Southwell Minster - Southwell, Nottinghamshire
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SMacB
N 53° 04.655 W 000° 57.284
30U E 637004 N 5882855
Southwell Minster is a working building, open 365 days per year, welcoming many thousands of visitors annually, including pilgrims, tourists, families and school groups from across the country and overseas.
Waymark Code: WM11XMA
Location: East Midlands, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 01/05/2020
Views: 1
Key Things to See at Southwell Minster - (
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"Southwell Minster is the Cathedral of Nottinghamshire. For nearly one thousand years Southwell Minster has been a place of pilgrimage. Its rural location and stunning, but quirky, architecture have made it a "must see" destination throughout the centuries. John Betjeman put his finger on it when he noted that "everywhere around is an atmosphere of peace and in the Minster there's one of prayer."
A large Roman villa originally stood on the Minster site. In 956, the land was given by the King of Wessex to the Archbishop of York and a church was built. In 1108 the then Archbishop put in process the rebuilding of this Anglo-Saxon church and Southwell Minster, as we know it today, was begun. The twin "pepperpot" towers on the west front were completed by 1170, while the celebrated Chapter House - with its wonderful carved stone leaves - was constructed circa 1300. During the first half of the 15th century the original windows of the west front of the cathedral were replaced by a huge Perpendicular window in the latest style.
The Minster survived the Reformation relatively unscathed but, during the Civil War, it was damaged when used as stabling by Roundhead forces (King Charles 1 spent his final night of freedom in Southwell). In 1711 - on 5th November, appropriately enough - much more serious damage occurred when a fire ripped off the roof, destroying most of the bells and the organ. Repairs were limited, with an unsatisfactory, almost flat, roof being put on. In 1815, the spires on the pepperpot towers had become unsafe and were removed, rather than replaced.
It wasn't until 1851 that the serious repairs needed were finally put in hand and the building was sympathetically worked on over the next forty years. In 1884, Southwell Minster became the Cathedral church and should, today, be correctly styled "Southwell Cathedral" - but the traditional name has stuck.
In the 21st century visitors continue to come to worship, to pray and to admire Southwell Minster and enjoy one of England's finest medieval churches, which is now widely acknowledged to be Nottinghamshire's most loved building."
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