The city has immense coal piers.
In the rolls of parliament of 1437 mention is made of Piers Venables, a robber who took to the woods "like as it had been Robin Hood and his meyne."
The walls, piers and arches, are all built in brick, covered with stucco, a great portion of which is preserved down to the present day.
The harbour is enclosed by two stone piers, and there is good anchorage in the bay.
The oldest mention of Robin Hood at present known occurs in the second edition - what is called the B text - of Piers the Plowman, the date of which is about 1377.