05:21that looks nothing like our modern idea of a forest.
05:25But a forest this once was.
05:28Like the rest of the kingdom since the Norman invasion,
05:33royal forests were owned by the monarch.
05:37He then leased selected lands back to his most powerful subjects,
05:41the barons.
05:43This feudal system had worked for 130 years.
05:47But just 16 years after John got to the throne,
05:50the nation would be close to civil war.
05:54So what was it about John?
05:58I've arranged to meet medieval historian Graham Seale.
06:03I suppose the one thing we all know about King John
06:07is that he signed the Magna Carta,
06:09which I just happened to have a copy of.
06:11Very good, I was hoping you would.
06:13Show me a good bit.
06:14Well, the one that everyone knows is, of course, Clause 39.
06:18Oh, we all know that.
06:19Which says,
06:21No freeman shall be taken or imprisoned or deceased,
06:25or that means have lands taken away,
06:26without legal judgment by his peers.
06:31And some people see it as proto-trial by jury.
06:34But actually, the real clause in here is Clause 61,
06:38which is that the barons insist that if John misbehaves,
06:43they will destroy his castles,
06:46they will take his land,
06:47and he will become a phantom of a king.
06:50So the significance of this
06:52is that the barons are actually constraining him?
06:56More than that, they are collapsing his authority.
07:00John's misdeeds must have been extraordinary
07:03to prompt this first organised attack
07:05on the absolute power of a king.
07:07But was he really the monster history makes out?
07:11The Chronicle source from later on in the 13th century
07:15famously says,
07:16As foul as hell is,
07:18it was made yet fouler still
07:19by the presence of King John.
07:21But you don't agree with the Chroniclers, do you?
07:23You think that he was nicer than they did.
07:25I do, because there's an alternative body of evidence
07:27which suggests that he was.
07:29The administrative evidence,
07:30the record evidence,
07:31the charter evidence.
07:32What does that say about him?
07:34If you study that closely,
07:35that suggests that he was energetic,
07:37conscientious, vigorous,
07:38all of the things which the Chronicles
07:41allege that he wasn't.
07:42It's hard to believe, Graham.
07:43It's hard to believe.
07:48To judge for myself,
07:50I'm continuing my search
07:51for John's first castle conquest.
07:54And that means heading deeper into the old forest.
07:58800 years ago,
08:00royal forests covered four-fifths of Nottinghamshire
08:03and around half of Derbyshire.
08:06But they weren't just for the king and his mates
08:08to hunt in.
08:11Anyone living or working within their boundaries
08:14was taxed under a punishing system of forest laws.
08:19The cash raised from these taxes
08:21was collected at the castle I'm trying to find,
08:24somewhere near the little village of Laxton.
08:29That is Laxton Church.
08:32There is Laxton.
08:37There's the Motten Bailey Castle.
08:40That's the route I reckon I've been going on.
08:43So, unless I'm daft,
08:46I think the Motten Bailey should be...
08:49See where those horses are with those trees beyond?
08:52I reckon it's over there.
08:53Let's see if I can go round the side.
08:54Oh, that's classic, absolutely classic.
09:05Got to be a castle.
09:06Look, there's the Mott, there's the Bailey.
09:09No, in my memory,
09:10I probably dug it sometime in the last 20 years
09:12and forgot all about it.
09:14800 years ago,
09:16Laxton Castle dominated the landscape
09:18and acted as financial control centre
09:21for the whole of Sherwood Forest.
09:23I've asked local historian David Crook
09:26to share this lost castle's secrets.
09:29So, did this place actually belong to John?
09:32No, it didn't.
09:32It was the property of a lady called Maud de Coe.
09:35A woman? Maud?
09:36Yes, indeed.
09:37Was that usual in the medieval period?
09:39No, but she had recently lost her husband
09:42and as a widow, without an heir,
09:44she fell to the king.
09:45She was in the king's gift.
09:46And John just took the money away from her.
09:50So now John gets direct administration of the forest?
09:53Yes, he does.
09:54John was always short of money
09:55and the forest was one of the best sources of income
09:57in the later part of his reign.
10:00John nicked the castle off poor Maud
10:02just three years into his reign.
10:06He immediately handed it over to a lackey
10:09who ratcheted up the forest's taxes.
10:12The king and his men were ruthless
10:14but also highly organised
10:17and helpfully for us
10:19they wrote everything down.
10:21It's an amazing set of records.
10:23It shows where the king was on any particular day
10:25for most of his reign.
10:27Isn't that fairly unusual
10:29to have the day-to-day life
10:31of a medieval monarch in such detail?
10:32It's completely new.
10:33It starts in John's reign.
10:35So it's quite exciting for historians and archivists.
10:37Very exciting.
10:39Where's our castle?
10:40Our castle is there.
10:41Lexington, which is the old name for Laxton.
10:43And on the 22nd of September this year
10:47he was at Lexington at the beginning of the day
10:49and was at Nottingham later.
10:51So he went all over the place
10:52continually on the move.
10:54He didn't sit in a palace at Westminster.
10:55King John travelled relentlessly
11:00averaging between 12 and 15 miles a day
11:03and he was always on the lookout
11:05for new areas he could squeeze for cash.
11:08But why?
11:11In the early years
11:12it wasn't just England John was ruling
11:15but also roughly two-thirds of modern France.
11:19He'd inherited this vast overseas empire
11:22from Richard I, along with a whole load of problems.
11:27Richard's crusades had left the kingdom broke.
