Wentworth Woodhouse reveal how they will spend their Culture Recovery Fund grant - including replacing the central heating for the first time since 1908

The Wentworth Woodhouse Preservation Trust, who bought the Grade I-listed stately home near Rotherham for the nation in 2017, were able to benefit from the Culture Recovery Fund, which was set up to provide heritage organisations with much-needed financial support following the lockdown closure period.

The welcome windfall will enable staff to press ahead with plans to fully replace the house's central heating system - which was installed by the seventh Earl Fitzwilliam in 1908.

Despite the technology being cutting edge when it was fitted, the system is now so economically inefficient that gas bills are around £28,000 per year.

The new, eco-friendly system would be powered by a ground-source heat pump that will drastically reduce running costs.

The rest of the money will be spent on repairing underground drains, building a new mains water connection and removing asbestos from the cellars.

The Edwardian pipes and radiators are still in use in the West Front and central East Front areas of the Fitzwilliam family's ancestral seat, which they sold in the 1980s, having been converted to use gas fuel.

The Trust linked up with 20 other properties in the Historic Houses Association to put in a collaborative bid for the first round of awards from the government fund.

Wentworth was one of only six houses fortunate to benefit via the HHA bid.

The Trust's CEO, Sarah McLeod, has thanked Historic England and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

“They have supported the Trust right from the start and have shown once again they are there for us.

“We were up against some very deserving HHA properties and are incredibly grateful. We are in dire need of these repairs and are determined to forge ahead with plans for a heating system which will not only be much more efficient, but will be green and sustainable.”