Massive mansion may face £200m bill for repairs
It’s owned by the nation for the benefit of the nation. Wentworth Woodhouse Preservation Trust chief executive Sarah McLeod
A VAST mansion which was the biggest private residence in Britain could be as well-known as Chatsworth or Blenheim Palace in a few years time, according to the charitable trust which is working to restore it for the nation.
But the final bill to save Wentworth Woodhouse could hit £200m.
It is a year since the huge country house, which is hidden in the South Yorkshire countryside just outside Rotherham, was bought by the Wentworth Woodhouse Preservation Trust for £7m.
This modest purchase price – the cost of a flat in parts of central London – is just the beginning of a mammoth investment needed by the trust as it works to reverse decades of decay. Trust chief executive Sarah McLeod believes that the total bill could be between £150m and £200m.
This is because the task she faces is epic.
Wentworth Woodhouse’s 606ft facade is wider than Buckingham Palace – a building it stood in for during the filming of Oscar-nominated movie Darkest Hour – and its floor area is about the same as the Grand Kremlin Palace in Moscow.
Ms McLeod said: “A big part of this process is consultation – talking to the community around us, talking to the people of South Yorkshire and finding out what they want for this site.
“After all, this is not a privately owned house any more.
“This is now owned by a charitable trust which, by definition, means it’s owned by the nation for the benefit of the nation.”