Minster Church of St Mary the Virgin with attached chapter house

Southwell Minster is a cathedral church of exceptional architectural and historical importance, displaying work from the early 12th century through to the late 19th century. The nave, aisles and west towers date from circa 1120 to 1250, built on the site of an earlier Anglo-Saxon church. The choir, its aisles and the east transept chapels were constructed circa 1233 to 1260. The chapter house, renowned for its naturalistic stone carving, was built between 1290 and 1300. The choir screen dates from around 1337, with the choir flying buttresses and transept chapel windows added in the mid-14th century. The nave aisle east windows were inserted in the late 14th century, and the nave west window, choir gable window and roof renewals date from the 15th century.

Following a fire, the south west tower, nave and crossing tower were reroofed between 1711 and 1714. The western spires were removed by Richard Ingleman in 1801. William Wilkins Senior reroofed the chapter house in 1803, and the west towers were repaired in 1816. In 1880, Ewan Christian reinstated the west tower spires and chapter house roof, and renewed the nave and transept roofs.

Exterior

The building is constructed of ashlar with lead roofs, displaying Romanesque, Early English and Decorated Gothic styles. It comprises an aisled nave with clerestorey and west towers, a north porch, transepts, a crossing tower, an aisled choir with transeptal chapels, a pilgrim chapel, a cloister and vestibule, and the chapter house.

The west end features two square towers of six stages, topped with square spires. These have flat angle buttresses, a sill band with nailhead ornament, string courses and corbel tables. The fourth and sixth stages display Romanesque blind arcading, while the fifth stages have blind arcading with pointed arches. The lowest stages contain 19th-century Romanesque windows. Between the towers sits an enriched Romanesque doorway of four orders, with a seven-light Perpendicular lancet window above featuring panel tracery. A crenellated parapet crowns this central section.

The seven-bay nave and aisles feature a zigzag sill band, moulded string course and wavy corbel tables, all restored in the 19th century. Each aisle has shallow buttresses and, to the east, four triple lancets with hood moulds. To the west, the north aisle has two Romanesque windows and the south aisle three, with a small rectangular light above each window. The clerestorey has seven round windows on each side.

The north porch is of outstanding importance, with a plinth, enriched sill band, corbel table and coped gable topped by a beast finial. Its roll-moulded doorway of two orders has a hood mould. Above this, three graduated round-headed windows with zigzag surrounds and cabled hood moulds light a sacrist's room. Pinnacles with conical caps flank the gable, the western one serving as a chimney. Inside, the porch has elaborate interlaced arcading, stone benches and a rendered barrel vault. The heavily enriched inner doorway of five orders contains a pair of 14th-century doors with reticulated blind tracery.

The transepts have plinths, flat buttresses, enriched sill bands, string courses, and wavy corbel tables on their east and west sides. The north and south gables each display two Romanesque windows on each stage, with shafts and impost bands. The upper windows have cabled heads, and above these sit two round windows. Both gables feature relief decoration. The south transept has an enriched segment-headed Romanesque doorway with double shafts to the west. The west sides have fenestration similar to the gables, with round windows offset towards the aisles. The south transept has an additional round-headed doorway to the south, and two round windows on its east side.

The unbuttressed square crossing tower of three stages has string courses, a corbel table and a coped parapet with traceried round corner pinnacles. Intermediate pinnacles have ball finials. The second stage displays Romanesque interlaced arcading with two small lancets on each side. The third stage has blind arcading with square shafts and three bell openings on each side.

The seven-bay choir and its seven smaller aisles bays have a moulded plinth, sill bands, parapets and chamfered gabled buttresses. The angle buttresses at the east end are topped with crocketed gabled pinnacles. The central bays of the choir have two flying buttresses, those to the south with pinnacles. The choir features a corbel table. The east end displays two tiers of four lancets with shafts and hood moulds, the upper tier being larger and flanked by single blank windows. In the gable above sit two pairs of small lancets within a depressed round-headed opening. The choir has two lancets on each stage to the east, those above being larger, all with shafts and hood moulds.

The clerestorey has five pairs of smaller lancets on each side. Each aisle has a single side window to the east and a double lancet at the east end with a single smaller lancet above. The south aisle also has two pairs of lancets flanked by single ones, that to the east being smaller. All these windows have shafts and linked hood moulds. The parapeted transeptal chapels each have two lancets on their east sides and in their gables. The south chapel also has a single lancet to the west and, in the return angle, a semicircular stair turret.

The Pilgrims' Chapel, east of the north transept, has a plinth, string courses and a coped gable with lozenge band. The north gable features a Decorated triple lancet with, above it, 14th-century blind arcading containing a single window. Above this sits a 15th-century triple lancet with a segmental pointed head. All these windows have shafts and hood moulds.

The single-bay chapter house vestibule has an Early English triple lancet with trefoils and hood mould. The octagonal chapter house has a plinth, sill band, impost band, traceried corbel table with masks, and a pierced balustrade with quatrefoils. Gabled angle buttresses are surmounted by square shafts with hollowed sides, topped with crocketed pinnacles. Six triple lancets with trefoils and quatrefoils, all with shafts and hood moulds, pierce the walls. The structure is crowned by an octagonal spire roof.

