Information for visitors
Admission
The Minster is open every day. There is no fee for admission but a suggested donation of £3 for those waged and £1 for unwaged and children. For tax payers, Gift Aid envelopes are available. A digitally-recorded audio guide can be borrowed, deposit of £5.00 (of which £2.00 will be returned). Guided tours for parties can be arranged through the Minster office:
( (01636) 812649; Fax (01636) 817284; e-mail:
The Minster has easy access. A wheelchair is available for the less mobile. There are large-print and braille guides for the visually impaired and a loop system for the hard of hearing.
One of the clergy or a duty chaplain is usually available to give spiritual help. There is always a steward or verger on duty to answer questions.
Minster Centre
Nearby is the Minster Centre with an audio-visual theatre showing a film on the life of the Minster, a theological library, a gallery with a collection of antiquarian prints of the Minster, a bookshop selling guides, postcards, gifts, etc. and a refectory for light meals and refreshments. There are also toilets, including one for the disabled with baby changing facilities.
Minster Shop
A view of Southwell Minster from the north-east
This print by local artist and former Minster layclerk Robert Morton, together with CDs of the Minster Choir and the Minster organs, books about the Minster and the town of Southwell, and other memorabilia, is obtainable from the Minster Shop, adjacent to the Refectory in the grounds of the Minster.
Southwell
Southwell is a small Nottinghamshire market town. It has many attractive Georgian houses and is dwarfed by the Minster. It also has strong Civil War connections: Charles I spent his last night of freedom at the Saracen’s Head Hotel. Other distinguished figures such as Edward Cludd, who saved the Minster during the Civil War, Lord Byron and Cardinal Wolsey have lived in the town. It is also the ‘birthplace’ of the famous Bramley Apple.
A short distance from the town on the road to Newark is Southwell Workhouse ( (01636) 817251, opened by the National Trust in 2002. It is a formidable brick-built institution which tells the story of the care of the poor in 19th-century Britain.
Southwell is within easy reach of Nottingham (14 miles), Mansfield (13 miles), Worksop (21 miles) and Newark (8 miles). There are bus services from Nottingham, Newark and Mansfield, all of which have a railway station.
Accommodation in Southwell
There are hotels and B & B establishments close to the Minster:
- The Saracens Head Hotel, Market Place, SOUTHWELL NG25 0HE
01636 812701 - The Crown Hotel, 11 Market Place, SOUTHWELL NG25 0HE 01636 812120
- The Old Forge, 2 Burgage Lane, SOUTHWELL NG25 0ER 01636 812809
- Church Street B&B, 56 Church Street, SOUTHWELL NG25 0HG 01636 812004
- Wisteria Court, 58 Church Street, SOUTHWELL NG25 0HG 01636 815509
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