Southwell Minster
Grade I listed cathedral in Southwell, United Kingdom
Southwell Minster, strictly since 1884 Southwell Cathedral, and formally the Cathedral and Parish Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is a Church of England cathedral in Southwell, Nottinghamshire, England. The cathedral is the seat of the bishop of Southwell and Nottingham and the mother church of the diocese of Southwell and Nottingham; it is governed by a dean and chapter. It is a grade I listed building.
The current church is the successor to one built in 956 by Oscytel, archbishop of York. Some late eleventh century fabric survives from this church, but the majority of the building dates from between 1108 and c. 1150, when it was reconstructed in the Romanesque style. The chancel was rebuilt from 1234 to 1251 in the Early English Gothic style. In 1288 the chapter house was built; it is decorated with carved foliage of exceptional quality. The minster's rood screen is also of high quality.
During the Middle Ages Southwell was part of the large diocese of York, and the archbishop maintained a palace adjacent to the minster. Although it was not a cathedral, the minster acted as the mother church of the surrounding area; Ripon Cathedral and Beverley Minster fulfilled a similar function in other parts of the diocese.
The public source identifies “Southwell Minster” as grade I listed cathedral in Southwell, United Kingdom. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Southwell, Minster and Grade.
Why this record matters
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The strongest evidence will usually combine a dated visual record with documents produced by the authority responsible for the place. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 7, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q3492345. VIAF identifies the subject as 128978705. The Library of Congress control number is n50078280. Authority coordinates are 53.077, -0.954. 2 of 5 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1884, 1108, 1150 and 1234.
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Three-step research path
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This entry incorporates text from “Southwell Minster” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.