The Dukeries was a district in the county of Nottinghamshire which
was so called because it used to contain five ducal seats in close
proximity to one another. It is south of the town of Worksop which has been called The Gateway to the Dukeries. The dukal seats were:
Clumber House: principal seat of the dukes of NewcastleThoresby Hall: principal seat of the dukes of Kingston and later of the Earls Manvers of the same family.Welbeck Abbey: principal seat of the dukes of PortlandWorksop Manor: a seat of the dukes of Norfolk
The Dukeries was remarkable not only for the number of ducal
families in proximity to each other, there being at most times fewer
than one English ducal family for each two English counties, but also
because the parks of the various houses were largely contiguous, rather
than being separated from one another by miles of farmland, as is
usually the case with the parks of major country houses in England,
whether ducal or not. Bestwood Lodge. a seat of the dukes of St Albans, was also in Nottinghamshire, but over 15 miles to the south of the core Dukeries area.
Welbeck Abbey is the only house now in private occupation. Until
2005 the abbey was leased to the Ministry of Defence and occupied by
the Army Sixth Form College, while the descendants of the last Duke of
Portland occupied a secondary house in the park called Welbeck
Woodhouse, which was built for the Marquis of Titchfield in the early
1930s. It is three quarters of a mile to the north east of the main
house, and while much smaller than the abbey, is some 200 feet long.
The incumbent Duke of Norfolk sold Worksop Manor to the Duke of
Newcastle in 1839. The Norfolks preferred to spend more time at Arundel
Castle and the Duke of Newcastle only wanted the land to enlarge his
estate, so he had the main part of the house demolished. However the
service wing was adapted into a smaller (but still substantial) country
house later in the 19th century, which survives. Clumber Park was
demolished by the Dukes of Newcastle in the 1930s because they could no
longer afford to live there, but the large Victorian chapel survived,
and the 3,800-acre (15 km2) park now belongs to the National Trust.
Thoresby Hall opened as a country house hotel early in the 21st century
after a long period of neglect. The term "The Dukeries" is still
sometimes used, and it appears on some modern maps, including the one
linked below.
Community Trips
Clumber Park Nordic Walking Session
Worksop, Nottinghamshire, United Kingdom
Nordic Walking | 5.7 miles
Nordic Walking | 5.7 miles
The weather this evening, ideal for a great Nordic Walk. The group arrived at the Limetree crossroads and after a nice actice warm up we set off along the beautiful Clumber Park Trails. The pace was brisk, though we had lots of interesting conversations and news too catch upon. At the end, nearly 1hour 50mins later we stretched down then headed towards the local pub. A good session.
Good level walk on edge of Sherwood forest Possible lunch stop at GreenDale OaK pub at Cuckney or detour into Warsop for lots of other options Can also be started at Hazel Gap
