It's the largest private residence in England but few people have heard of Wentworth Woodhouse. Set on 87 acres of land and surrounded by an estate of 15,000 acres, the Grade I-listed estate once hosted the most elaborate balls in the country, but a series of unfortunate events led to it being neglected for over 25 years. Click or scroll on to step inside the home and discover its fascinating history, plus the recent renovations set to return it to its former glory...
The history of Wentworth Woodhouse is complex, with records reportedly showing occupation of the land by the Wentworth family from as early as the 14th century. Construction on the house as we see it today began in the early 18th century, incorporating earlier elements dating back to about 1630. Wentworth Woodhouse has since been passed down through generations of English aristocratic families, including the Wentworths, the Watsons and the Fitzwilliams. In 2017, it was bought by the Wentworth House Preservation Trust, who have taken on the mammoth task of restoring it after years of neglect.
The discovery of coal at the stately home led to the rise of the Fitzwilliams as one of the wealthiest families in the country and, eventually, resulted in their decline too. The nationalisation of coal mines by the Labour Party in 1947 forced Peter Wentworth-Fitzwilliam, 8th Earl of Wentworth, to open the estate for coal extraction. Wentworth went on to experience foundational issues after parts of the house and its gardens were destroyed during the process. Here, the Earl and Countess Fitzwilliam can are seen at Wentworth Woodhouse shortly before the mining operation began.
Wentworth Woodhouse Preservation Trust bought the estate for £7 million ($9.5m) in 2017. An extensive restoration programme to return the historic home to its former glory was initially estimated at £40 million ($54m) but calculations in 2018 put the figure at closer to £200 million ($270m). Post-restoration, the Trust hoped that the estate would bring in plenty of tourists, putting Wentworth Woodhouse back on the map.
Wentworth originally consisted of a modest Jacobean house that was rebuilt and expanded during the 18th century by Thomas Watson-Wentworth, 1st Marquess of Rockingham and his son. The works created an estate with two houses built back-to-back in different architectural styles. The west-facing façade is the older of the two, built from red brick with English Baroque stone detailing.
Work on the east wing began in 1731 and the Palladian-style architecture became the natural choice for the grand front entrance to the house, leaving the west side as a private entrance for the family. At 606 feet, it is thought to be the longest country house façade in Europe.
Wentworth is considered to contain some of the finest examples of Georgian interiors in the country. The most famous room in the grand stately home is the 60-foot square Marble Saloon, with its intricate ceiling plasterwork and beautifully-designed rosette marble floor.
During its heyday, the Marble Saloon would have hosted some of the most extravagant events in the country, including a dance that Russian prima ballerina Anna Pavlova performed for King George V. As with the rest of the property, there are unfortunate signs of decay in every nook and cranny, including peeling plasterwork that’s in desperate need of repair.
Here we see elegant ballet dancer Fay Lowe emulating the famous dance performed for the royal. Gracefully posing, Lowe performed her routine in the hall in April 2021, over 100 years after the original performance.
Restoration works are due to take place over a 20-year period and once complete, will result in many of the stately home's most impressive rooms being made open to the public. The main house and gardens will host tours, while the north wing will be reserved for private events. It costs a fortune to run such a vast estate, so there are also plans in the pipelines to create self-contained apartments for holiday lets, creating a healthy revenue stream that should see the property flourish for centuries to come.
Wentworth contains over 300 rooms, many of which have had bizarrely unique functions over the years. These include a private family barber’s room and dedicated rooms for storing candles and light bulbs. Corridors were so vast and confusing that guests were said to be given baskets of confetti to scatter on the floor like breadcrumbs in order to guide them back to their rooms at night.
A few historians claim that Wentworth Woodhouse even served as the inspiration for Pemberley Estate in Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. However, the Jane Austen Society says there’s no evidence to suggest the author ever visited Yorkshire, let alone the estate, within her lifetime.
