Worksop - Where to go and how to get there

Worksop railway station, station house and outbuildings, opened 7th July 1849. Designed by Weightman & Hadfield (of Sheffield), built by James Drabble (of Carlton in Lindrick) for the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway Co, it is built in Steetley stone in Jacobean style. The station has recently undergone restoration work.

Trains at Worksop operate between Nottingham and Worksop, Lincoln and Sheffield and Sheffield  and Cleethorpes.

The station plays host to the Mallard pub, popular with members of CAMRA and on platform 2 a station cafe is housed in the former Duke of Portland's waiting room. Next the the cafe is the  Worksop model railway . Check our Facebook or Twitter pages for dates when it is opened to the public.

Mr. Straw's House

Turn left out of the station and walk along Carlton Road to a main road junction. Take blythe Road on the right and walk along to Blyth Grove , again on your right. Here you will find Mr Straw's house.

The Edwardian semi-detached house built around 1905  was the residence of the Straw family from 1923 and is now cared for by the National Trust.

On moving to the house Mrs Straw quickly got to work decorating her new home, choosing the latest wallpapers and carpets to create a fashionable and modern place for entertaining and relaxing.

After the death of her husband, in 1932, Florence Straw made few alterations to the house for as a Victorian woman in mourning this would have been expected of her and her contemporaries would have found nothing strange about her choice to keep his pipes by the fire and his collar box in the bedroom.

When she died in 1939 her sons, William and Walter, lived in the house together, and their frugal way of living and make do and mend attitude resulted in the house largely avoiding modernisation.

Due to the small scale of the property visits need to be booked in advance as there is a maximum group size of four. The house opens Tuesday through to Saturday, closing for its winter clean in November and reopening in March. There are various special events organised and the display room and tour change annually.
National Trust Mr. Straw's House

Worksop Priory

Turn right out of the station and walk down Carlton Road towards the town centre.Cross over the Chesterfield Canal and turn left into Church Walk. Keep to the right. At the end of the street you walk into gardens beisde the River Ryton. Ahead is the Pirory Church of Our Lady and St. Cuthbert.

The market cross by the gate house shows the medieval town lay just outside the priroy precinct.

The priory was founded in 1103 by William de Lovetot as a Augustine house. The nave that stands now belongs to the second building on the site. The church in its heyday was 360ft long but the surviving nave is just 135ft in length. The Lady Chapel lay roofless, ruined and detached for 400 years. But it was restored in 1922 as a memorial to the men of the parish who died in the Great War.

Inheriting a half completed building, Fr Peter Boulton took up the challenge and with the support of the people and a generous legacy from Mr Ellis a local timber merchant, the present central tower and choir, designed by Laurence King were completed in 1974.
Worksop Priory website

Worksop Priory Gatehouse

Close to the south of the Priory is an early 14th century gatehouse, one of only two walk through shrines in England. The main window  above the entrance  is to a hall with a fine unretouched fireplace.

Walk from Worksop to Shireoaks and pass the Giant's Staircase on the Chesterfield Canal. There are 23 locks up from Boundary Lock through the Turnerwood and Thorpe flights, with more in a mile than any other canal in England. It was named the Giant’s Staircase in Victorian times when it was a tourist attraction. Scenery hereabouts is a delight. This is just one of 11 Stagecoach Bus Walks.