Scaffolders move in at Wentworth Woodhouse

A vast mansion which was once Britain’s biggest private home has been encased in scaffolding as specialist contractors begin the task of replacing its six-tennis-court-sized main roof.

The emergency repairs at Wentworth Woodhouse, South Yorkshire, are the first phase of a £130m programme to save the building, whose 606ft frontage is wider than Buckingham Palace.

Since Christmas, teams of contractors have used 700 tonnes of scaffolding, including 31 miles of poles, to wrap the East Front of the house in a 98ft high metal case.

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Work has already begun on emergency stone repairs, including removing 19 urns from the edge of the roof, each weighing in at 600kg, the size of an adult polar bear.

Wentworth Woodhouse, Behind The Scenes Roof and Scaffolding Tour. 
Picture Bruce RollinsonWentworth Woodhouse, Behind The Scenes Roof and Scaffolding Tour. 
Picture Bruce Rollinson
Wentworth Woodhouse, Behind The Scenes Roof and Scaffolding Tour. Picture Bruce Rollinson

Now the team from contractors Woodhead are preparing to work on some of the building’s 4.2 acres of worn-out roofs which will involve 65 tonnes of new Westmoreland green slates over the main state rooms.

Wentworth Woodhouse Preservation Trust chief executive Sarah McLeod said the public will be allowed on the roof scaffolding from next month, once the final protective canopy has been completed.