Southwell (/ˈsaʊθwəl, -wɛl/ SOWTH-wəl, -⁠wel, locally also /ˈsʌðəl/ SUDH-əl)[1][2] is a minster and market town, and a civil parish, in the district of Newark and Sherwood in Nottinghamshire, England.

[7] There was a complex relationship with the two, Norwell being owned by and contributing to the Prebends of Southwell, the place name possibly given to help distinguish this.

It is one of three of its type found in the territories of the Corieltauvi (or Coritani) tribes – along with Scampton in Lincolnshire and Norfolk Street in Leicestershire.

[11] The Venerable Bede records a multiple baptism in the "flood of the Trent" near "Tiovulginacester" by Paulinus in the presence of Edwin of Northumbria, whom he had converted to Christianity in 627.

[12] Remains of Eadburh, Abbess of Repton and daughter of Ealdwulf of East Anglia were buried in Southwell's Saxon church.

The only reference is in a Pilgrims Guide to Shrines and Burial Places of the Saints of England supposedly written in 1000: "There resteth St. Eadburh in the Minster of Southwell near the water called the Trent."

[14] A tessellated floor and the 11th-century tympanum over a doorway in the north transept are evidence of construction of the Minster after this time.

[15] A custom known as the "Gate to Southwell" originated after 1109, when the Archbishop of York, Thomas I, wrote to each Nottinghamshire parish for contributions to building of a new mother church.

On 4 April 1194, Richard I and the King of Scots, William I, were in Southwell, having spent Palm Sunday in Clipstone.

King John visited Southwell between 1207 and 1213, ostensibly to hunt in Sherwood Forest, but also on the way to expedition to Wales in 1212.

[20] The Saracen's Head was built in 1463 on land gifted in 1396 by Archbishop Thomas Arundel of York to John and Margaret Fysher.

The Cardinal had been arrested after failing to secure an annulment between King Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon.

Mary Ann Brailsford of apple fame (see below) was baptised at Southwell in May 1791, and Matthew Bramley in 1796 in Balderton.

By that time he had become 6th Baron Byron of Rochdale, but the family home, Newstead Abbey, still required repairs, which they could not afford.

[29][4] Separated further afield from the core urban area, but within the civil parish are the following places: The town is something of an oddity in North Nottinghamshire, being visibly affluent compared with neighbouring Newark-on-Trent and Mansfield.

Agriculture and coal have seen the fortunes of the other two fluctuate over the years, while Southwell has remained a place where wealthier Nottinghamians like to reside.

It includes the recently restored State Chamber, Cardinal Wolsey's former dining room, and gardens among the ruins.

[40][41] Local news and television programmes are provided by BBC East Midlands and ITV Central.

[45] The Gate to Southwell Festival of roots and acoustic music is held each year in early June.

Southwell's bus routes are operated predominantly by Nottingham City Transport and Stagecoach East Midlands.

The nearest National Rail station to the town is over 2 miles (3.2 km) away at Fiskerton, which has gained a small car park in recent years to cater for Southwell commuters.

East Midlands Railway provides a two-hourly service between Crewe and Newark Castle; direct trains also call at Leicester, Lincoln and Nottingham.

Southwell has a leisure centre run by a local trust,[60] with trustees from the community; the district council also provides limited support.

In order of birth: The town is twinned with Sées in France,[62] Sarzana in Italy,[63][64][65] and Český Brod in the Czech Republic.