3 June 2026 Worksop Priory and Tattershall Castle

 Today was fun. When planning a lengthy trip like this, using only information found in your genealogy software database as a starting point, sometimes you strike out. The place's name has changed, it has been torn down, or converted into something else. Worksop Priory was one of those places. 

When I started researching it to see whether it would be a good location to visit, I had doubts. The address was a School Lane. If the Priory had been turned into a school, there's no way I will be able to see what I want to with all those kids. Fortunately, this wasn't the case. The above picture is what greeted me from the parking lot. Not great.

As I got closer, it started looking like two churches. One old, and one newer. Now all of these old churches need renovations to keep them from rotting away. They are always a work in progress, and the list of things that need fixing or replacing never ends. That's why they are always asking for help with the building fund. 

The church had an open sign, which was good, but there were sign boards and a Gatehouse through a park, so I went there first. 

The gatehouse was secured, and it looked like some homeless people had been trying to live in it. Made of sandstone, a lot of the fine features carved in the rock were worn away. Still, a gatehouse like this is good.

The priory's foundations were laid on 3 March 1103. The order who founded this Priory was Augustinian, and the man who started it all was Sir William de Lovetot. William's son, Richard de Lovetot, came next, and in 1161, and was visited by King Stephen during his time. Richard's son was another William de Lovetot, and his daughter, Matilda, married Sir Gerald Furnival, and Sir Gerald fell while on the Crusades in 1219.

I walked back and followed the sign to the open door of the church, and I entered right into the side Lady Chapel. In front of me lay three stone effigies with name sign next to them. This is good too.

The first two effigies are my 19th Great Grandparents. The bottom one, Thomas "The Hasty" Furnival, is the son of my 21st Great Grandparents. 

I started walking around the church to see if I could discover any more of my relatives. In total, I now have 6 people associates with Worksop Priory and 8 people associated with Worksop the town, to include some burials which I believe are here in the church, there just aren't any records to confirm it (Kind of hard to argue with an Effigy verified by the Church). 

While strolling around, I guess I caught the attention of a man who snuck up on me and spooked me pretty good. He never told me his name, but he was 84, and used to be a tour guide with this church. He showed me a few things that I had already seen, but answered some of my questions. In the past, the gatehouse was turned into a school, and classes were held out of the gatehouse. He also said that pilgrims would come to the Gatehouse, and enter from the doors on the front right of it. These were known as the Pilgrims Doors.

He introduced me to the priest, and he shared some nice information with me as well. He said that Worksop Priory back in the day was a gathering place for Knights from Northern England to meet before heading to the Holy Lands on Crusade. When they arrived at the Church, they would take their knife, and carve a cross in one of the Norman arched doorways. When and if they returned back, they would always come by the church, and use their knife to drill a hole in each of the 4 points of the cross. He showed me several that were done that way. 

 

I'll blow this up where you can see it, but it is right above his outstretched fingers on the column.

There is actually one above his index finger, and one in between his middle finger and his ring finger. He also told me the story of Matilda Fitzwalter de Furnival, and how she was a very strong woman. She was married to Gerard Furnival, and Gerard went on a Crusade to the Holy Lands. He brought two of his sons with him. After the crusade, only one of the sons came back, as his father and his brother had been killed while down there. When he finally met with his Mother on his return, she asked him, where is your brother? He stated that he was killed in the crusade. Matilda, in her grief, told him to go back to Jerusalem and bring his brothers body back for a proper burial. That is exactly what he did, and he returned with the bones of his brother.

Here are a few more on the opposite side of the doorway. Just look for the symmetrical four holes, and you'll see the lines connecting them.

Now I can't say that this is indeed a true story, because family stories are like fish tales, and they can get even bigger the more they are told, but there are several people in Worksop Priory who believe that it actually happened 800 years ago, and who am I to question their words?

I had a great time at Worksop Priory, speaking with the Priest and the Volunteer. The thing about these English people. If they find out that you are genuinely interested in something they care deeply about, they will share stories with you until your parking ticket expires outside.

Next on my schedule was Tattershall Castle. This is a beautiful brick castle, surrounded by a moat, and very tall. It really needed an elevator, but I still made my way up to the top, in a driving wind, with rain pelting my poor body. It really wasn't that bad, but I did get some climbing done.

The original stone castle was built for Robert Tateshale, a supporter of King Henry III, and he accompanied Henry to France. In 1231, Robert married Mabel de Albini (also spelled d'Aubigny). Her father was William d' Aubigny, 3rd Earl of Arundel, and through this marriage, was entrusted with the care of Lincoln and Bolsover Castles, as well as receiving permission to fortify his Manor house. 

After passing through the hands of the Driby family, the Cromwell family acquired the property, and this is where they used bricks to build the castle. Bricks were manufactured on the Cromwell Estate, and wood was purchased from a nearby priory. Most of the relatives that I have asscociated with this castle come from the time before it was made of bricks, and include the Tattershall family name. 

Another interesting fact. The castle had new stained glass windows put in in 1910. Most of these depict the shield/crest of prior owners of the castle, and there are a lot of them on each floor. Here's a picture from the top of the church that was next to it.

It was worth the visit. I am spending the next two nights in Lincoln, England. My list for tomorrow includes Lincoln Castle, and Lincoln Cathedral. It should be another great day.