Lisa Hendrix

Sudwell, known today as Southwell, lies about 14 miles northeast of Nottingham City and 3 miles northwest of the River Trent. It’s an ancient place, apparently dating back at least to the Roman era; luxurious villa was found under the churchyard in the late 50s, a mural from which is on display in the Minster, and other traces of Roman roads and brickwork have been found in the area.

An early church was founded at Sudwell around 628 AD, when Paulinus of York (left) visited the area after baptizing a number of converts in the nearby Trent. Land for a larger church was given to the Archbishop of York (Oskytel) in 956, and construction began in 1108.  The next year, then Archbishop Thomas I  asked each parish in Nottinghamshire to contribute to the building of a new Mother church, The Church of St. Mary Southwell.

Thus began the Southwell Gate, held yearly at Whitsuntide (7th Sunday after Easter). As Marian explains to Steinarr in Chapter 10, in those days, the Mayor of Nottingham and a representative from each parish would carry their pence to the Minster in a grand procession. Dressed in their finest robes, the officials met at the Old Market Square in Nottingham City and proceeded on foot and horseback the 14 miles to the north porch of the Minster, where the funds were received by the chapter clerk. Clergy and lay folk would accompany the procession, combining a pilgrimage with an excursion to Southwell’s famous Whitsun Fair. The term Gate comes from the old Norse word gata, meaning street or way—which explains why Steinarr knew the word. The Gate continued into the mid-1500s, when it died out. It was revived about 30 years ago by a group of Morris dancers, who keep the tradition alive in its modern form.

Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons

All those collected pence paid for a truly grand church, built on the foundations of the original Anglo-Saxon chapel, and in fact built as the old church was torn down, using many of the same stones. Called Minster because of the college of priests who gathered here to study, it also became the home of the Archbishop of York when the official palace was built adjacent. Full construction took nearly two and half centuries. The towers with their famous lead pepperpot spires—the only ones like them in England—were completed in 1170. The quire was rebuilt in the 13th c because it was too small. The octagonal Minster Chapter House, completed ca 1300, is renowned for its star roof and it’s amazing, lifelike carvings of stone leaves, beasts, and Green Men. Finally, the ornate Romanesque quire screen (pulpitum) was built in 1350.

The Minster stands in remarkably good condition today, despite centuries of troubles both man-made and natural.  During the English Civil War, the Archbishop’s palace was left in ruins, and horses were stabled in the nave. The roof of the nave has been rebuilt twice, once after a lightning strike caused a major fire in the early 1700s and once to correct  the poor design of that repair. The pepperpot spires had to be removed during the early 1800s after they deteriorated to the point that they were unsafe.  However a reconstruction during the last half of the 1800s restored the Minster to prime condition, and it’s now one of the treasures of the Midlands.

You can see the churchyard and crypts in the foreground of the picture above (click on image to see full size). This would be the same yard that Steinarr and Marian ransacked looking for the next clue, although I completely invented the various gravestones and statues, and certainly don’t recommend despoiling any graveyard in the search for treasure.

Several famous figures are associated with Southwell in addition to St. Paulinus. St. Eadburh (or St. Ædburga), Abbess of Repton, is believed to have been buried at the old Anglo-Saxon church in in 751 AD. Her remains were translated to the Minster, where they were highly revered during the Middle Ages.

“There resteth St. Eadburh in the Minster of Southwell near the water called the Trent.”

Geoffrey Plantagenet (Henry II’s bastard son) came to Southwell to take priestly orders in 1189 and later became Archbishop of York in his own right. Because of the town’s proximity to the royal forest of Sherwood, many kings passed through on their way to the hunt, among them Richard I, William King of Scots, John, Edwards I-IV, and James VI of Scotland (on his way to London to be crowned James I). Charles I spent his last night of freedom at The King’s Arms public house, not far from the Minster. After Charles was beheaded, reputedly with a Saracen sword, the inn’s name was changed to The Saracen’s Head. Later, Oliver Cromwell later stayed at the inn, supposedly in the very same rooms.

So, how do you pronounce Southwell? Apparently, it depends on where you live. Folks who don’t live in the town (and BBC news readers) seem to pronounce it SUTHell, which would seem correct given the historical spelling of Sudwell (which I used in the book), while people who do live there tend to go with South-well. There’s a fun clip of the various pronunciations (and the insistence that each way is correct) at the BBC site.  (Real Player required)

And if you want a real treat, there’s also a delightful video tour of the Minster, accompanied by the glorious pealing of the cathedral bells as only the English seem to do, at Smart History.