Wharncliffe Woods (Barnsley section). Although there has been woodland within this polygon since antiquity there has been considerable modern replanting of areas of trees with conifers. This has changed the character of the woodland but there is significant legibility of the ancient woodland as the wooded area has changed little and there has been gradual replanting of broadleaved trees. Part of the 'Wharncliffe-Greno Upland' as defined by L.H. Butcher (1957), the archaeological potential of which is summarised in Latham (1994). This area is rich in Iron age, Roman and medieval industries. This area part of a fringe of densely wooded steep slopes that extends to the north (HSY2891) and east (HSY2751) into the Sheffield district. Within HSY2891 are important and scheduled remains of the quern manufacturing site (Scheduled Ancient Monument 1253 and SMR PRN539) that gives this area its name - Wharncliffe is referred to in a 1265 estate document in the Wortley archives as "Qwerncliffe" (Butcher 1957, 38). A similar geological crag exists in the north of this polygon which may have potential for similar activities. Both 'beehive' and 'flat disc' querns were quarried and manufactured at this site both known from Roman contexts although 'beehive' querns are known also from Middle Iron Age sites. It is possible that the site was exploited on a smaller scale in the post-medieval period (Pearson and Oswald 1999). By the late medieval period it is likely that these woodlands were part of the Wharncliffe Chase granted through a license of free warren in 1252 (Hey 1979, 115) and enlarged in 1510 when a hunting lodge was erected on the edge of Wharncliffe Chase on the site of the present 18th century Wharncliffe Lodge (SMR PRN154). A chase is similar of a Medieval 'Forest' in that the previous landscape doesn’t usually change (Rackham 1986, 131). Post-medieval management of the woods is likely to have been closely related to the production of charcoal for use in local industrial furnaces. There was also fairly extensive Gannister mining in the south of the polygon within Redmires wood which has left earthworks. The landscape prior to the Medieval period is uncertain but this area may have been wooded for a considerable time.