A leading preservation and heritage charity is developing plans to create a unique holiday let within the historic mansion at Wentworth Woodhouse.
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 2018 masterplan had initial proposals for the area known as "Bedlam" - a suite of rooms once reserved for boisterous Georgian bachelors on the south wing of the house - to be converted into commercial spaces attractive to national PLCs and local companies.
When the masterplan was drawn up discussions around the significant capital outlay required for residential units, and the uncertainty around Brexit, meant that the project team opted for commercial uses.
But now pre-planning advice is being sought for residenital uses in the south wing and pavillion following the completion of repairs and restoration.
Bedlam’s roof, along with those of the mansion’s chapel and riding school, was one of the first to be tackled when £7.5m of Capital Works/emergency repairs began in late 2018, using grant funding awarded in the Chancellor’s Autumn 2016 Statement and managed by Historic England.
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WWPT is in the early stages of planning to convert, and ultimately operate, 25 double rooms to be used as overnight accomodation linked to events held at Wentworth - especially with the regeneration of the stable block which includes the riding school being converted into a large conference and events space capable of holding 600+ wedding guests.
The crowning glory would be at the end of the wing, where WWPT would lease the space to the Landmark Trust providing an addition income stream.
The Landmark Trust explains: "We hope to create a Landmark for two in the South Tower of the East Front. 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. This secluded eyrie in one of England’s most notable houses will, we hope, become a truly elegant place to stay."
Sarah McLeod, CEO of WWPT, recently talked about the financially secure and self-sustaining model for the site. She said: "Whatever we do here we want to make sure that we don't find a group of people in the same position we've been in when we took on Wentworth in a 100 years time. We want the solution to be a permanent solution that economically stacks up.
"We've also had to look at the capacity for change within the building so where there's been interventions in the past, or where historic fabric has been removed, there's a little bit more flexibility there in terms of planning whereas other parts of the house particularly, they simply can't be changed, nor would we want to change them. They are really really significant interiors and we we wouldn't want to change that.
"What we came up with is a mixed use solution which allows for us to have cashflow year round so, if you can imagine, certain parts of the year we're much busier with with visitors, with tourists, but in quieter times of the year, we're much busier with things like corporate clients so the solution will have some residential overnight accommodation, shops, restaurants, bars, big visitor experience.
"The really key part of it is a major event centre which will have a major indoor area and a major outdoor area as well. Areas such as The State Room inside the mansion which have survived relatively intact since they were originally completed offer little opportunity for a change of use they will always remain the historically important heart of Wentworth Woodhouse, but other areas inside the mansion, and across most of the Stables complex, were extensively remodeled during the 20th century and almost all of the original interior fabric has been lost, this provides opportunities for us to reimagine these areas creatively and to explore how they might be used to generate revenues that can help secure the future of the site as a whole."
The son of the Fourth Earl Fitzwilliam, Charles Viscount Milton, used the top floor of the tower as his study in the years leading up to his inheritance of the title in 1833. By the early 1800s that floor is described as Lord Milton’s Study.
It would have been a delightful place to work. It featured elaborate plasterwork in the neoclassical style, much popularised by the Georgian architect and interior designer Robert Adam, and had panoramic views over his family’s land, which stretched as far as his eye could see.
In addition, he could step from his office into the gardens via a private bridge.
The floor below, shown on plans from 1829, was the Credence Room, now thought to have held archives and records he would have needed to consult. The room could only be accessed by a staircase from the curved Quadrant Room on the ground floor.
Bedlam was originally the nickname of the Bethlem Hospital asylum in London. In Georgian and Victorian times young gentlemen of the house slept there, as did visiting bachelor guests and their male servants. The men-only domain switched to women-only when the rooms became the dormitories of the Lady Mabel College of Physical Education from 1950 to 1977.
Wentworth Woodhouse website
Landmark Trust website
Images: WWPT
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 2018 masterplan had initial proposals for the area known as "Bedlam" - a suite of rooms once reserved for boisterous Georgian bachelors on the south wing of the house - to be converted into commercial spaces attractive to national PLCs and local companies.
When the masterplan was drawn up discussions around the significant capital outlay required for residential units, and the uncertainty around Brexit, meant that the project team opted for commercial uses.
But now pre-planning advice is being sought for residenital uses in the south wing and pavillion following the completion of repairs and restoration.
Bedlam’s roof, along with those of the mansion’s chapel and riding school, was one of the first to be tackled when £7.5m of Capital Works/emergency repairs began in late 2018, using grant funding awarded in the Chancellor’s Autumn 2016 Statement and managed by Historic England.
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WWPT is in the early stages of planning to convert, and ultimately operate, 25 double rooms to be used as overnight accomodation linked to events held at Wentworth - especially with the regeneration of the stable block which includes the riding school being converted into a large conference and events space capable of holding 600+ wedding guests.
The crowning glory would be at the end of the wing, where WWPT would lease the space to the Landmark Trust providing an addition income stream.
The Landmark Trust explains: "We hope to create a Landmark for two in the South Tower of the East Front. 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. This secluded eyrie in one of England’s most notable houses will, we hope, become a truly elegant place to stay."
Sarah McLeod, CEO of WWPT, recently talked about the financially secure and self-sustaining model for the site. She said: "Whatever we do here we want to make sure that we don't find a group of people in the same position we've been in when we took on Wentworth in a 100 years time. We want the solution to be a permanent solution that economically stacks up.
"We've also had to look at the capacity for change within the building so where there's been interventions in the past, or where historic fabric has been removed, there's a little bit more flexibility there in terms of planning whereas other parts of the house particularly, they simply can't be changed, nor would we want to change them. They are really really significant interiors and we we wouldn't want to change that.
"What we came up with is a mixed use solution which allows for us to have cashflow year round so, if you can imagine, certain parts of the year we're much busier with with visitors, with tourists, but in quieter times of the year, we're much busier with things like corporate clients so the solution will have some residential overnight accommodation, shops, restaurants, bars, big visitor experience.
"The really key part of it is a major event centre which will have a major indoor area and a major outdoor area as well. Areas such as The State Room inside the mansion which have survived relatively intact since they were originally completed offer little opportunity for a change of use they will always remain the historically important heart of Wentworth Woodhouse, but other areas inside the mansion, and across most of the Stables complex, were extensively remodeled during the 20th century and almost all of the original interior fabric has been lost, this provides opportunities for us to reimagine these areas creatively and to explore how they might be used to generate revenues that can help secure the future of the site as a whole."
It would have been a delightful place to work. It featured elaborate plasterwork in the neoclassical style, much popularised by the Georgian architect and interior designer Robert Adam, and had panoramic views over his family’s land, which stretched as far as his eye could see.
In addition, he could step from his office into the gardens via a private bridge.
The floor below, shown on plans from 1829, was the Credence Room, now thought to have held archives and records he would have needed to consult. The room could only be accessed by a staircase from the curved Quadrant Room on the ground floor.
Bedlam was originally the nickname of the Bethlem Hospital asylum in London. In Georgian and Victorian times young gentlemen of the house slept there, as did visiting bachelor guests and their male servants. The men-only domain switched to women-only when the rooms became the dormitories of the Lady Mabel College of Physical Education from 1950 to 1977.
Wentworth Woodhouse website
Landmark Trust website
Images: WWPT
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