Wentworth is known to have housed an extensive collection of artworks, including these paintings of the twelve apostles that continue to hang above the pews of the estate’s private chapel. The collection also includes paintings by Raphael, Titian and Van Dyke, though the majority of these were removed and placed in private hands and museums after the Second World War. It’s hoped that many will be returned to Wentworth on loan once restoration works are completed.
A copy of George Stubbs’ painting of a racehorse named Whistlejacket hangs framed by elaborate gold mouldings in the eponymously named Whistlejacket Room. The racehorse belonged to Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham, and was something of a celebrity at the time. The original painting can be seen at the National Gallery in London.
Whistlejacket was one of Charles’ finest horses; in 1759 alone he won 2,000 guineas for the Marquess. The painting of Whistlejacket is unique in that the background has been left blank, implying that the Marquess commissioned a rare sole portrait depicting nothing but his prized horse and earning a whole room in dedication.
Wentworth has hosted a number of notable guests, including the then Prince of Wales, who paid a royal visit back in 1789. Queen Victoria also visited the estate in 1835 before taking the throne, describing it in her personal diary as “a very fine edifice” and an “immense house”.
The entrance hallway, which would have once welcomed such guests, features the grand staircase. Here we see a Hitchcock-esque shot of the oak staircase that dates back to the 1720s, according to the official Wentworth Woodhouse Instagram account.
After the nationalisation of the coal mining industry, the estate was kept running by leasing rooms to the Lady Mabel College of Physical Education. Many women who attended the institution, which opened at Wentworth around 1950, remember using its stately rooms as dance studios and examination halls.
Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Wentworth, had various follies constructed on the estate, many of which were designed by renowned British architect John Carr. This particular folly, known as the Bear Pit, is believed to have housed a real-life bear. A hidden staircase connects it to an upper terrace that leads to the estate's vast gardens.
This folly, known as the Wentworth-Woodhouse Mausoleum, was commissioned by the 4th Earl Fitzwilliam in 1783 in memory of his uncle Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham. The three-storey structure was also designed by John Carr.
The stable block is also undergoing major renovation works and is set to be converted into offices, houses and tourist apartments in the near future. Rumour has it that the stables are haunted by a tall, dark man that walks its halls at night. Reports of sightings have been made by staff and visitors.
Paranormal investigators believe they may have caught the ghost on camera, as the ghostly figure of a man disappearing up a flight of stairs was captured in a clip aired on reality TV show Most Haunted back in April 2017. The team released a statement claiming it to be the most ‘groundbreaking’ footage ever recorded on the show.
In 2018, an application was submitted by the Wentworth Woodhouse Preservation Trust to Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council for a series of developments at the estate. Approval was sought for the change of use of the estate from a private residence to an open house, allowing for tours, garden visits, weddings, events and education workshops, as well as an ancillary café within the mansion house and location filming.
Fortunately, the developments and change of use of the estate were approved and the grand-scale renovation process began. According to the Wentworth Woodhouse official website, a large percentage of vital repair work has been carried out already with the support of Historic England.
Here sits a rather intelligent dog who was put to work sniffing out dry rot, according to the estate’s official Instagram page. Other essential repair work included collapsed ceilings and drains, worn stonework, asbestos and poor historic repairs.
The Trust’s £7.6m ($10.3m) capital works project, funded by an award made by the Chancellor in 2016, covers three areas of restoration. One of these tackled the leaking areas of roof above the high-status rooms of the Grade I-listed mansion and the riding school. Cracking plaster and damage from the affected roof was found throughout the Marble Saloon, the Van Dyck and Whistlejacket staterooms, the Long Gallery section dating back to the 1600s and the principal staircase.
During the 2020 COVID lockdown, construction workers had to halt their work, but they returned as restrictions lifted to continue the essential repairs. The historic mansions’ record-breaking 606-foot-long East Front façade has been fully restored and the scaffolding has finally been removed to reveal its original beauty once more.
The Preservation Trust is now looking to transform redundant buildings such as the Camellia House, Stables South Range and the riding school in order to provide more attractions and facilities for visitors and the local community. This mammoth mansion restoration project is surely one for the history books.
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