11:30So right from the start
11:32John's armies were underfunded
11:34and outmanned by the French.
11:38In 1204 disaster struck
11:40and John lost control of Normandy
11:43cutting him off from his remaining French lands.
11:48John has been beaten back here to England.
11:50His reputation and his kingdom are in tatters.
11:54From now on
11:55there's going to be one goal
11:56one obsession
11:57that will dominate the rest of his reign
12:00to win back Normandy.
12:03But that means matching the military muscle of the French
12:05and that is going to cost him money.
12:08Lots and lots of money.
12:14Following John's quest for cash
12:16leads me to Rufford Abbey.
12:18It's now a popular public park
12:21but was originally built by Cistercian monks
12:25whose great wealth unsurprisingly
12:27attracted the king's attention.
12:30Medieval historian Claire Taylor explains.
12:33It's a very mixed relationship.
12:35The beginning of the reign
12:37John founded Buley Abbey in Hampshire
12:39which was very prestigious
12:40and they were very pleased with that
12:42but he'd done that really because
12:44they'd been upset about his forestry laws
12:46and they'd complained to him.
12:48But then later on in the reign
12:50he finds the order itself
12:52a huge amount of money.
12:53This abbey in particular
12:54had to find 300 marks.
12:56John fined this abbey
12:59around two and a half million pounds
13:01in today's money
13:02as penalty for refusing to support
13:04one of his military campaigns.
13:06After the loss of Normandy
13:08no part of his kingdom was sacred.
13:10He didn't stop with the Cistercians.
13:12He went right to the top.
13:13He wasn't afraid to take on the Pope.
13:16Pope Innocent III was not a Pope
13:18that you messed with.
13:19He was one of the first Popes
13:21that decided that
13:22he was going to take on
13:24the secular world
13:24the Kings and the Emperors.
13:27In 1205
13:28Pope and King clashed.
13:31The Archbishop of Canterbury
13:33had just died
13:34and Pope Innocent
13:35wanted to put loyal follower
13:37Stephen Langton
13:38onto this powerful seat.
13:40But John said
13:41he must go to his own Yes Man
13:43the Bishop of Norwich.
13:44They squabbled for three years
13:49before Innocent
13:50brought out the big guns
13:51and issued an interdict
13:53against the English church.
13:55An interdict is where
13:57all of the clergy
13:58in the land
13:59are forbidden from
14:00saying mass.
14:02It means that nobody
14:02can get married.
14:04We have stories about
14:04people being put into coffins
14:06but they were hung
14:06from trees in church grounds.
14:08So it's people
14:09trying to find a way
14:10of burying their relatives
14:12but the church
14:13won't let them do it.
14:14But then that didn't
14:15do any good
14:15so he excommunicated John.
14:17He excommunicated him?
14:18Yes.
14:21John was banished
14:22from the church.
14:24Meanwhile
14:24many of his subjects
14:25were so fearful
14:26of being damned
14:27to hell for eternity
14:28they were forced
14:29to worship in secret.
14:31The churches were shut
14:33the doors were barred
14:34the bells stopped ringing
14:36people were cut off
14:37from their religion
14:38at a time when religion
14:39was central to everything.
14:41And at the same time
14:42John was failing
14:44diplomatically
14:44on an international scale
14:46and everyone
14:47was groaning
14:48under the weight
14:49of all the taxes
14:50and fines.
14:52Dark days?
14:53I think so.
14:56Well today's journey
14:58so far has given me
14:59plenty to think about
15:00as I end it
15:01at the little town
15:02of Ollerton
15:03on the fringes
15:04of modern Sherwood Forest.
15:16Today I won't be able
15:17to see the wood
15:18for the trees
15:19as I head into
15:20what remains
15:21of Sherwood Forest
15:22once the heart
15:23of King John's stronghold
15:24against the wild north.
15:28My route takes me
15:29right through the forest
15:30to John's pleasure palace
15:31at King's Clipston.
15:34Then it's over the border
15:36to Derbyshire
15:36and a linchpin castle
15:38at Bolsover.
15:42Finally I hop over
15:43Chesterfield
15:44to end my day
15:45at the edge
15:46of the Chatsworth estate.
15:47It's nice to see
16:00some trees.
16:02I've actually been
16:02inside the borders
16:03of medieval forest
16:04since I started this walk
16:06but this is the first time
16:07it's felt like forest
16:08or at least
16:09our modern idea
16:10of forest.
16:14Today
16:14450 acres
16:16is a public nature reserve
16:17but Sherwood
16:18is a tiny fragment
16:20of what it was
16:20in John's day
16:21when he came here
16:22frequently
16:23to hunt stags
16:24and boar.
16:25As I've discovered
16:27his royal forests
16:28were also earning
16:29him money.
16:32Hunting, farming
16:33or even collecting
16:34firewood
16:35all required
16:36the King's permission
16:37and it came at a price
16:38under forest law.
16:40After losing Normandy
16:42John ramped up
16:43taxes across
16:44all his forests
16:45and he squeezed
16:47Nottinghamshire
16:47and Derbyshire
16:48much harder
16:49than lands
16:50further south.
16:52I've joined a route
16:53John would certainly
16:54have travelled.
16:56The great north way
16:57was the medieval
16:58main road
16:59linking London
17:00to York.
17:01There was another
17:02medieval chap
17:02who came this way
17:03or at least
17:04he made good use
17:05of other people
17:05who came this way.
17:06He had a green uniform
17:08a pointy hat
17:08with a feather in it
17:09catchy theme tune.
