The initial land grant and monies to establish the Augustinian priory were made by William de Lovetot in 1103. In 1187 Philip, the Canon of Lincoln Cathedral, donated the Worksop Bestiary, an illuminated manuscript now at the Morgan Library & Museum in New York. During the thirteenth century, two lords of Worksop (Gerard de Furnival II and his son Thomas de Furnival) died while on crusade, Gerard on the Fifth Crusade in 1219 and Thomas on the Barons' Crusade in 1241. Thomas's brother, Gerard III, also died on this campaign, while their brother William, who had also taken part, returned home. A later rhyming history, which was on display in Worksop Priory in the late fifteenth century, claimed that Gerard III survived the Barons' Crusade and returned his brother's body for burial at the priory; however, earlier evidence indicates that this is untrue. In the 14th century the Tickhill Psalter was produced by the prior, John de Tickhill.
The priory was dissolved on the orders of Henry VIII on 15 November 1539. The property was granted to Francis Talbot, 5th Earl of Shrewsbury on condition that the Earl should provide a glove for the right hand of the sovereign at the coronation. This tradition continues to this day. Over time most of the former monastic buildings were plundered for their stone, but the nave of the church was saved for use as a parish church, and the early 14th-century gatehouse was used as a school.
Having been found to be in a state of severe structural decay, the Priory was restored between 1845 and 1849 by the local architect Richard Nicholson. Nicholson's interventions appear to have used Southwell Minster as its model rather than any strict documentary evidence for the church's medieval appearance.
The Lady Chapel was restored between 1920 and 1922 by the architect Harold Brakspear. It had stood in a ruined state since the dissolution of the Priory in the 16th century, completely detached from the church to the south east. While the plan to restore it had originated prior to the First World War, when it was rededicated in 1922 it was done so in memory of the parishioners who had lost their lives in the conflict.
The restoration of the Lady Chapel was the first part of an ambitious plan to restore Worksop Priory to a scale approaching its pre-reformation appearance. The scheme, entirely devised by Brakspear, envisaged a new transept, crossing tower and choir. The south transept was the first part of the plan to be realised, completed in 1929. It was followed by the north transept in 1935, which was finished by Brakspear's son Oswald after his father's death in 1934. As funds were not then available to complete the envisaged tower and choir, a temporary lantern was erected over the crossing, which allowed for the unblocking of the wall at the east end of the church in order to connect the existing building with the new transept.
Laurence King's tower and eastern extension
It was only in 1965 that, thanks to a bequest, funds became available to compete the expansion project. However, by this time, taste for the Gothic Revival had diminished, as had the need - and the funds - for a choir on the scale envisaged by Brakspear. Instead, the architect Lawrence King was engaged around 1966 to provide designs for a modern tower and choir. It was a commission not dissimilar to that which King was undertaking at Blackburn Cathedral and his solution shared some overt similarities. Built between 1970 and 1974, the squat crossing tower is topped by an aluminium flèche, below which King placed the sanctuary, equipped with a modern stone altar table and steel and brass hanging corona. The short gabled area behind hosts the choir stalls and organ, with an east window glazed by King's regular collaborator, John Hayward. King's plan also included new vestries and meeting rooms.
In mid-2017 a face was uncovered, carved into one of the Priory walls, during renovation works. The face was estimated to date back to the year 980 AD, but the wall was finished around 1260 AD.
Repairs and restorations
1760 A western gallery was erected across the nave.
1784 A gallery was erected along the north side.
1845–49 A restoration by R. Nicholson of Lincoln. The church was re-roofed, new foundations were provided to the south tower and the pillars and south aisle were pulled back to vertical.
The painted organ case was designed by Peter Collins, in co-operation with the architects, Laurence King and Partners, and constructed in mahogany in its main parts with pine-cored block wood panels. The case has a tonal as well as an architectural function, mixing the sound of the pipes and projecting it forwards as a blended whole. The specification was drawn up by David Butterworth and is almost identical to that of St Mary's Church, Nottingham.
The pipes, of which there are 1634, are of various materials ranging in tin content from 90% in the façade pipes to 20% for some flute stops. Copper and pine are used for other registers. With the exception of 24 small pipes in the pedal case, all the front pipes are speaking. The reed pipes are by Giesecke of Germany; the flues by Stinkins of Holland and Peter Collins; the cymbelstern is by Laukhuff, also of Germany.
The console at the foot of the central display pipes is constructed of oak; the naturals are of hard 'blackwood' and the accidentals are white resin topped. The manual compass is of 56 notes; the pedal compass of 30 notes.
The style of voicing and the general approach to its construction has origins in the 17th and 18th centuries, rather than the more familiar instrument to be found in England. The balance of stops is in keeping with classical registration and the 'Werk-Prinzip' of the case is designed to project the sound into the priory building.
For the mechanism of the key and pedal action, direct connection by trackers of thin wood are used to the control valves, giving the performer control over the attack and decay of each note. The stop action is electric. There are six pistons to each department and six toe levers for the pedal department. There are also eight general pistons.
The organ was reconstructed in 1996 by Wood of Huddersfield. It was cleaned and regulated and the soundboards were reconstructed. The keys were renewed; Swell Octave 2ft replaced with new pipework by Stinkens; Cymbelstern added; entire stop action (slider solenoids excepted) was remade with Alan Taylor solid state; sequencer added.
The turret clock contains a plate inscribed Hutchinson, Worksop, Fecit 1753. It was restored in 1972 by Graham Love of Worksop. It was restored again and automated in 2013
Gallery
West front
West front - detail
West door
Priory from the south
South porch
Engraving form John Stevens' The History of the Antient Abbeys, 1723
↑James Doherty,'The Crusading Furnivals: Family Tradition, Political Expediency and Social Pressure in Crusade Motivation', Journal of Family History (2022)
↑James Doherty, 'Commemorating the Crusading Past in Late Medieval England: The Worksop Priory tabula, English Historical Review 136.581 (2021), 809–835
↑"Worksop Priory Clock". Southwell & Nottingham Church History Project. Diocese of Southwell and Nottingham. 19 January 2012. Retrieved 21 December 2025.
White, Robert (1875) Worksop, The Dukery, and Sherwood Forest. Transcription at Nicholson, AP: Nottinghamshire HistoryArchived 3 November 2005 at the Wayback Machine (Accessed 24 December 2005).
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