A new sign located on Archer Lane at the corner of Summer Street pays homage to Sherwood Forest, Lynnfield’s first planned development and its first in the post- World War II era.
“We at the Lynnfield Historical Commission are extremely proud to honor internationally known architect/builder(s), Royal Barry Wills, and his son, Charles B. Wills, with this sign at the entrance of Sherwood Forest,” Historical Commission Chair Kirk Mansfield said.
The Wills, along with their business partners, Bengt Eriksson and Roger Harris, were responsible for the creation of Lynnfield’s first planned and postwar neighborhood. The project began in 1943 and was officially launched in 1946.
According to the Lynnfield Historical Commission, “Sherwood Forest was the first, and for a long time, the largest of the subdivisions planned for the town in the immediate postwar years.”
The new sign provides a brief history of Sherwood Forest. It says that in 1941 Royal Barry Wills and Eriksson purchased two parcels of land for $18k from Suntaug Acres, Inc. The land was originally part of the Saltonstall Estate and was also known as Lynnfield Acres and The Acres. After purchasing additional acreage, construction of the “soon-to-be prestigious neighborhood began in 1945. Charles Wills soon joined the firm.
According to Historic Lynnfield, Inc. Royal Barry Wills, Charles Wills and Eriksson, built the first 12 homes in Sherwood Forest. After that Charles partnered with his cousin, Harris with whom they built more than 90 homes in Sherwood Forest. Many of the earliest homes were built on Locksley Road, the longest street in the development which winds its way along Suntaug Lake.
The sign states that the development was promoted by “word of mouth with little advertising and no model homes (and) still many people came to see what was happening in the area and on Sundays long lines of cars moved through the neighborhood to see the new houses.” All told, the development contained more than 100 homes on approximately 200 acres.
While some Sherwood Forest homes have been razed and replaced by McMansion-like dwellings, the neighborhood is still full of homes with classic designs associated with Wills – Cape Cod, slatbox and Garrison colonials and center-entrance colonials as well as some of his contemporary designs like ranches and splits.
Nobody seems to know why Royal Barry Wills named the development Sherwood Forest but all of its roads seem to have been inspired by “The Legend of Robin Hood.” A sampling of street names includes Locksley Road, Robin Road, Archer Lane, Friars Lane, and Nottingham Lane.
Mansfield said Royal Barry Wills was “internationally known as the master of the Cape Cod home. He said his eye for detail was “unparalleled” and once beat out famed architect Frank Lloyd Wright to win a national contest held by Life Magazine in 1938.
“Even after all these years a Wills’ house is still sought out,” Mansfield said. “That is why the commission has been working very hard to preserve these homes and Lynnfield’s first-planned post-war neighborhood. I heard from Charlie’s daughter, Cynthia Harriman, who told me that her father, who will be 101 in February, saw the sign and was surprised and happy. We couldn’t ask for anything more.”
This sign is one of many the Historical Commission has in the works to mark the different neighborhoods throughout Lynnfield. The next signs the commission plans to install will be King James Grant, followed by Apple Hill, and Glen Meadow.