17:11I think you know
17:12who I'm talking about.
17:17It's impossible
17:18to come to
17:18Sherwood Forest
17:19without conjuring
17:20up images
17:21of Robin Hood.
17:25Good stick.
17:27Back when
17:28picking up a stick
17:29could get you fined
17:30it's not hard
17:31to see the appeal
17:32of an outlaw
17:33who championed
17:34the rights
17:34of the little people
17:35against a wicked king.
17:36But did Robin
17:40of Sherwood
17:40actually exist?
17:43Well, no.
17:44The legendary hero
17:45we think of today
17:46was shaped by
17:47centuries of
17:48popular ballads.
17:49200 years after
17:50John died
17:51the first ballad
17:52that we know of
17:53appeared
17:53which specifically
17:54locates Robin
17:56here in Sherwood.
17:58It went
17:58Robin Hood
17:59in Sherwood
18:00stood
18:01hooded and
18:02hatted
18:02hosed and shod
18:04four and thirty
18:05arrows he bore
18:06in his hands.
18:07That's the bloke
18:08isn't it?
18:09But in hundreds
18:10of medieval ballads
18:12there's not one
18:12mention of
18:13King John.
18:15It was actually
18:1619th century
18:16novelist
18:17Walter Scott
18:18who made
18:19John into
18:19Robin's
18:20villainous foe.
18:23Hollywood
18:23lapped up
18:24Scott's version
18:25and has
18:26regurgitated it
18:27ever since.
18:34So the mythical
18:34Robin only
18:35sealed John's
18:36dastardly image
18:37in the last
18:38century.
18:40There's another
18:40chap who didn't
18:41help either.
18:43John's tax
18:44collector
18:44the sheriff
18:45of Nottingham.
18:47Some of you
18:47may remember
18:48a children's show
18:49I wrote
18:50in which he
18:50stalks this
18:51very forest.
18:57In the middle
18:58of a forest
18:59ridden with
18:59unseen danger
19:00anything could
19:01jump out of
19:01us.
19:01Mad axe men
19:03werewolves
19:04lunatics
19:04humanity all
19:05your life
19:05idiots in
19:06skirts and
19:07berets.
19:08You think
19:08I'm frightened
19:09of you?
19:10The sheriff
19:10of Nottingham
19:11is frightened
19:12of nobody.
19:14Morning.
19:15Ah!
19:16It's Robin
19:16Hood the
19:17fiercest bandit
19:18in England.
19:18Well come on
19:19I had to keep
19:19the best part
19:20for myself
19:21didn't I?
19:21But what I
19:22find really
19:23interesting is
19:24that the sheriff
19:25of Nottingham
19:25did actually
19:26exist.
19:27Although from
19:28the year 1208
19:29until after
19:30King John
19:30died the
19:31sheriff of
19:32Nottingham
19:32Shire and
19:33Derbyshire as
19:34he was known
19:35would actually
19:36have spoken
19:37more like
19:38this because
19:39he was a
19:40Frenchman if
19:41you didn't
19:41understand what
19:41that accent
19:42was.
19:43His name
19:43was Philip
19:44Mark.
19:44He was a
19:45henchman of
19:46John's and
19:47this forest
19:47would have
19:48been part
19:48of his
19:49patch.
19:49For proof
19:56here he is
19:56in the
19:57Magna
19:57Carta
19:57named
19:58and
19:58shamed.
20:00Paragraph
20:0050
20:01we will
20:02entirely
20:02remove
20:03from their
20:03bailiwicks
20:04the
20:05relations
20:05of
20:06Gerald
20:06Athie
20:07Engelard
20:08of
20:08Sijoin
20:09blah blah
20:10blah
20:10and
20:11Philip
20:12Mark
20:12with his
20:13brothers
20:13and his
20:14nephew
20:14Geoffrey
20:15and the
20:15whole brood
20:16of the
20:16same.
20:17In other
20:17words by
20:18the year
20:181215
20:19Philip
20:20Mark
20:20was so
20:20unpopular
20:21that the
20:22Magna
20:22Carta
20:22specifically
20:23states
20:23that he
20:24and his
20:24family
20:25should be
20:26booted
20:26off their
20:26land.
20:27There
20:28aren't many
20:29names
20:29singled out
20:30in the
20:30Magna
20:30Carta.
20:31The
20:32sheriff
20:32obviously
20:33made
20:33some
20:33powerful
20:34enemies.
20:35Morning.
20:37I'm
20:38all right.
20:39800
20:40years ago
20:41Sherwood
20:41would have
20:41been much
20:42more open
20:43to allow
20:43for hunting
20:44and farming
20:44but some
20:46of these
20:46trees
20:47would already
20:47have taken
20:48root.
20:50Today
20:50a small
20:51team of
20:52foresters
20:52care for
20:53almost
20:53a thousand
20:54ancient
20:55oaks.
20:55The trees
20:56are known
20:56as veterans.
20:58That's a
20:59gorgeous
20:59old tree
21:00isn't it?
21:01We're just
21:01in the
21:01process
21:02of banding
21:02it.
21:03We're
21:04trying to
21:04get it
21:04to move
21:04as one
21:05tree
21:05again.
21:06It's
21:06a bit
21:06thin
21:06on top
21:07isn't
21:07it?
21:07Yeah
21:08that's
21:08what
21:08happens
21:08with
21:09veterans.
