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Beautifully Designed Homes

If you search online for gorgeous properties in the UK, many of the searches will produce the same property as a result…
If you search online for gorgeous properties in the UK, many of the searches will produce the same property as a result…Wentworth Woodhouse.

Not only the most magnificent property, but it’s also the most extensive residence still privately owned in the UK. It has been named the finest and grandest Georgian home in England.

Located just north of Rotherham, this wonderful property is known as Yorkshire’s hidden gem. Standing in 87 acres of gardens and grounds with a deer park and lakes, the property enjoys unspoilt views for miles.

The gargantuan Wentworth Woodhouse is one of the largest houses in Europe and features the longest façade of any house in England. It is currently undergoing a multi-million-pound restoration. 

Primarily built by Thomas Watson-Wentworth, the first Marquis of Rockingham, this incredible structure replaced an earlier Jacobean house that had served as the historic seat of the Earl of Stafford. Thomas’ father had inherited the estate from his maternal uncle, William Wentworth, 2nd Earl of Stafford, who died childless in 1695.
Thomas Watson Wentworth then found himself in possession of the Mighty Wentworth Woodhouse and set about creating the most magnificent house England had ever seen. 

The West range was built between 1725 and 1735 in a Baroque style. However, by the time it was complete, this was not considered in vogue anymore, so the East elevation was designed in the more fashionable Palladian style. This new range was completed around 1750 and was considered the first great Palladian house in England.
In the 1950s, part of the property, parkland and stables, was leased to the West Riding County Council for use as a teacher training college. This became known as the Lady Mable College of Physical Education, later merging with Sheffield City Polytechnic. In 1986, the polytechnic moved back to Sheffield and vacated the property.

In 1989, the property was purchased by Mr Wensley Haydon-Baillie, separating it from the wider estate grounds. It was put on the market again in 1998 and was purchased by Mr Clifford Newbold and his family. It was later sold in 2017 to the Wentworth Woodhouse Preservation Trust.

The interiors of Wentworth Woodhouse are considered some of the most refined Georgian period interiors anywhere in the country, and it is reckoned has the house has around 365 rooms. The standout piece has to be the breathtaking marble saloon featured in the Downton Abbey Movie not so long back. 

Wentworth is truly colossal in every sense. When its restoration is complete, it will likely serve as one of the finest country houses open to the public anywhere in the world. The prospect of bringing this great home back to life is fascinating.

Now open to the public, you can visit for tours or afternoon tea. Or simply spend long luxurious hours wandering through the magnificent hallways soaking up the history and grandeur of years gone by.

Visit https://wentworthwoodhouse.org.uk/ for more information.