Canal, priory and time capsule
Worksop
Worksop brings together canal-side walking, Norman architecture, distinct pub traditions and an ordinary family home preserved with its contents.
- Best for
- Canal walks, Norman architecture and preserved domestic history
- Give it
- A day, with Clumber Park as a separate trip
- Don't miss
- Worksop Priory's twin Norman west towers
The Fox verdict
Canal walks and layered history
Come for the Chesterfield Canal and stay for a Norman priory, an intact family home, farm-shop produce and a canalside family pub.
The Cuckoo Way passes directly through Worksop, while the Priory preserves its medieval nave and twin Norman west towers. Mr Straw's House supplies a very different kind of history through some 30,000 everyday objects. Welbeck Farm Shop and The Lockkeeper give the day practical food stops.
Where to go
Places in Worksop
Every place below is checked against a published source, listed with what it is and how long to give it.
Local signatures
3 placesWorksop Priory
Founded in 1103, the Grade I priory church retains its medieval nave and twin west towers; its triforium alternates large and small openings.
- Visit length
- Editorial estimate: Allow around 60 minutes
- Locality
- Worksop
Chesterfield Canal
An easy 2.5-mile stroll from Worksop to Shireoaks on the Chesterfield Canal towpath, part of the signposted 46-mile Cuckoo Way.
- Visit length
- Editorial estimate: Allow around 2 hours
- Locality
- through Worksop
The Lockkeeper
A family pub beside the Chesterfield Canal, serving carvery meals and cask ales, with a children's play area in its beer garden.
- Visit length
- Editorial estimate: Allow around 90 minutes
- Locality
- beside the Chesterfield Canal
Food & drink
1 placeWelbeck Farm Shop
A farm shop and butchery counter selling Welbeck's own lamb, seasonal game, estate-reared venison and local free-range pork.
- Visit length
- Editorial estimate: Allow around 45 minutes
- Locality
- Welbeck, south-west of Worksop
Walks & outdoors
1 placeClumber Park
National Trust parkland spanning 3,800 acres of parkland, heath and woods, with lakeside walks and Lime Tree Avenue.
- Visit length
- Editorial estimate: Allow around 2 hours 30 minutes
- Locality
- Clumber Park, south-east of Worksop
History & heritage
1 placeMr Straw's House
The Straw family moved into No. 7 Blyth Grove in 1923. Their home retains more than 30,000 everyday objects and became the National Trust's first small domestic property in 1990.
- Visit length
- Editorial estimate: Allow around 90 minutes
- Locality
- 5–7 Blyth Grove, Worksop
- Access
- Visits require advance booking for a timed tour. Report to reception at No. 5 Blyth Grove.
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Three ways to explore Worksop
Signature outings
Visit the Lady Chapel
Find the Lady Chapel, restored in 1922 as a memorial to people from Worksop who died in the First World War.
Meet the Straw household
Look for William Straw Sr's 1932 calendar in the front room and his pipes beside the dining-room fireplace.
Walk through Clumber Park
Explore the lakeside walks, woods and Lime Tree Avenue across Clumber Park.
The town story
Worksop: Priory Towers and Canal Walks
Pub-room ales, a canal towpath, Norman stone and one family's untouched possessions reveal several Worksops in a single visit.
A town pub room
The King Edward VII has a pool table, dartboard and beer garden. It welcomes dogs and hosts live music and quiz nights.
Canalside tables and railway arrivals
The Lockkeeper sits beside the Chesterfield Canal on Sandy Lane. This family pub offers a carvery, a children's menu, cask ales and a beer garden with a play area.
The Lion Hotel is a historic hotel on Bridge Street with rooms and a restaurant serving dishes made with ingredients from local suppliers. Near Worksop railway station, the Station Hotel combines guest rooms with a pub and restaurant; its bar carries a changing selection of cask ales.
Farm-shop provisions and routes outdoors
For food to take home, the Welbeck Farm Shop butchery team brings more than 120 years of combined experience to the counter and sells the estate's own lamb, seasonal game, venison and free-range pork.
The Chesterfield Canal's Cuckoo Way passes through Worksop and extends for 46 miles between Chesterfield and West Stockwith. A 2.5-mile towpath section leads from Worksop to Shireoaks, where walkers can take the train back. Southeast of town, Clumber Park covers more than 3,800 acres, with a lake, woods and Lime Tree Avenue.
A priory town from Werchesope
Worksop Priory began as an Augustinian house in 1103. Its medieval nave and twin west towers survive, and the nave remained in use as the parish church after the Dissolution. The Lady Chapel, left ruinous, was restored in 1922 as a memorial to local people who died in the First World War. Nearby stands the fourteenth-century, Grade I listed Priory Gatehouse with its shrine chapel. The Domesday Book recorded 24 villagers, 22 freemen and eight smallholders at Worksop; the estate's value fell from £8 in 1066 to £7 in 1086.
The house that time left alone
At 7 Blyth Grove, the Straw family moved from a flat above their Worksop grocer's shop into a semi-detached home in 1923. After Florence Straw died in 1939, William Jr and Walter kept the rooms and many possessions much as they were. William left the contents to the National Trust in 1990, and the Trust bought the house. Today it holds more than 30,000 objects; visitors report to reception at No. 5 for a pre-booked tour.
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A guide with a point of view
Written from research. Edited for real journeys.
Use the Official site links for live practical details, then use this guide for context, ideas and room to explore.
Sources
Every place on this page is checked against a published source. Each entry links the record we used and names who publishes it.
- Worksop Priory — worksoppriory.co.uk operator, sector body or destination organisation
- Mr Straw's House — nationaltrust.org.uk national body or asset manager
- Chesterfield Canal — canalrivertrust.org.uk national body or asset manager
- Clumber Park — nationaltrust.org.uk national body or asset manager
- Welbeck Farm Shop — welbeckfarmshop.co.uk operator, sector body or destination organisation
- The Lockkeeper — lockkeeperpub.co.uk operator, sector body or destination organisation