Wentworth: ‘I visited the UK’s strictest village - it’s a charming place which epitomises village life’

It used to be the thoroughfare for people heading to the ‘social centre of Britain,’ but now the village of Wentworth is a focal point in its own right.

Located between Rotherham, Barnsley, and Sheffield, Wentworth is a quaint English village with a village shop, a couple of pubs, a tea room, a wine merchant, an old church, and a post office.

After national newspapers described Wentworth as the ‘UK’s strictest village,’ we sent our reporter Sophie Mei Lan to find out.

It's easy to drive through Wentworth village, gazing through the windows as the cottages and farmhouses whizz by without a closer look.

Each time I've travelled through Wentworth, it's either to reach Wentworth Woodhouse or Wentworth Garden Centre.

Wentworth Woodhouse, known locally as ‘the big house,’ has the longest facade in the UK. It’s a rather large country house for this village of nearly 1,500 residents. It's also believed to be the largest Georgian house in the British Isles.

Wentworth Woodhouse Preservation Trust owns the house, whereas the garden centre is a family-run enterprise, and the surrounding estate, including deer park, follies, monuments, lakes, and the village of let-only properties, is owned by Fitzwilliam and Wentworth Trust.

The entire estate used to be home to the Rockingham and Fitzwilliam families.

Fitzwilliam and Wentworth Trust is overseen by Sir Philip Naylor-Leyland Bt., grandson of the 10th Earl Fitzwilliam, and Lady Juliet Tadgell, daughter of the 8th Earl Fitzwilliam.

It's this trust that dictates the rules and regulations of the area in a bid to conserve its heritage.

Wentworth is the epitome of what every tourist dreams of experiencing when visiting the UK.

When you have a wander, you are immersed in traditional British village life, frozen in time. So much so, this could be a life-size model village.

Everything is presided over to preserve this “rural oasis amongst an urban sea,” explains its owners on their trust website.

Wentworth villagers can never own their own property, only rent, and must adhere to a ‘design guide.’

The symmetry of the windows, doors, and even gutters is no coincidence.

Residents must use independent Wentworth-approved contractors who are familiar with the intricacies of the properties.

Every house has an olive green door made of timber. One is discouraged from mimicking the ‘recent innovation’ of adding a window to the door to let light in, according to the villagers’ design guide.

Windows are to be painted ‘Brilliant White’, and even the panes of the windows must be within certain dimensions.

There's also a range of commercial properties under the supervision of the trust. There's no glaring corner shop or neon takeaway signs; everything is kept in keeping with the village’s heritage.

On paper and indeed on their website, where the design guides can be found, it all seems rather draconian.

When visiting the village, however, I realise that perhaps some of these rules are needed in today’s modern world.

Using timber wood for the doors from the local forest as well as supplying independent tradespeople with work; keeping local craftsmen and women in business.

There's also something nostalgic about this place, with every intricate detail thought about.

I can't say I noticed people’s guttering to appreciate the symmetry, but wandering through, you do feel as if you're on a historic film set.

While this small village may be in the shadow of ‘the big house’ and the busyness of the garden centre, I can see this as a charming place to retire.