Southwell, Nottinghamshire

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Southwell is a small town in Nottinghamshire, England. It is best known as the site of Southwell Minster, the seat of the Church of England diocese that covers Nottinghamshire. Its population is approx. 6,900.

The town lies on the River Greet, approximately fourteen miles (22 km) northeast of Nottingham. In addition to the Minster, there are a number of other historic buildings in the town, notably the impressive prebendal houses along Church Street and Westgate, and the town's Methodist Church has the bizarre feature of an old right-of-way running underneath it, necessitating a considerably larger upstairs than downstairs seating capacity.

Southwell once had a railway station on a branch line of the Midland Railway, running from Mansfield to Rolleston Junction, a station on the Nottingham-Newark-Lincoln line. The Mansfield to Southwell section, which passed through a mining area, was an early casualty, closing in August 1929. Southwell to Rolleston Junction hung on till June 1959 before closing. Rolleston Junction station remains open, now called simply Rolleston, and is very close to Southwell Racecourse, which in turn is about three miles south-east of Southwell itself. The village of Rolleston was once home to children's illustrator Kate Greenaway.

As the site of a Church of England cathedral, the town is sometimes considered to be a city, and was treated as such in the 1911 Encyclopedia. However, its city status is not recognised by the government.

The town is something of an oddity for North Nottinghamshire, being visibly affluent, when compared with its near neighbours of Newark-on-Trent and Mansfield. Whereas agriculture and coal respectively have seen the fortunes of the other two towns fluctuate over the years, Southwell has remained an area of residence for many of Nottingham's richest residents. The local secondary school Southwell Minster School is often mistaken for a private institution, but is in fact state funded. The school supplies the Minster choir, and until recently there was a boarding section for choirboys in the town.

Southwell Holy Trinity C of E Infants School, the smallest of the other three schools in Southwell, caters for children aged 4-7 who come from Southwell and the surrounding villages. Southwell's other Infant School, Lowes Wong Infant School, was recently awarded the top rating in all 24 categories in its Ofsted report.

It was here that the well known Bramley cooking apple was first seeded. The apple is now used across the cookery world, and is renowned for its sweet taste. The local football club, Southwell City, is even nicknamed "The Bramleys" in honour of the town's contribution to British cuisine.

The town is accessed from Newark and Nottingham by the A612, and from north Nottingham and villages to the west by the B6386. The A617 primary route passes 2 miles to the north of the town in Hockerton, and the A1 and A46 trunk routes are both 7 miles away in Newark. The nearby village of Fiskerton's railway station has had a small car park built in recent years to cater for Southwell commuters not wishing to battle with traffic. Southwell is also served by Nottingham City Transport's rural Pathfinder service to Nottingham and Newark, and Stagecoach Lincolnshire (Mansfield) service to Mansfield and Newark. There are other infrequent services to nearby villages.

Pronunciation controversy

The exact pronunciation of Southwell remains a subject of debate. One view, that used by the BBC and other broadcasters, is that it should be pronounced Suth-ell. This probably stems from the old spelling of the town name — for many centuries Southwell (as it is now spelled) was actually written (and thus probably spoken) as Sothwell.

Others believe that it should be pronounced South-well as the town appears in older records as Sudwell, sud being French for south. Both pronunciations are acceptable, and there are no real guidelines, however people living in the town usually use the pronunciation South-well. The local radio station, Boundary Sound, opt for this pronunciation as well.

See also

• The Workhouse, Southwell — the town's former workhouse, which is now open to the public.
• Dumble - a local word used to refer to a small wooded area.

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