Welcome to Worksop

Worksop is located on the River Ryton, in the county of Nottinghamshire, approximately 143 miles north of London and 18 miles south-east of Sheffield.

The town has a population of around 39,700. Administratively it is the seat of the local government district of Bassetlaw which covers an area of approximately 638 sq kms and which has a population of around 109,000.

Surrounded by cultivated agricultural countryside and woodland, it is a busy market town and thriving industrial, commercial and retail centre, which owes its rapid development during the 19th-century to the completion of the Chesterfield Canal and the arrival of the railways. There are some notable historic buildings, including the 14th-century gatehouse of the former priory of Radford, and it is a good base from which to explore Sherwood Forest and the Dukeries parklands.

The town’s history dates back to Anglo-Saxon times. In about 1103 William de Lovetot built a castle and Augustinian Priory in the town. The Priory was surrendered to Henry VII in 1539 at the Dissolution of the Monasteries. The building of the Chesterfield Canal in 1777 and the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway in 1849, which both ran through the town, led to further growth. Large amounts of coal were discovered in the area at that time. The town is called 'gateway to the Dukeries' because of the large number of ducal residences in the area, including Clumber, Welbeck, Thoresby and Rufford. These stately homes, parks and gardens are set within some of the country's most beautiful forests.

Historically the town's economy was based upon coal. Although the coal industry has declined, Worksop’s businesses have continued to develop and expand, and the town has several estates dedicated to industrial and commercial enterprises. Worksop’s thriving businesses now include wholesale/retail distribution (employing 21.0% of the total workforce) and food/drink manufacturing (8.9%). In addition, there is transport, electronics, engineering, production of clothing/textiles, and a wide range of products for industrial and domestic use.

The name Worksop comes from the Old English person's name 'Weorc' plus hop, and means 'enclosure or village of a man called Weorc'. In the Domesday Book of 1086 it was listed as Werchesope.