Southwell Estate Agents

Southwell sits in a shallow valley on the River Greet, about 14 miles northeast of Nottingham and 6 miles west of Newark-on-Trent. The town grew up around its minster, which began as a church built for Archbishop Oskytel of York in 956 and was rebuilt in Norman style from 1108. Long before that, a Roman villa stood on the same ground, and the line of the Fosse Way and the Great North Road brought early settlers through the area.

By the medieval period, Southwell had become an important market town and administrative centre, run by a chapter of canons who governed church courts and parishes across a wide stretch of Nottinghamshire. That history is still written into the streets. The Georgian and prebendal houses along Church Street and Westgate were built to house the canons and their households, and the tight, narrow layout around King Street still follows the medieval market pattern.

The town’s central status meant it also hosted the county’s House of Correction on Burgage Green, and it saw its share of Civil War history too, including King Charles I’s surrender to Scottish forces at nearby Kelham in 1646, after his final night of freedom at Southwell’s Saracen’s Head.

Whether you’re looking to buy or sell in Southwell, knowing the local market makes a real difference to how you price and present a property.

• Property styles in Southwell: Most homes around the historic core of Southwell are Georgian or Victorian, built in stone or rendered brick along streets like Westgate, Church Street and King Street, including several substantial prebendal houses that once housed the Minster’s canons. Around the edges of town, postwar and more recent estates such as those off Kirklington Road and Crafts Way bring a wider range of semi-detached and detached family houses, and newer developments such as Bramley Fields add further two to five bedroom new builds.
• Developments in Southwell: Bramley Fields is a development of new two to five bedroom homes on the edge of town, and is currently bringing fresh stock to the local market, helping to ease the limited supply that’s typical of a town with so much period housing. Smaller infill developments on the edges of the older estates continue gradually, though Southwell’s conservation area status and the surrounding green belt land limit how much large scale building is likely in the years ahead.

As a market town between Nottingham, Newark and Mansfield, Southwell relies heavily on its roads and a small number of bus routes, since there’s no railway station in the town itself.

• Car & road: The A612 runs straight through Southwell and links up with the A617 and A46 towards Newark and the A1, or south towards Nottingham via Lowdham. Nottingham city centre is around 14 miles away, a drive of roughly 25 to 30 minutes outside peak times, while Newark is closer still at around 6 miles.
• Bus: Services run frequently between Southwell and Nottingham’s King Street, taking around 40 to 50 minutes depending on stops, while other services connect the town to Newark.
• Train: Southwell itself has no station. The nearest is Rolleston, about 2 miles away on the Nottingham to Lincoln line, with a limited service through the day. Newark Northgate, roughly 7 miles from the town, gives a faster connection south to London King’s Cross and north towards Lincoln and Yorkshire on the East Coast Main Line.

Southwell’s small size hides a remarkable amount of history, much of it within a short walk of the Minster.

• Southwell Minster: The Norman and Gothic cathedral at the centre of the town, begun in 1108 and famed for the carved stone foliage of its 13th century Chapter House. Visit the Southwell Minster website for opening times and tours.
• The Workhouse: Built in 1824 and now cared for by the National Trust, this is widely regarded as the best preserved workhouse in England, with original Victorian rooms open to visitors on Upton Road.
• The Archbishop’s Palace: The roofless ruins beside the Minster date from the 14th century and were once a residence for the Archbishop of York, including Cardinal Wolsey. Full listing details are held by Historic England.
• Burgage Manor: This Georgian house on Burgage Green was rented by Lord Byron’s mother from 1803 to 1808, and the poet spent much of his school holidays here.

Day to day life in Southwell still runs around its market town high street rather than out-of-town retail parks, and most of what people need for the week is found on a short walk through the centre.

• Shopping: King Street and Westgate carry the bulk of the town’s independent shops, from clothing boutiques such as Real Clothing and Core Southwell to gift shops, a hardware store and several long standing family businesses. A Co-op supermarket on Westgate covers everyday groceries, and Reg Taylor’s Garden Centre on the edge of town adds a café, plant centre and small swan sanctuary to the weekend routine.
• Eating & Drinking: The Saracen’s Head Hotel (Market Place, NG25 0HE) and the Admiral Rodney on King Street are both long standing pubs serving food, and Southwell’s fish and chip shop is well known locally. A handful of independent cafés and a deli sit along King Street and Church Street, alongside the town’s regular Saturday market.