Loxley Castle was situated on the edge ofthe Peak District, and would have been a serious castellated structure, capable of defending itself against hords of besieging irregulars who chould inflict damage with battering rams and other siege implements. There is real evidence that Robin Hood, of Sherwood Forest fame, was born in Bradfield parish and that he was a nobleman. There is documentation of a Robyn Locksley of the period, who had his estates confiscated because he was intolerant of the ruling Normans; one had to be either with them or against, and Locksley was seemingly not prepared to see suffering and torture inflicted on working peasants whose only crime was that they could not afford the crippling taxes.
   Surnames in the 12th century denoted one's place of birth or trade, so in Robin Hood, the "hood" was a clue to the fact that he hid his true identity. Having decided against allegiance to the Normans, he had no choice but to disappear and place himself far beyond the reach of authority. Where better to vanish that a place like Sherwood Forest, where one had only outlaws as neighbours and the king's deer for sustenance.