Bassingthorpe Spring is first recorded as a place name in 1379. It is first mentioned as a spring or coppice wood in the late 16th/ early 17th century. It continues to be recorded as such into the middle of the 18th century. It consisted of three compartments- Munsbrough Wood, Cliff Ridding Wood and Stripman Birks. From the middle of the 18th century until the late 1830s, coal was mined within the woodlands. Numerous pits were dug and wagon ways constructed. Earthworks within the woods relate to the pit shafts and wagon ways making legibility partial.