21:09The
21:09first
21:10thing
21:10they
21:10do
21:10is
21:11they
21:11spend
21:11the
21:11first
21:12300
21:12years
21:12to
21:13grow
21:13and then
21:14they
21:14spend
21:14300
21:14years
21:15to
21:15live
21:15their
21:15life
21:16and
21:16then
21:16they
21:16spend
21:17their
21:17last
21:17300
21:17years
21:18gracefully
21:18dying.
21:19So this
21:19is
21:19retirement?
21:20So in
21:20this case
21:21it's
21:21retiring
21:21yes.
21:25You're
21:25not going
21:25to do
21:25this
21:26to all
21:26your
21:26veteran
21:26oaks
21:27are you?
21:27No
21:28it would
21:28be
21:28costly
21:29but
21:29also
21:29you
21:30don't
21:30want
21:30to
21:30go
21:30around
21:30a
21:30forest
21:31full
21:31of
21:31metal
21:31work
21:32so
21:32no
21:32we
21:33only
21:33do
21:33it
21:33to
21:33the
21:33most
21:33vulnerable
21:34ones
21:34but
21:35we
21:36still
21:43that's
21:43correct
21:44Sherwood's
21:47post
21:48boy
21:48is
21:49the
21:49major
21:49oak
21:50with
21:50support
21:50from
21:51generations
21:51of
21:52foresters
21:52it's
21:53holding
21:53up
21:54pretty
21:54well
21:54considering
21:55it's
21:55at least
21:55eight
21:56centuries
21:56old
21:57it's
21:59amazing
21:59to think
22:00that when
22:00King
22:01John
22:01was
22:01hunting
22:02here
22:03this
22:03would
22:03have
22:03been
22:03a
22:04little
22:04oak
22:04just
22:05tentatively
22:05stretching
22:06out
22:07its
22:07roots
22:07time
22:14to
22:15leave
22:15modern
22:15day
22:15Sherwood
22:16but
22:16I'm
22:17still
22:17well
22:17inside
22:18John's
22:18medieval
22:19forest
22:19three
22:21miles
22:21south
22:22of
22:22the
22:22major
22:22oak
22:22lies
22:23the
22:23village
22:23of
22:23King's
22:24Clipston
22:24and a
22:25window
22:26into
22:26the
22:26King's
22:27private
22:27life
22:28compared
22:30to
22:30many
22:30medieval
22:31monarchs
22:32John
22:32was
22:32almost
22:32straight
22:33laced
22:33we
22:35only
22:35know
22:35of
22:35seven
22:36illegitimate
22:36offspring
22:37and
22:37all
22:38of
22:38them
22:38were
22:38born
22:38before
22:39John
22:39got
22:39hitched
22:40to
22:40French
22:40heiress
22:41Isabella
22:41by
22:43most
22:43accounts
22:43she
22:44and
22:44John
22:44got
22:44on
22:45quite
22:45well
22:45who
22:46knows
22:47maybe
22:47he
22:47had
22:48a
22:48softer
22:48side
22:48John
22:50may
22:50well
22:51have
22:51brought
22:51Isabella
22:52to
22:52his
22:52palace
22:52at
22:53King's
22:53Clipston
22:53deep
22:55inside
22:55old
22:55Sherwood
22:56this
22:57was
22:57one
22:57of
22:57his
22:57most
22:57private
22:58and
22:58most
22:58lavish
22:59retreats
23:00we
23:01have
23:01lists
23:02from
23:02historic
23:02documents
23:03of
23:04chapels
23:04accommodation
23:05chambers
23:07great
23:08halls
23:08we're
23:08probably
23:09walking
23:09through
23:09what was
23:10the garden
23:10area
23:11that's our
23:11current
23:11belief
23:12but why
23:12did he bother
23:13to invest
23:13in this
23:13place
23:14when he
23:14got a
23:14whole
23:15castle
23:15at
23:15Laxton
23:16just down
23:16the road
23:16ah
23:17well
23:17Laxton
23:18castle
23:18was
23:18for
23:18the
23:18dull
23:19administration
23:20and
23:20paperwork
23:20and
23:21stamping
23:21this
23:22is
23:22a
23:22different
23:22thing
23:22altogether
23:23this
23:23is
23:23a
23:24royal
23:24pleasure
23:25gardens
23:25a
23:25royal
23:25retreat
23:26house
23:26that
23:27could
23:27be
23:27used
23:27for
23:27hunting
23:28entertaining
23:29dignitaries
23:30and romancing
23:31I love
23:32the fact
23:33that we're
23:33looking at
23:34three walls
23:34of a
23:35place
23:35that
23:35John
23:35built
23:36to
23:36have
23:36a
23:37good
23:37time
23:38so
23:41John
23:42knew
23:42how
23:42to
23:43party
23:43in
23:45contrast
23:45to
23:45the
23:45popular
23:46image
23:46of
23:46him
23:46as
23:47a
23:47frail
23:47weasley
23:48man
23:48he
23:49had
23:49a
23:49healthy
23:49appetite
23:50and
23:50in
23:50middle
23:51age
23:51a
23:52waistline
23:52to
23:52match
23:53but
23:57this
23:57place
23:58saw
23:58bad
23:58times
23:59as
23:59well
23:59as
24:00good
24:00in
24:001212
24:01a
24:02royal
24:02hunting
24:02holiday
24:03ended
24:03in
24:04disaster
24:04to
24:05explain
24:06and
24:06is
24:07taking
24:07me
24:07to
24:07the
24:07old
24:08entrance
24:08to
24:08the
24:08palace
24:0930
24:09minutes
24:10walk
24:10to
24:10the
24:10northwest
24:11I
24:11brought
24:11you
24:11here
24:11because
24:11I
24:12want
24:12to
24:12show
24:12you
24:12this
24:12tree
24:13this
24:13is
24:13a
24:13very
24:13famous
24:14tree
24:14in
24:14Sherwood
24:14Forest
24:15and
24:15it's
24:15known
24:15as
24:16the
24:16Parliament
24:16Oak
24:16why
24:17well
24:18in
24:181212
24:19we
24:19believe
24:20John
24:20was
24:20hunting
24:20through
24:21Sherwood
24:21Forest
24:21when he
24:22heard news
24:23of a
24:23rebellion
24:23in
24:24Wales
24:24and he
24:25summoned
24:25barons
24:26here
24:26under
24:27this
24:27tree
24:27to
24:27hold
24:28Parliament
24:28we
24:30can't
24:30be
24:30certain
24:30John
24:31held
24:31a
24:31Parliament
24:31at
24:32this
24:32exact
24:32spot
24:33but
24:33he
24:34certainly
24:34was
24:34in
24:35this
24:35region
24:35when
24:35he
24:36learned
24:36of the
24:36Welsh
24:36uprising
24:37and
24:39that
24:39was
24:39a
24:39significant
24:39moment
24:40in
24:40his
24:40reign
24:40yes
24:41we
24:41think
24:41it
24:41was
24:41a
24:42pivotal
24:42moment
24:42in
24:42his
24:42reign
24:43from
24:43the
