News - Mansion project opens up a vista of Yorkshire (Wentworth)

At MORE than 120ft in the air, a breathtaking panorama of Yorkshire countryside, taking in rolling fields, rural villages, a country house and one of England’s biggest cities, stretches out for as far as the eye can see.

At one time, the view would have been seen from the top of a folly called Keppel’s Column, but because it has fallen into disrepair, a cherry-picker crane was required yesterday to recreate the impressive vista.

The machine was hired by Clifford Newbold, who owns nearby Wentworth Woodhouse, and his son Giles as part of their vision to restore and revive the house and park which was originally the home of the Fitzwilliam family.

The column, which is now the responsibility of Rotherham Council, once formed part of the estate, and Giles Newbold said it offered a “unique viewpoint” from which to document the landscape and understand how Wentworth was designed.

Mr Newbold and his father bought the crumbling house and parkland for just £1.5m in 1999, but have since spent tens of millions of pound researching its history and carrying out structural and engineering surveys to ascertain its condition.

The huge mansion, which is said to have 365 rooms, one for every day of the year, has had a chequered history since the Fitzwilliam family left in the 1950s, the National Coal Board opencasting the site for several years.

At present, the Newbold family are making a claim against the Coal Authority, which is now responsible for the after-effects of mining, and are arguing that both the opencast operations, and deep mining have affected the house.

Mr Newbold said the family had worked tirelessly in the last 12 years on the coal claim and on other plans to try and save Wentworth Woodhouse from complete dereliction, but added that it had required much work behind the scenes.

Now they have the support of English Heritage, and blueprints are being drawn up which could see the Grade-I listed house and its equally impressive stables and other buildings turned to a new modern use as offices and a luxury hotel.

Mr Newbold, a 36-year-old building surveyor said he, his 85-year-old father, an eminent London architect before his retirement, and his two brothers, were “absolutely committed” to ensuring that the estate had a “sustainable future”.

He added: “Over the last 10 years we have done a lot of research into the history of the estate but one thing we could not find were any pictures of it from the top of Keppel’s Column. So we hired the cherry-picker to see the view.

“Looking at the house and park from this angle allows us to see what survives of the original landscape and how the stripping out of the estate by the coal board, which went within a few feet of the house and 1,000 ft down, affected it.

“Being able to document the landscape will also help us to make an argument for the parkland and make sure it is protected in the same way as it is at country houses like Chatsworth and Castle Howard.

“There has been a school of thought that Wentworth isn’t worth saving, and charities like the National Trust would never have taken it on. But my father saw that it was worth saving and if it was lost it would be lost forever.

“The rest of the world absolutely craves our heritage and there is now a huge amount of interest in Wentworth Woodhouse, and we aim to ensure that it survives for centuries to come.”

The proposal for the mansion house is to create a combination of publicly accessible restored museum to the central and grandest rooms, as well as a 70 suite luxury hotel and spa.

A Rotherham Council spokesman said yesterday morning’s event had been carried out in partnership with the Newbold family and allowed the authority’s officers to carry out a visual survey of Keppel’s Column and check its condition.

The spokesman said: “The survey was part of the authority’s ongoing care and maintenance of a number of heritage sites across the borough. It was a visual inspection and the findings will be reported back to members in due course.

“The operation also allowed the Mayor and Mayoress of Rotherham, Shaun and Lisa Wright, to take in some of the best views across Rotherham.”

From: http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/around-yorkshire/local-stories/mansion_project_opens_up_a_vista_of_yorkshire_1_3714583

News - 1,500 jobs in £200m plans to open ‘Black Diamonds’ stately home (Wentworth)

MORE than 1,500 new jobs are part of a £200 million museum, hotel and business centre plan to transform Wentworth Woodhouse - opening the ‘Black Diamonds’ stately home to the public, The Star can reveal.

Owners hope the massive development and detailed restoration of the 18th century house will be completed in time for a 2015 opening.

And they reckon the plans will turn the Grade I listed property - currently one of the biggest private residencies in Europe - into the leading attraction of its kind anywhere in the world.

They estimate it will attract 150,000 visitors each year to see it in South Yorkshire.

Wentworth Woodhouse, on the Rotherham-Barnsley border - just a short drive north of Sheffield - is the former home of the Fitzwilliam coal-mining family dynasty, shrouded in secrecy for years and the subject of Catherine Bailey’s best selling book, Black Diamonds.

The stunning private family home, which is twice the width of Buckingham Palace, with 1,000 windows, 365 rooms and had stabling for 100 horses, can only be viewed by the public at a distance from a right of way through Wentworth Park.

But the The Star was given exclusive access on a guided tour inside the home by the existing owners, who outlined their plans ahead of Dan Cruickshank’s look at the property in his BBC2 TV series Country Houses Revealed, on Tuesday, May 31, at 9pm.

VIDEO: Press the play button to watch our special video report, including a chat with the owner and a tour of the magnificent home.

YOUTUBE: You can also watch on YouTube, where it can be played on the iPhone and iPad - click on the External Link in the column on the right.

Clifford Newbold, the 85-year-old London architect who bought the building in 1999 and is overseeing the development, said: “This is a magnificent house. We want to return it to its former glory, protect it for the future, and place it once again at the heart of this community.”

The property has fallen into considerable structural disrepair, thought to be because of huge mine shafts dug all around it between 1943 and 1979.

But the new plans - already given informal backing by both English Heritage and Rotherham Council - would see the central house completely restored in all its original detail and opened up as a museum. One part of the huge east wing would be transformed into a 70-bed hotel, with the remainder set to become a spa.

The huge stable block will be converted into office space,

exhibition rooms and a conference venue.

From http://www.sheffieldtelegraph.co.uk/lifestyle/exclusive_1_500_jobs_in_200m_plans_to_open_black_diamonds_stately_home_video_1_3404410

 

You'll need to go to the website to see the video

News - Restoration plan for South Yorkshire stately home (Wentworth Woodhouse)

A stately home in South Yorkshire is set to undergo a multi-million pound restoration and development that will see the building transformed into hotel, museum and spa.

Wentworth Woodhouse, between Rotherham and Barnsley, has been privately-owned by an architect from London since 1999.

But now plans have been drawn up to transformed the building and open it for public access by 2015.

English Heritage said it welcomed the plans for the estate.

The property is the former home of the Fitzwilliam coal mining family but had fallen into a state of structural disrepair, partly because of the number of mining shafts in the area.

Office use

The building boasts 1,000 windows and has 365 rooms along with stables for 100 horses.

Part of the scheme would see the stable block converted for office use.

English Heritage and Rotherham Council have backed the scheme.

The main house would be restored to its original condition and opened as a museum.

Part of one wing of the property would become a 70-bed hotel and spa.

A spokeswoman for English Heritage said: "We are working with the owners to help them to secure the sustainable re-use of this fantastic place.

"We are particularly keen to see the stables repaired and brought into business use, which would be a real asset for the area, and have been helping to put funding in place for this".

From: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-south-yorkshire-13502248