Interior

Nave

The nave interior has a wagon roof and enriched string courses. Round piers with incised bands at the capitals support simply moulded arches with billet-moulded faces. The western arches have sections of wall in place of piers. The triforium displays similar billet-moulded arches with triple shafts and scallop capitals. The clerestorey has plain arches with similar single shafts and capitals. The west end features an enriched central doorway. The aisles have roll-moulded rib vaults and round-headed openings into the transepts.

Crossing and Transepts

The crossing has cable-moulded arches on each side with hood moulds. Triple shafts rise to the north and south, with plain half-round shafts facing the transepts. Above each arch sit round-headed openings with shafts. The wagon-roofed transepts have enriched and plain string courses. The gable ends display double round-arched windows with central shafts. The south west window has a doorway below. Above this are two windows with cable moulding, and above them, two round windows. The west sides have two roll-moulded windows and arches to the aisles. Above these are two cable-moulded windows and arches to nave galleries, and above again, three plain windows.

The east sides have plain arches to the choir aisles and, beyond these, larger arches—that to the north dating from circa 1260 with a double opening, clustered shaft and 20th-century screen; that to the south is 19th century. Above, on either side, sits a three-bay arcade and a plain arched opening, and above again, three plain windows with shafts.

Choir and Chapels

The choir and aisles have quadripartite vaults with ridge ribs, and arcades with clustered filleted shafts and heavily moulded arches with hood moulds. The combined triforium and clerestorey has a sill band and paired openings with clustered shafts and hood moulds, separated by clustered wall shafts. The east end displays two tiers, each of four lancets with multiple shafts and hood moulds. The south east side features an unusual five-seat sedilia with crocketed ogee canopies and figures.

The north transeptal chapel (Chapel of St Thomas) has a sill band and moulded rib vault with wall shafts. The north side contains an aumbry and the east side a roll-moulded double piscina. The north choir aisle chapel (Airmens' Chapel) displays similar design and fittings.

The south transeptal chapel (Chapel of the Saints) has a similar vault and clustered shafts with stiff-leaf capitals. The east side contains a gabled aumbry and the south gable a double piscina with hood mould. To its right sits a tomb recess. The west side features a triple sedilia with filleted shafts. The south choir aisle chapel (Chapel of St Oswald) has a similar vault and to the south a restored piscina and aumbry. To their right stands a triple sedilia with clustered shafts.

The rib-vaulted Pilgrims' Chapel, east of the north transept, has clustered wall shafts and a moulded sill band. The north and south sides contain gabled aumbries and the south and east sides have piscinas.

Choir Screen

The choir screen has three arches to the west with cusped heads and gables with foliate decoration, separated by shafts in the form of buttresses. The more elaborate east side, restored in the early 19th century, features a central cusped ogee opening flanked on either side by a triple sedilia, all with elaborate ogee heads. Above these sit ornate gabled traceried panels with two openings either side, and a pierced crest. Single blank panels terminate either end. The interior has traceried panelled walls and a panelled flat ceiling with flying ribs.

Chapter House Complex

The cloister leading to the chapter house has a double doorway with a clustered central shaft and pierced tympanum, with naturalistic foliage capitals and band. On either side of the cloister, blind arcading displays foliage capitals and hood moulds. Six of the eastern openings have glazed heads with late 19th-century mullioned lights above. The chapter house vestibule has a moulded rib vault and blind arcades to north and west with triple lancets above. On the east side stands a very ornate archway with triple marble shafts leading to the chapter house. A clustered central shaft forms two cusped doorways with a quatrefoil above, with naturalistic foliage capitals and inner and outer bands of similar foliage.

The chapter house itself has an ornamented rib vault without a central pier, and clustered wall shafts with foliage capitals. Around the walls stand 36 stalls with cusped heads and elaborate crocketed gables. The tympana are filled with foliage and figure carving. The naturalistic carving throughout the cloister, vestibule and chapter house is of outstanding interest and importance.

Memorials and Fittings

Memorials include a mutilated alabaster figure of an Archbishop, circa 1450, and an alabaster tomb chest with weepers and shields topped with a lifelike effigy to Archbishop Edwyn Sandys, dated 1588. A life-size kneeling bronze figure on a panelled and moulded alabaster chest commemorates George Ridding, first Bishop (died 1904), designed by W.D. Caröe and executed by Pomeroy in 1907. A bronze demi-figure on a pedestal from 1925 commemorates Bishop Hoskyns, by W. Reynolds Stephen. Two wall tablets date from 1750 and 1764. A 20th-century oak war memorial takes triptych form.

Fittings include a reset Anglo-Saxon tympanum, choir stalls with misericords, two benches with poppyheads in the south transept, a panelled octagonal font with matching cover dated 1661, and a 16th-century brass eagle lectern from Newstead, circa 1510. Two 19th-century wooden pulpits are also present.