Worksop 5.82

Worksop is the largest town in the Bassetlaw district of Nottinghamshire, England, on the River Ryton at the northern edge of Sherwood Forest. It is about 19mi east-south-east of the City of Sheffield and its population is estimated (Mid 2012) to be 44,970. It is also twinned with the German town Garbsen. Worksop is attracting an increasing quantity of commuters to the local area because of its close proximity of Nottingham, Lincoln and Sheffield.Worksop is known as the "Gateway to the Dukeries", because of the now four obsolete ducal principal sites of which were closely located next to each other, south of the town. These four ducal locations were; Clumber House, Thoresby Hall, Welbeck Abbey and Rufford Abbey.HistoryEvidence that Worksop existed before the Norman conquest of England in 1066 is provided by the Domesday Book of 1086: "In Werchesope, (Worksop) Elsi (son of Caschin) had three carucates of land to be taxed. Land to eight ploughs. Roger has one plough in the demesne there, and twenty-two sokemen who hold twelve oxgangs of this land, and twenty-four villanes and eight bordars having twenty-two ploughs, and seven acres of meadow. Wood pasture two miles long, and three quarentens broad." In about 1103, William de Lovetot established a castle and the Augustinian priory at Worksop. Subsequently, Worksop grew into a market town.