Southwell

Southwell has many elegant Regency houses but its architectural jewel is the Minster church, boasting some of the best medieval stone carving in England. Just outside town is the Workhouse, an authentic 19th Century institution restored by the National Trust. Find out what life was really like for Victorian paupers in this starkly atmospheric building.

Ironically for the location of an attraction about poverty, the Nottingham Evening Post recently declared Southwell Nottinghamshire’s millionaire capital. In fact, this prosperous small town of 6,000 has never been short of admirers. Lord Byron once claimed that “I shall never be so happy again as I was in old Southwell.” Centuries on, Sir John Betjeman reported that “the Georgian elegance of Southwell ensures that few small towns are as unspoilt.”

General retail markets are held on Thursdays and Saturdays. A farmers market is being held on the third Thursday of every month.