24:43point
24:44of
24:44that
24:44rebellion
24:44things
24:45start
24:45to go
24:46downhill
24:46for
24:46King
24:46John
24:47John
24:51had
24:51angered
24:52some
24:52Welsh
24:52lords
24:53when
24:53he
24:53seized
24:54their
24:54lands
24:55and
24:55took
24:55their
24:55heirs
24:55hostage
24:56he
24:57crushed
24:58the
24:58rebellion
24:58quickly
24:59but
25:00even
25:00by
25:00the
25:01standards
25:01of
25:01the
25:01day
25:02his
25:02next
25:02move
25:03was
25:03brutal
25:03John
25:06ordered
25:0628
25:07of the
25:07Welsh
25:07hostages
25:08to be
25:09hanged
25:09from
25:09the
25:09walls
25:10of
25:10Nottingham
25:10Castle
25:11some
25:13were
25:13as
25:13young
25:13as
25:1312
25:14I
25:16been
25:16wondering
25:16whether
25:17the
25:17Robin
25:17Hood
25:17legend
25:18had
25:18helped
25:19to
25:19give
25:19John
25:19an
25:19unfair
25:20reputation
25:20but
25:21here
25:22he
25:22is
25:22in
25:22the
25:23year
25:231212
25:24facing
25:24a
25:25real
25:25rebellion
25:26after
25:26years
25:26of
25:26simmering
25:27resentment
25:28and
25:28what's
25:28his
25:29solution
25:29he
25:30kills
25:30a
25:31bunch
25:31of
25:31kids
25:32I'm
25:42finally
25:42leaving
25:43medieval
25:43Sherwood
25:44as
25:44I
25:44cross
25:44over
25:45the
25:45border
25:45into
25:45Derbyshire
25:46and
25:46up
25:46to
25:47the
25:47mighty
25:47castle
25:48at
25:48Balsover
25:48this
25:53hill
25:54site
25:54was
25:54fortified
25:55even
25:55before
25:55the
25:56Normans
25:56although
25:57the
25:57semi
25:57ruined
25:58and
25:58rather
25:58romantic
25:59pile
25:59here
25:59today
26:00dates
26:01from
26:01the
26:0117th
26:01century
26:02after
26:07hanging
26:07the
26:07hostages
26:08John
26:09faced
26:09mounting
26:10discontent
26:10and not
26:11just
26:11from
26:11the
26:12Welsh
26:12powerful
26:14barons
26:15north of
26:15here
26:15had always
26:16been a
26:16law
26:17unto
26:17themselves
26:17and now
26:18some
26:19of them
26:19were becoming
26:19openly hostile
26:20to the
26:21king
26:21once
26:23there'd
26:24been an
26:24actual
26:24uprising
26:25against him
26:25in Wales
26:26John
26:26realised
26:27that there
26:27was the
26:28possibility
26:28that something
26:29similar might
26:29occur
26:30elsewhere in
26:31his kingdom
26:31but he
26:32calculated
26:33that if
26:33it came
26:34to a
26:34direct
26:34confrontation
26:35with the
26:36rebellious
26:36barons in
26:37the north
26:37this was
26:39one of the
26:39key places
26:40where he'd
26:41be able
26:41to hold
26:41the line
26:42John
26:47shored up
26:48his defences
26:48at a total
26:49of ten
26:50of his
26:50castles
26:51including
26:51this one
26:52he was
26:53bracing
26:53for trouble
26:54from north
26:55and west
26:55to follow
26:59the march
26:59to Magna
27:00Carta
27:00I need
27:01to head
27:01closer to
27:02enemy
27:02territory
27:03but someone's
27:05gone and put
27:05the M1
27:06in my way
27:07so I'm
27:09leapfrogging
27:09over it
27:10tomorrow I'll
27:11pick up
27:12King John's
27:12trail in the
27:13fabled walking
27:14country of
27:15the Peak
27:15District
27:16day three
27:25and I'm
27:25walking right
27:26across King
27:27John's
27:27front line
27:28against an
27:29increasingly
27:29rebellious
27:30north
27:30when I left
27:32Balsover
27:32Castle yesterday
27:33afternoon
27:33I discovered
27:35that King
27:35John had
27:35been spooked
27:36into shoring
27:37up his
27:37defences
27:38all over
27:38this region
27:39and by
27:40the year
27:411212
27:41in small
27:42parts of
27:42the country
27:43at least
27:43this rumbling
27:44discontent
27:45had escalated
27:47into violent
27:48uprising
27:48my route
27:51takes me
27:52over the
27:52moors
27:52to Chatsworth
27:53and some
27:54first-hand
27:54evidence
27:55from John's
27:55reign
27:56then I
27:58join the
27:59stunning
27:59Monsall
28:00trail
28:00as I
28:01head into
28:01the heart
28:02of the Peak
28:02District
28:03National Park
28:04after almost
28:13two days
28:14spent crossing
28:15the medieval
28:15forest of
28:16Nottinghamshire
28:16in just a few
28:18miles I'll
28:19reach another
28:20the forest of
28:23the peak
28:23covered around
28:24200 square miles
28:26it rivaled
28:27Sherwood in
28:27size and in
28:29the amount of
28:29tax John could
28:30squeeze from
28:31it
28:31he inherited
28:32his forest
28:33laws from
28:34the Normans
28:34whose feudal
28:35system was all
28:36about controlling
28:37the population
28:38but more than
28:40any monarch
28:41before
28:41cash-strapped
28:42John turned
28:43his kingdom
28:44into a business
28:45house
28:47while I was
28:47reading up in
28:48preparation for
28:49this walk
28:50something really
28:50rather exciting
28:51cropped up
28:52it seems that
28:53Chatsworth are in
28:54possession of some
28:55original archive
28:57material in other
28:58words primary
28:59sources that go
29:00back right to the
29:01time of King John
29:02and give us a really
29:03vivid picture of what
29:04was going on around
29:05here
29:05my route from the
29:09east brings me the
29:10walkers back way to
29:12the great house
29:12in John's reign
29:21records show a
29:23medieval hamlet here
29:24also called
29:25Chatsworth and
29:26perched on the
29:26fringes of his
29:27forest of the
29:28peak
29:28it was more than
29:31500 years before
29:32the dukes of
29:33Devonshire began
29:34taming the valley
29:35into the world
29:36famous parkland
29:37gardens and
