Wentworth Woodhouse: Volunteers from around the globe help repair one of Yorkshire’s grandest stable blocks
It has taken volunteers from around the globe to help bring one of Yorkshire’s grandest stable blocks back into shape.
Some 24 students from across the Commonwealth – from Antigua to Lesotho, Sierra Leone to India, and Canada to Kenya – are in South Yorkshire to get hands-on experience of heritage conservation repairs at the decaying stables block at Grade I-listed Wentworth Woodhouse, near Rotherham.
They are working alongside experts for two weeks after winning places and bursaries on the Commonwealth Summer School training programme 2026, which is organised by the Commonwealth Heritage Forum and the City & Guilds of London Art School.
They are also undertaking conservation cleaning of two of the house’s early 1800s statues of Germanic and Antonius, which sit either side of the sweeping staircase in the Pillared Hall
At the end of the programme, they will all be taking their enhanced skills back to their own countries to help protect their heritage sites.
The Summer School has been running for several years but this is the first time it has being delivered across two locations to give students the opportunity to work on a ‘live project’ at a heritage site.
A Wentworth Woodhouse spokesman said: “Grade I-listed stately home Wentworth Woodhouse has been specifically chosen because it is one of the largest and most architecturally significant country houses in England, a major example of 18th-century design and craftsmanship, Wentworth Woodhouse is one of the largest and most architecturally significant country houses in England, a major example of 18th-century design and craftsmanship.”
The 24 students are from Trinidad, Antigua, and Jamaica; Sierra Leone, Lesotho, Uganda, Kenya and South Africa; from Canada; and from Singapore, India and Pakistan.
The work will help them develop skills in key areas of built-heritage conservation, including historic sash window conservation – studying the construction and operation of 250-year-old sash windows, assessing their condition, and undertaking supervised repairs such as replacing sash cords, addressing timber decay, and restoring glazing.
They will also work on heritage stone repair and stone consolidation – understanding how historic masonry deteriorates, diagnosing stone decay, and carrying out appropriate repairs using conservation-grade materials, alongside practical experience in stone consolidation.
Owned by and cared for by the Wentworth Woodhouse Preservation Trust since 2017, the site is undergoing an ambitious programme of restoration, which will include the creation of a centre for heritage skills, learning and community engagement.
The restoration calls on a vast range of heritage conservation skills and that poses many interesting hands-on learning opportunities.
The City & Guilds of London Art School felt this was “a prime opportunity for the programme to do something meaningful and worthwhile for this great house”.