Greet House

Greet House, also known as Thurgaton Incorporation Workhouse and Southwell Union Workhouse, is a former workhouse dating from 1824 with 19th-century additions. It was designed by the architect William Nicholson for Rev. J T Becher. The building is constructed of brick with ashlar dressings and has a hipped slate roof, featuring six ridge stacks and single roof and side wall stacks. It is a three-story structure with a cruciform plan, encompassing 15 bays. Most windows are cast iron glazing bar casements with segmental heads.

The main south front features a full-height canted central bay with a hipped roof. A pedimented central porch has a rusticated front and a 20th-century door with a fanlight. To the left of the central bay is a single bay porch with a pediment, corner pilasters, and a round-headed doorway to the west, with two blocked casements to its left. To the right is a pair of casements, followed by a 20th-century and a 19th-century casement. The right wing mirrors this, with a porch and four 20th-century casements to its left, and a 19th-century casement beyond. Above, the central bay holds three casements in a recessed round-headed panel, flanked by seven casements. Above this is a half-round blocked opening flanked by eight casements. The east end has a central casement, with a 20th-century casement above. The west end features corner pilasters and blocked openings with segmental heads on each floor.

An adjoining single-story addition from the later 19th century has chamfered eaves and three bays. Its south side has two casements and a 20th-century door, while the north side has a 20th-century door and three casements to its right. The east wing's north side presents two 20th-century doors and regular fenestration with 15 casements, plus three 20th-century casements and three blocked openings. The west wing’s north side has two 20th-century doors, regular 19th-century fenestration with 13 casements, four 20th-century casements, and three blocked openings.

The central rear wing, also three stories and three bays, displays four casements on its east side on each floor. The north end has a casement above and a blocked opening above that. The west side features three casements and a 20th-century door to the right, with a blocked opening to the left and two 20th-century and one 19th-century casements above. Further above are two casements and two blocked openings. A later 19th-century outbuilding with a pyramidal roof is located at the west end. The east side of the outbuilding includes a central door with a segmental head and overlight, flanked by single casements. The main front has a forecourt enclosed by four brick walls with shaped brick coping, partly ramped, and two square piers with pyramidal caps.

The building was constructed in 1824 at a cost of £6,596 as the Thurgaton Incorporation Workhouse. It subsequently became the Southwell Union Workhouse in 1834. A detached infirmary was added in 1870, extended in 1914, and a second detached infirmary was erected in 1926. The design, influenced by 18th-century prison architecture, was widely copied at Ongar (1830) and Stoke-on-Trent (1832) and represents a well-preserved example of an early workhouse with its original plan and room layout largely intact.