29:38spectacular water
29:39features we know
29:40today but what I've
29:42come to see isn't
29:43on the guided tour
29:44I've arranged for
29:47Magna Carta expert
29:48Dr Sophie Ambler to
29:50join me down in the
29:51bowels of the
29:52building
29:52oh there's two of
29:56them
29:56there's two of
29:57them
29:57these beautiful
29:59charters were legal
30:00documents issued by
30:02John himself when he
30:04held court near here
30:05over 800 years ago
30:06the first thing that
30:09strikes me about
30:10these is that they're
30:12incredibly good nick
30:13we begin here with
30:15King John's title
30:17now this is it's
30:18quite a long title as
30:19titles go
30:20John by the grace of
30:22God King of England
30:23Lord of Ireland
30:24Count of Anjou
30:25know that we have
30:26granted and in this
30:28charter confirmed to
30:29William Fitzwalklin and
30:31his heirs that the
30:32manor of Stainsby may be
30:34free of forest law
30:35so is it actually like
30:36a deal between the
30:38king and a particular
30:39subject that the
30:40subject pays money and
30:41King John gives him
30:43something in return
30:43yes William Fitzwalklin
30:45offered 60 marks for
30:47the confirmation of
30:48three charters that's
30:49about that's 40
30:50pounds which to
30:52somebody like William
30:53Fitzwalklin was quite a
30:55lot of money
30:55what does he get out of
30:56this deal
30:57what that means is
30:58that William is free
30:59to cultivate his
31:01lands and develop his
31:03estates as he sees fit
31:04so under forest law
31:05you couldn't cut down
31:07trees you couldn't hunt
31:09you couldn't fish
31:09without getting
31:11permission from the
31:11king
31:12this is deregulation
31:13isn't it this is a
31:15businessman suddenly being
31:17unshackled and being
31:18able to make money out
31:20of the forest
31:20yes it's life-changing
31:22it's an investment
31:23because this is not just
31:25a grant for him but
31:25also for his heirs
31:26and from John's point
31:28of view it's good
31:28business it's very good
31:29business for King John
31:30he confirmed hundreds
31:32and hundreds of charters
31:33all of those tidy little
31:35sums add up to quite a
31:37lot and that's a lot of
31:38money in the coffers
31:39by deregulating chunks of
31:43his forests in return for
31:45cash John was selling off
31:47the family silver
31:48in just 12 years he
31:53quadrupled the total royal
31:54revenue to 83,000 pounds a
31:56year which is over a
31:58hundred million in today's
31:59money no mean feet even for
32:02a mean king just west of
32:05Chatsworth the old town of
32:07Bakewell sits on the boundary
32:09of John's great Derbyshire
32:10money spinner the forest of the
32:12peak like the rest of the
32:16region Bakewell's got John's
32:18sticky fingerprints all over it
32:20in one deal he even handed over
32:23the ancient town church of all
32:25saints to an ambitious bishop
32:27hunting forests castles churches
32:31everything had a price
32:33heading west out of Bakewell the
32:40Monsall trail runs along eight
32:42and a half miles of the old
32:43Midlands railway in the last 20
32:47years it's become a main walking
32:49route into the heart of the peak
32:50district national park
32:54on my walk it's been easy to see how
33:00John made enemies after the loss of
33:03Normandy he was ruthless in his taxes
33:06and he could certainly be cruel but he
33:09was a medieval king tyranny is in the job
33:12description so just what tipped England
33:16from simmering resentment into rising up
33:19and producing the Magna Carta I'm hoping
33:23medieval historian Lauren Johnson can
33:26help me join the dots I think the
33:28trouble with John's reign is you have a
33:30situation that's been bubbling away for
33:31a really long time this sense of the
33:34king interfering in people's lives the
33:37fact particularly the barons lives but
33:39all kings were doing that weren't they
33:41yeah you're absolutely right but the
33:42difference with the previous kings is
33:44that they have this continental set of
33:46lands that they can pop over to and use
33:49to source funds from and spend time in
33:51whereas John after the loss of Normandy is
33:54in England all the time so he's
33:56constantly on their doorstep pressing
33:58them for money what about the hanging
34:00of the Welsh hostages that kind of helped
34:02no I don't think it did the trouble is
34:04that just as the Welsh rebellion is
34:07really getting going you have this
34:09situation where King John finally
34:12discovers a plot that might have been
34:14going on for a while the barons not
34:15only want to actually move him aside
34:18and take power for themselves they
34:19actually want to have him killed so
34:24three years before Magna Carta was on
34:27the table there was a plot to murder the
34:29king the ringleaders were powerful
34:34northern barons who hadn't forgiven him
34:37for the loss of their own French estates
34:39when he had lost Normandy not to mention
34:41all the taxes so John's in the right
34:44old pickle is there any way out for him
34:47well one option of course is to go and
34:49actually try and crush the men in the
34:51north yeah that is a real dangerous
34:52situation for him to be getting into the
34:54much more obvious solution what he has
34:57been building towards for the past ten
34:59years to go back and try and retake
