Wentworth Castle
Wentworth Castle & Gardens Slide Show
Wentworth Castle was built in the 18th Century by a member of the Wentworth family who was intent on rivalling his cousin over at Wentworth Woodhouse. There is a tale that the Castle was built on a hillside in direct line of sight from Wentworth Woodhouse just to get said cousin's goat. This is probably apocryphal and in any case the trees have now got in the way; they have this bad habit of growing you see.
Wentworth Castle is a Grade 1 listed building which has been occupied by Northern College since 1978. The mansion has been restored externally in 2006 and will be open 60 days a year to the public for guided tours only. Nearby are an extensive range of buildings. These included the Home Farm which has been restored between 2005 and 2007. Residential facilities are provided in former farm buildings. The barn and St James Hall, the former family chapel, are available for conferences and weddings. The Long Barn is now the ticket office, gift shop and café. There are also some very inappropriate modern additions and what looks like an old barracks off to one side. As for the conservatory featured in BBC's Restoration it is still awaiting restoration.
Wentworth Castle is set in extensive grounds with formal gardens, wilderness, follies, monuments, woodlands and the parkland of Stainborough Park. The castle gardens and parklands are also listed and are the subject of major restoration which is likely to be an ongoing project for many years to come. We visited the gardens in early May 2007 and I have to say we were a tad disappointed. The place is still a building site and the trees and shrubs in the formal gardens had been pruned and pollarded so hard that they looked like anorexic ghosts. I know that this is deliberate and they will grow again. We were perhaps a little early for the full glory of the rhododendrons.
The gardens consist the Union Jack Gardens, Victorian flower garden, wilderness, stumpery and fernery with the folly of Stainborough Castle, a 'womantic wuin' prominent on the hilltop. The site is quite hilly and is probably muddy in places after rain. I would not like to push a wheelchair around it though some people were. At present part of the building site are what will be the John Arnold Gardens dedicated to Wentworth Castle's first head gardener. These are expected to open in 2008.
We did not walk the parkland trail on this occasion but this a 2 mile walk linking restored monuments and follies in the grounds. The former opencast mining site has been replanted and the Wentworth Castle Trust hopes to restore the Serpentine Lakes.
Dogs not allowed in gardens but in parklands on a lead (sheep about). Prices 2007 Gardens £3.95, over 60s £3.25, children 5 – 16 £2, under 5s free, guided tours £2 extra, car parking £2 free with garden entrance get your token from the ticket desk on your way out.
Address:- Lowe Lane, Stainborough, Barnsley, S75 3ET. Tel. 01226 776040. Website www.wentworthcastle.org.