News: Fundraising begins for unique holiday let inside one of the largest and most famous 18th century houses in England
A leading preservation and heritage charity has begun fundraising for plans to create a "truly elegant place to stay" within the historic mansion at Wentworth Woodhouse in Rotherham.
Founded in 1965, The Landmark Trust works to save historic buildings in danger of being lost forever. Sensitive restoration offers "landmarks" a new future by making them available to everyone for self-catering holidays. The lettings income from the 200+ extraordinary buildings in the charity's care supports their maintenance and survival in our landscape, culture and society.
When Wentworth Woodhouse Preservation Trust (WWPT) took over the Grade I listed mansion in 2017, decades of neglect had left one of the finest homes in the UK in a sorry state.
The roof of the south wing, known as the "Bedlam" wing, was one of the first to be tackled when £7.5m of Capital Works/emergency repairs began in late 2018. But whilst repairs having taken place to the exterior of the South Tower, the interior is in urgent need of repair.
The Landmark Trust has worked out the details of a scheme to take on a long lease from the WWPT to make a Landmark (a holiday let) for two in the South Tower.
Rothbiz reported on the plans fro holiday lets in 2024 and now a campaign is now underway to raise £500,000.
Work by both trusts has uncovered that in around 1770, the upper chamber of the South Tower was adopted by Mary, 1st Marchioness of Rockingham, as her parlour. She had it decorated with fine plasterwork and wall plaques on Classical themes, and the scheme is an important survival of feminine taste in the Georgian period.
The plan is to use the finest craftspeople and materials to recreate the glory of the South Tower and to recreate the decorative finishes of the upper chamber to as they were in the 1770s. The parlour would become the drawing and dining room, and a bedroom, kitchen and bathroom would be created in the adjacent rooms. The approach would be via a handsome private footbridge from the elevated rear terrace.
Advertisement
Proposals also include heating and hot water being delivered via an Air Source Heat Pump sited on the adjacent roof, to feed underfloor heating in the upper chamber and cast-iron radiators in the other rooms. The large windows in the upper chamber will be given slimline heritage glazing.
Updates from the Landmark Trust explain: "The glorious parlour used by the Marchioness of Rockingham needs urgent action. Inside the secluded South Tower, the once opulent plasterwork is crumbling and an exquisitely decorated ceiling has been lost to water ingress.
"With your help we will repair the grandest room with traditional 18th-century skills using the finest craftspeople, to evoke its character in its prime.
"This secluded eyrie in one of England’s most notable houses will, we hope, become a truly elegant place to stay."
Caroline Stanford, a historian at the Landmark Trust, said: "Acting in partnership with the Wentworth Woodhouse Preservation Trust, Landmark has been developing this project for some time and we've just launched our appeal for the restoration of this secluded hideaway.
"The Landmark Trust aims to restore the upper chamber to how it looked under the second Marchioness in the 1770s and to convert adjoining rooms on the upper floor of the quadrant as bedroom, bathroom, and kitchen.
"This will turn these rooms into a magnificent and very special place that anyone can book for a self-catering holiday. There'll also be regular access to the upper chamber for day visitors. If the money can be raised, we can be on site in summer 2026. But the Landmark Trust needs your help to do so. If you can, please support the appeal to ensure the revival and survival of this unique part of the Wentworth Woodhouse story."
Landmark Trust website Wentworth Woodhouse website
Images: WWPT / Landmark Trust
Read more...
Founded in 1965, The Landmark Trust works to save historic buildings in danger of being lost forever. Sensitive restoration offers "landmarks" a new future by making them available to everyone for self-catering holidays. The lettings income from the 200+ extraordinary buildings in the charity's care supports their maintenance and survival in our landscape, culture and society.
When Wentworth Woodhouse Preservation Trust (WWPT) took over the Grade I listed mansion in 2017, decades of neglect had left one of the finest homes in the UK in a sorry state.
The roof of the south wing, known as the "Bedlam" wing, was one of the first to be tackled when £7.5m of Capital Works/emergency repairs began in late 2018. But whilst repairs having taken place to the exterior of the South Tower, the interior is in urgent need of repair.
The Landmark Trust has worked out the details of a scheme to take on a long lease from the WWPT to make a Landmark (a holiday let) for two in the South Tower.
Rothbiz reported on the plans fro holiday lets in 2024 and now a campaign is now underway to raise £500,000.
Work by both trusts has uncovered that in around 1770, the upper chamber of the South Tower was adopted by Mary, 1st Marchioness of Rockingham, as her parlour. She had it decorated with fine plasterwork and wall plaques on Classical themes, and the scheme is an important survival of feminine taste in the Georgian period.
The plan is to use the finest craftspeople and materials to recreate the glory of the South Tower and to recreate the decorative finishes of the upper chamber to as they were in the 1770s. The parlour would become the drawing and dining room, and a bedroom, kitchen and bathroom would be created in the adjacent rooms. The approach would be via a handsome private footbridge from the elevated rear terrace.
Advertisement
Proposals also include heating and hot water being delivered via an Air Source Heat Pump sited on the adjacent roof, to feed underfloor heating in the upper chamber and cast-iron radiators in the other rooms. The large windows in the upper chamber will be given slimline heritage glazing.
Updates from the Landmark Trust explain: "The glorious parlour used by the Marchioness of Rockingham needs urgent action. Inside the secluded South Tower, the once opulent plasterwork is crumbling and an exquisitely decorated ceiling has been lost to water ingress.
"With your help we will repair the grandest room with traditional 18th-century skills using the finest craftspeople, to evoke its character in its prime.
"This secluded eyrie in one of England’s most notable houses will, we hope, become a truly elegant place to stay."
"The Landmark Trust aims to restore the upper chamber to how it looked under the second Marchioness in the 1770s and to convert adjoining rooms on the upper floor of the quadrant as bedroom, bathroom, and kitchen.
"This will turn these rooms into a magnificent and very special place that anyone can book for a self-catering holiday. There'll also be regular access to the upper chamber for day visitors. If the money can be raised, we can be on site in summer 2026. But the Landmark Trust needs your help to do so. If you can, please support the appeal to ensure the revival and survival of this unique part of the Wentworth Woodhouse story."
Landmark Trust website Wentworth Woodhouse website
Images: WWPT / Landmark Trust