35:00Normandy which also sounds pretty
35:03dangerous it is pretty dangerous but at
35:04least it's dangerous outside his own
35:06kingdom yeah and he demands soldiers
35:08from the people of England all of the
35:10barons and again the northmen say no we
35:12are not sending you soldiers we're not
35:13sending you money we're not going to
35:14help this isn't our fight so he goes to
35:17Normandy unfortunately somewhat
35:19undermanned he has some successes during
35:22his time there but when it gets to the
35:23Battle of Bouvines where the King of
35:25France absolutely trounces all of the
35:27opposition that's the most decisive
35:29battle probably of the entire middle
35:31ages after the Battle of Bouvines it's
35:34not a case really of whether there's
35:36going to be an English rebellion it's
35:37just a case of when it's going to happen
35:39John's catastrophic trouncing by
35:45Philippe of France at Bouvines was the
35:48last straw for his seething barons it's
35:53a bit of an emperor's new clothes moment
35:54really isn't it John's been squeezing
35:57money out of everybody left right and
35:58center on the promise that one day he'll
36:00get Normandy back but when the moment
36:02comes he can't deliver and with France
36:06off the agenda he's now got a new
36:08problem he could lose this country as
36:11well
36:24the final day of my walk and it's the big
36:27one as I follow the slide to civil war
36:30that produced the most famous document in
36:33English history the Magna Carta
36:37from Montal Head I follow the limestone
36:40way northwest through John's old forest at
36:43the peak to reach Peverell Castle then on
36:46the final push towards Kinder Scout I'll
36:49look for the legacy his reign has left us
36:51today following John's defeat in France
37:01in 1214 war with the barons looked
37:03inevitable drastic action was needed John
37:09went cap in hand to the Pope ending his
37:12five-year excommunication and securing a
37:15powerful ally unfortunately it was too
37:19little too late but when violence erupted
37:25it wasn't in the north or even Wales it
37:28was in London in a shock move on the
37:3117th of May 1215 rebel barons seized the
37:35tower pulling the might of John's capital
37:37city from under him
37:39his kingdom was shrinking fast where can
37:44John feel safe well up there for a start it
37:49was said anyone who held Peverell Castle and
37:53its sister fortress of Bolsover held the
37:55whole region
37:56Peverell was built in 1176 by John's dad
38:01Henry the second its perch high on a
38:04limestone ridge turns almost sheer ravines to
38:08incredible defensive advantage I wouldn't
38:11want to be the one attacking this place in
38:13the days before cannon imagine trying to
38:15lug a siege engine up here or even just
38:18walk up in a suit of armor oh you'd have a
38:22coronary by the time you got to here John had loyal retainers installed right through his
38:32Midland stronghold all the way from Laxton to
38:35this castle
38:39but even if his men could hold this central
38:42core of the country it wouldn't be enough to
38:44save his throne John had already lost too much
38:49support elsewhere the only thing for it was to
38:54meet the barons and negotiate terms in June
38:581215 John traveled to Runnymede in Surrey
39:03John just pushed it too far he demanded too many
39:05taxes and by 1215 the lid blew off
39:09I've asked medieval historian Richard Eales to
39:12help me make sense of this momentous turning
39:15point in English history he'd lost control of
39:17just too much of the ruling class they'd
39:19realized that royal power was so strong that
39:22they had to band together they had to go to
39:24the center of government to to where John
39:26was and forced him to accept concessions at
39:28the national scale so that's what gives us
39:29Magna Carta
39:33on the 15th of June John put his seal to a
39:35charter limiting his own royal power
39:40800 years later Magna Carta has been woven
39:44into our nation's DNA
39:48but on the field at Runnymede it was a peace treaty
39:51hurriedly thrown together by deputations from both sides
39:55it's got some things in it which look to us like great statements of principle
40:00no free man should be imprisoned or ruined without trial by his peers and that's great stuff but then there's also another lot of clauses that are really just about immediate tactics in 1215 that we're going to chuck out of the country a number of particular you know friends of John that we don't like all foreign soldiers and crossbowmen have to be thrown out so it's a ragbag document
40:13did John ever have any intention of sticking to sticking to it probably not I mean the historical evidence won't tell us what's going on in people's minds but we do know that pretty quickly he started asking the Pope to release him from his promise his oath to keep to the terms of the Charter
40:20it was meant to produce peace but actually it produced a slight civil war the extremists on both sides took over it's not just John on the baron side on the rebel side there are quite a lot of people who really hate John and they don't really want to make a deal with him
40:35they want to depose him or kill him what we're getting as with so many civil wars and disputes you know going on now is is a slide to extremism
