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The first mention of Farnsfield emerges in 956AD in a document in which King Edwy of Northumbria gave the Danish Archbishop of York, Oscytel, the manor of Southwell, which included the farmstead of Farnsfield. Farnsfield was a small community of farmsteads scraping a living from agriculture in a clearing at the edge of Sherwood Forest. By 1520 Farnsfield was the responsibility of Southwell Minster under the Archbishop of York, Cardinal Wolsey. Most people were farmers and poor land, bad weather, disease and starvation were constant hazards. By the 1600s more specialised trades were developing in Farnsfield including bakers, tailors and shoemakers. By the late 1700s sheep rearing was the main source of income from outside.

The church dates from the 15th century but was rebuilt between 1859 and 1860 by Thomas Chambers Hine and Robert Evans following a fire. Only a fragment of the tower from the 15th-century building survives.

Great, easy going trail for all abilities. Well maintained.

Excellent cafe for cyclists

The trail is 7.5 miles and built on the former railway line of the Midland Railway. It stretches from Southwell to Bilsthorpe and passes the villages of Farnsfield, Kirklington and Maythorne. You can walk, cycle or horse ride along the trail and there are a number of free car parks to allow access.

The former Palace of the Archbishop of York stands next door to the Minster, adjoining the present official residence of the Bishop of Southwell. The Palace as we see it today dates from the 14th Century and was wrecked during the Civil War. The ruined part can be admired up-close from the Palace Gardens. The surviving built part of the Palace – the Great Hall – was restored in the Edwardian era. The Hall retains its original proportions and the beams of the magnificent vaulted ceiling of the State Chamber are mostly medieval originals.

The earliest church on the site is believed to have been founded in 627 by Paulinus, the first Archbishop of York, when he visited the area while baptising believers in the River Trent. The legend is commemorated in the Minster's baptistry window. In 956 King Eadwig gave land in Southwell to Oskytel, Archbishop of York, on which a minster church was established. The Domesday Book of 1086 recorded the Southwell manor in great detail. The Norman reconstruction of the church began in 1108, probably as a rebuilding of the Anglo-Saxon church, starting at the east end so that the high altar could be used as soon as possible and the Saxon building was dismantled as work progressed. Many stones from this earlier Anglo-Saxon church were reused in the construction. The church was originally attached to the Archbishop of York's Palace which stood next door and is now ruined.

These are the residences of the clergy who serve Southwell Minster.