Church Of St Cuthbert And St Mary, Worksop Priory, And Remains Of Cloister Wall

Church of St. Cuthbert and St. Mary, Worksop Priory

An Augustinian priory, now a parish church, of 11th to 14th century date, comprehensively restored between 1845 and 1849 by R. Nicholson. The Lady Chapel was restored in 1922 as a war memorial. The south transept was built in 1929 and the north transept in 1935, both by Sir Harold Breakspear. The crossing tower, sanctuary and east end were constructed between 1966 and 1974 by Laurence King.

The building is constructed of regular and irregularly coursed ashlar and squared rubble with slate and flat roofs. It features ashlar dressings, buttresses, moulded and chamfered plinths, string courses, sill bands, hood moulds, dentillated eaves, a wavy corbel table, and moulded parapets.

The plan comprises two west towers, a nave with north porch and offices, a cloister wall, north and south aisles, north and south transepts, a crossing tower, sanctuary, east end, a lady chapel, and a south porch.

The two west towers date from the 12th and 14th centuries and carry four gargoyles each. The south tower has a 12th century lancet window with nailhead to the south and a clock in its third stage. The north tower has a heavily moulded early 12th century doorway with single shaft responds and blind arcading to the west. Both towers' second stages have single 13th century lancets. The third stages have single lancets on three sides, while the fourth stages have on each side a pair of round-headed openings, each containing two Transitional lancets with colonettes.

The nave's west end has a central 11th century doorway with shaft responds and waterleaf capitals, with a richly moulded head featuring hood mould and beak stops. Above this are 19th century doors with decorative hinges. Above again is a moulded round-headed 11th century window with nailhead. The gable above is coped with a cross. The clerestorey has eight round-headed windows on each side.

A single storey monastic parlour, now the north porch, has a 12th century doorway with two orders, roll, cove and zigzag moulding and waterleaf capitals to the west. To the east is a single 19th century double lancet. Adjoining the north porch are remains of a cloister wall with single round-headed and four-centred arched doorways, a chamfered rectangular opening, and a collapsed opening.

The north aisle, restored in 1845–49, has seven single lancets. To the west is a 12th century doorway with three orders, square capitals and zigzag and nailhead moulding. To the east is a similar blocked doorway with three orders and roll moulding.

The north transept was built in 1935 in 13th century style and measures two bays deep by three bays wide, with eight lancets.

The crossing tower dates from 1974 and has two full-height window recesses in each side, a parapet and a fleche.

The sanctuary is a gabled 20th century structure.

The lady chapel is 13th century, two bays in extent. To the east are three lancets with keeled clustered intermediate shafts and roll-moulded heads. The south side has two similar triple lancets.

The south transept was built in 1929 in Transitional style, three bays deep and three bays wide, with round-headed windows.

The south aisle is similar in character to the north aisle, comprising nine bays with eight lancets featuring nailhead.

The south porch is a single bay structure dating from the 13th century. It has a crenellated coped gable with sundial and crocketted pinnacle. The south doorway has triple roll moulding.

The porch interior contains stone benches, a 12th century doorway with three orders, nailhead capitals, and noteworthy 12th century doors with elaborate hinges. Above is a cusped-head niche, with a similar niche in the east wall. A four-bay rib vault is present.

The nave arcade comprises nine bays. To the east are two 11th century arches with round piers, scallop capitals, roll mould and billet-moulded hood with arcading. To the west, alternating round and octagonal piers with pseudo-piers occur under the west towers. All piers have water-holding bases and stiff-leaf capitals. The arches and hoods feature dogtooth, cove and roll moulding with dogtooth. Above is a string course and triforium of eighteen bays with alternate large and small openings, the larger breaking into the clerestorey. Large openings have shafts with square capitals and dogtooth and nailhead bands. Small openings feature dogtooth and nailhead bands. Above again is an eight-bay clerestorey with roll-moulded openings with shafts, and above that a nailhead eaves band. A scissor-braced principal-rafter roof dates from circa 1849.

A roll-moulded crossing arch has responds with scallop capitals and, above, a blind arcade with a central wheel window containing stained glass. The west end has a roll-moulded doorway and above it a window with stained glass dating from 1868.

Below the north tower is a carillion mechanism behind a timber screen, installed in 1931.

The north porch comprises three bays with a vault featuring moulded ribs and shaft responds.

The north aisle comprises nine bays. To the west is a 13th century arch with keeled responds and stiff-leaf capitals, eight windows with 19th century stained glass, and a moulded 13th century tomb recess. A plain vault dates from the early 13th century. To the east is a round arch into the north transept with responds and scallop capitals; zigzag moulding appears on its east face.

The north transept houses a painted ashlar reredos by Sir George Scott, removed from the east end. To the north is a 13th century pillar piscina.

Below the crossing is a 20th century altar on a plinth.

The lady chapel has to the north a blind arcade of two bays with a central clustered pier and chamfered arches, with a 20th century ashlar screen. The east end has a triple lancet with interlaced hoods and 20th century stained glass. The south side has a 13th century piscina and matching sedilia.

The south transept has two restored 13th century arches and, to the west, a 12th century arch into the south aisle with zigzag moulding.

The south aisle has nine windows with shafts and 19th century stained glass. A plain 13th century vault with moulded ribs is present.

Fittings include a font of 1857 with octagonal main shaft and panelled square bowl; a font of 1974; an early 17th century communion table; a late 17th century chest; and 20th century benches, stalls and chairs. In the south aisle is a brass of 1615 with Renaissance-style surround; eleven tablets and brasses dating from the 19th and 20th centuries; in the west end, five memorial tablets from the late 18th century and 1823; war memorials in the lady chapel; and in the north aisle, four 19th century brasses. In the south transept are three mutilated alabaster figures dating from 1366, 1406 and the early 15th century.

The Lady Chapel was restored as a memorial to those from the town who lost their lives in the First World War. The restored Lady Chapel was unveiled on 20 July 1922 by the Duke and Duchess of Newcastle, with the dedication led by the Bishop of Southwell, The Right Reverend Edwyn Hoskyns. The restoration was designed by Harold Breakspear of Wiltshire, and the works were undertaken by Thomas J. Pepper of Worksop. The interior contains a carved wooden board by Pepper giving the names of those from Worksop Parish lost in the First World War, together with carved stone tablets detailing the Lady Chapel's history, restoration and dedication. The interior also contains a bronze tablet giving the names of those employees of Manton Colliery lost in the First World War; this tablet was moved to the Lady Chapel from the colliery in 1995.