40:42so in 1215 Magna Carta failed as a peace treaty and was thrown aside and was thrown aside to keep to keep to the terms of the Charter
40:49it was meant to produce peace but actually it produced a slight civil war the extremists on both sides took over it's not just John on the baron side on the rebel side there are quite a lot of people who really hate John and they don't really want to make a deal with him they want to depose him or kill him
40:53what we're getting as with so many civil wars and disputes you know going on now is a slide to extremism
40:59so in 1215 Magna Carta failed as a peace treaty and was thrown aside now the barons war began John furiously rallied his supporters but even this region was no longer safe
41:16mighty Bolsover Castle came under siege not from the rebels but from the king's own allies who are now squabbling over the spoils of his crumbling authority
41:27down in London the barons threw open the gates to Prince Louis of France giving the rebel factions a figurehead to rally behind
41:35the final leg of my walk towards Kinder Scout is also the most dramatic
41:41the great ridge of brush of edge gives walkers what must be some of the best views in the country
41:48in the months after Runnymede John was far from defeated
41:54he powered around the country stamping on insurrection
42:02but then 1216 brought disaster
42:07if one famous account is to be believed
42:10the king was traveling to Norfolk when he started feeling ill
42:14oh sorry guys
42:16he turned around but sent his baggage train onto the causeway to cross the great estuary of the wash
42:22trouble was they'd not checked their tide timetable
42:28carriages sunk into the mud and the tide swept the convoy away
42:37in that accident he lost something really ominous his crown jewels which had been in one of the carriages
42:43and he never recovered from his illness on the 19th of October in the year 1216 in the middle of the Civil War
42:52he died in Newark back in Nottinghamshire on the outskirts of Sherwood
42:58he was suffering from dysentery and rumour had it that he'd gorged on a surfeit of peaches
43:03and knowing the royal appetite could have been true
43:14as I passed through the beautiful Edale Valley I followed John's rise and fall across almost 70 miles and 17 long years
43:21there's a lot of really obviously bad stuff isn't there he's ruthless and cruel and does a lot of things which today we would consider barbaric
43:31but this is the 13th century for goodness sake if you're a feudal king that kind of behaviour goes with the territory
43:36John was a failure as a king but he wasn't some kind of cartoon villain
43:44Magna Carta railed against absolute power but that problem had been around since 1066
43:51John's blundering just made it a whole lot worse
43:54the great charter only became ingrained in our history thanks to compromises made after John's death
44:01the advisers to his heir his nine-year-old son Henry negotiated peace and a new and improved version of the charter was issued
44:11the barons war melted away
44:15over the centuries Magna Carta has been cited as the cornerstone of everything from land rights to trial by jury
44:23what started in the year 1215 bit by bit has become our modern democracy
44:29and now our common rights stretch to all corners of our lives
44:34including walking of course
44:43I'm finishing my journey with a modern story that invokes the spirit of Magna Carta
44:49and took place here at the centre of John's Forest of the Peak
44:52joining me is journalist and fellow Walker Roley Smith
44:57this is kinder scout up ahead of us and this is where in 1932 the famous mass trespass took place
45:06it was a move by a group of young Manchester walkers
45:10to overcome the fact that they could see these fantastic moors from their homes from their factories but they couldn't walk on them
45:22and they decided that if there was enough of them
45:26they could do something about this
45:28so they organized this mass trespass
45:31and as a result of which six were arrested
45:35merely for walking on the moors
45:40thanks to the trespassers defiance of private landowners here on Kinder Scout
45:45all this land is now open to walkers
45:47in fact their action kick-started the right to roam movement across the whole country
45:53oh
45:55quite a climb
45:56yeah it was worth it wasn't it
45:58oh yeah what a view
45:59it's a privilege to be up here really
46:01so is the fight won?
46:03no
46:05Scotland has got de facto access to all of its countryside
46:08we want the Scottish model here
46:10so as far as I'm concerned the fight goes on
46:11so what started back in the 13th century with a struggle against oppressive forest laws
46:17and ended with Magna Carta
46:19actually is still going on into the 21st century
46:22absolutely right
46:24I think we should set a good example don't you?
46:26stop hanging around and get on
46:28let's go
46:30if you want to follow in my footsteps you can download a guide to my walk by going to www.channel4.com
46:42with the discovery of the best preserved body yet
46:46could science bring the woolly mammoth back to life?
46:49join us tomorrow at 8 to find out
46:51well a less distant blast from the past next
46:54as we mind our language and see how 70s TV saw multiculturalism
46:58culturalism
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