Yorkshire stately home closes its gardens to public due to lack of funds

Wentworth Castle Gardens, south west of Barnsley, have been open to the public since 2007 and are said to be “nationally significant for their extensive monuments”.

But in a statement issued today, Wentworth Castle and Stainborough Park Heritage Trust, which operates the site, announced that they would close to the public from Spring 2017.

Trust chairman John Edwards spoke of his sadness at the decision and said: “In recent years we have not been able to make enough money to cover the running costs required to manage the site and keep the gardens open as a year round visitor attraction.

“As a result of this, we are working with the support of Barnsley council to manage the closure.

“We would like to give assurance that every effort will be made to honour all existing weddings and celebratory events for 2017 and we will contact all parties directly.

“We have taken this difficult decision towards a managed closure of the site in the expectation that a sustainable future can be found.

“We are working hard to ensure that this beautiful and historic Grade I listed landscape will be maintained and the gardens preserved for many generations to come.

“The trustees would like to say a huge thanks to all the staff, volunteers, friends and others who cherished and improved the gardens and parkland.

“Their efforts secured substantial funding to restore the gardens, Victorian Conservatory and many 18th century follies and monuments including the rotunda and the Sun Monument. They should all be very proud of the national recognition their achievements have created.”

According to the Wentworth Castle website, the estate’s Grade 1 landscape and formal gardens “are nationally significant for their extensive monuments, housing some of the earliest gothic follies in the country”.

It adds: “The Pleasure Ground displays layers of garden design characteristic of different periods and fashions, including an early 18th century Union Jack garden, a Victorian flower garden and 20th century collections of rhododendrons, camellias and magnolias.”