This Nottinghamshire National Trust site is one of the top 20 to visit in the UK, according to The Telegraph

A National Trust site in Nottinghamshire has been named as one of the top 20 to visit in the UK by a national newspaper.

The Workhouse and Infirmary, in Southwell, was included by The Telegraph in its list of the top 20 National Trust properties across the UK.

The Telegraph said: “This forbidding block outside Southwell could be a prison or a factory.

“In fact, it was both – built in 1824 as a workhouse, reached via the ominously nicknamed “paupers' path”, founded by a driven clergyman called the Reverend Becher.

“It is the most complete example we have; a reminder of the fate of the grindingly poor in times past.

“Today, you can see lengths of oakum – the tarred rope unpicked by inmates – and documentation including the register of births and deaths.”

Workhouse and Infirmary named among the UK's best National Trust sites

The Telegraph ranked the 20 sites on six different factors, including history, facilities and architecture.

The Workhouse and Infirmary was awarded an overall rating of 31/50.

The full rankings are as follows:

History - 7/10

Architecture - 7/10

Grounds - 5/10

Things to see - 7/10

Facilities - 5/10

Overall rating - 31/50

Built in 1824, the workhouse was designed by William Adams Nicholson, an architect from Southwell and Lincoln.

For decades it was where the poorest in society had to work and where they received food, shelter and medical care.

Considered as the best-preserved workhouse in England, in its heyday the building had room for 158 inmates.

It was acquired by the National Trust in the 1990s, before opening to the public in 2002.