Southwell, Nottinghamshire

From Freepedia

Southwell is a small town in Nottinghamshire, England. It is best known as the site of Southwell Minster, the seat of the Church of England diocese that covers Nottinghamshire. Southwell Holy Trinity C of E Infants School caters for children aged 4-7 who come from Southwell and the surrounding villages.

The town lies on the River Greet, approximately twelve kilometres northwest of Nottingham. In addition to the minster, there are a number of other historic buildings in the town.

South-east of the town lies Southwell racecourse, served by its own train station (Rolleston).

As the site of a Church of England cathedral, the town is sometimes considered to be a city, and was treated as such in the 1911 Encyclopedia. However, its city status is not recognised by the government.

The town is something of an oddity for North Nottinghamshire, being visibly affluent, when compared with its near neighbours of Newark-on-Trent and Mansfield. Whereas agriculture and coal respectively have seen the fortunes of the other two towns fluctuate over the years, Southwell has remained an area of residence for many of Nottingham's richest residents. The local secondary school Southwell Minster School is often mistaken for a private institution, but is in fact state funded. However, the school supplies the Minster choir, and until recently there was a boarding section for choirboys in the town.

It was here that the well known Bramley cooking apple was first seeded. The apple is now used across the cookery world, and is renowned for its sweet taste. The local football club, Southwell City is even nicknamed "The Bramleys" in honour of the town's contribution to British cuisine, whilst on the site of the garden where that first apple came into being, a pleasant pub, The Bramley, now stands.

Pronunciation Controversy

The exact pronunciation of Southwell remains a subject of debate. One view, that used by the BBC and other broadcasters, is that it should be pronounced Suth-ell, while others believe that it should be pronounced South-well. Both pronunciations are acceptable, although as a guideline those from Southwell itself tend to use the 'South-well' pronunciation.