Wentworth Castle and Stainborough Park Restoration:

Wentworth Castle and Stainborough Park is the only Grade I Listed Park and Garden in South Yorkshire. The site contains 26 listed estate buildings, monuments and follies spread out over 600 acres of land and due to the tenacity of the Trust supported with funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), English Heritage and the Learning and Skills Council, phase I Restoration works are now complete. William Anelay was delighted to be appointed as contractor to the Trust and began in 2006 a phased programme of conservation and restoration works to return some of the estate’s structures and buildings to their former glory.

Many of the park structures have been cleaned and benefited from minor repairs whereas other have been subjected to more major interventions such as extensive masonry repairs to Stainborough Castle, an imposing gothic folly. The castle has been restored as a picturesque ruin, with a spiral staircase (complete with ornate dragons head at the top and detailed dragons tail at the bottom) leading to a viewing platform providing panoramic views across the estate.

The Strafford Gate was given a different location, away from the new access road to Northern College. This involved key-marking the structure, dismantling it stone by stone and completely rebuilding it in its new position complete with masonry replacements, new decorative orbs and restored wrought iron gates. Other park structures that have been sensitively conserved and restored include the Palladian Bridge, the Orangery, the Gun Room and the Rotunda.

The restoration project has already received a number of Awards and recognition with the HLF granting funding for further phases of work.

For more information visit:

www.wentworthcastle.org