The Grade I listed country house, near Rotherham, uses specific Royal Albert china as part of its afternoon tea service.

A spokeswoman for the house, which was recently used to film scenes for Bridgerton, said that the devastating loss came when an old shelf gave way.

This mean the china, which they had collected over the years, smashed to pieces.

Wentworth Woodhouse has appealed for help to source new china after an 'unfortunate incident' means the old china cannot be used. Pictured is Paula Kaye with the Afternoon Tea in 2021, taken by Simon Hulme.

The spokeswoman said: "The accident was that a low-level shelf gave way - it was an old shelf and, like many things at Wentworth Woodhouse, was on its last legs.

"Unfortunately it happened to be the shelf we put our lovely cups and saucers on so, although it wasn't a big drop, the handles all smashed.

"As a charity, our Afternoon Teas are a means for us to raise the vital funds needed for the ongoing restoration of Wentworth Woodhouse, so this accident is something we need to rectify as soon as possible."

Sarah McLeod, CEO of Wentworth Woodhouse, added: “It is absolutely devastating for us all. We love our Royal Albert china collection, and it is vital in the great charity work we do.

“It is gutting because our work is hard enough without this sort of thing happening, and the collection has been built up over years from buying at charity shops and antique fairs.”

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Taking to social media, Wentworth Woodhouse asked its visitors for help in sourcing new china.

The statement said: "An unfortunate accident has occurred at Wentworth Woodhouse meaning we have lost much of our Royal Albert china. As we are a charity and use this china for our Afternoon Tea service, we're now in a bit of a pickle...

"If you, or anyone you know, can help us by donating any Wedgwood Old Country Roses tea cups, saucers, sugar bowls and small plates we would be immensely grateful."

A later updated confirmed it had already received some generous donations.

It said: "Many thanks to you all. We have already received some generous donations for which we are really grateful, along with the offers to help and for the guidance on where we might be able to find more to buy.

"Our Afternoon Tea is a vital source of fundraising for our charitable work restoring this fantastic site for everybody to enjoy.

Any donations can be dropped off at Front of House during Wentworth Woodhouse's normal opening hours which are Tuesday to Sunday, 10.00am-5.00pm.

Wentworth Woodhouse 'devastated' after 'unfortunate incident' destroys precious china