£200,000 English Heritage grant will help restore Yorkshire estate folly

A UNIQUE folly on a Yorkshire country estate could be removed from the Buildings at Risk register after English Heritage announced a 200,000 grant towards its restoration.

The cash has been awarded to the Wentworth Castle and Stainborough Park Heritage Trust and will be used to repair the currently roofless listed Rotunda Temple, built in 1742.

Architects who built the structure based their work on the Temple of Hercules at Tivoli in Rome. The work was paid for by William Wentworth, who owned the estate near Barnsley.

The folly is one of three remaining structures at Wentworth which remain on English Heritage’s Buildings at Risk register, but is hoped the refurbishment will safeguard it for the future.

Seven years ago English Heritage stepped in with grants of 114,000 to tackle the worst of the dereliction, stabilising the structure and paving the way for complete restoration.

Work will take 16 weeks and will involve installing a new domed roof, restoring the marble floor, stonework repairs, clearing vegetation and improving the landscape around the site.

The English Heritage historic buildings architect, Giles Proctor, said: “Wentworth Castle is one of England’s rarest 18th century garden landscapes, adorned with many beautiful garden structures like the Rotunda Temple and also the later Corinthian Temple.

“This grant will accelerate the restoration of this wonderful place. So much has been achieved at Wentworth over the past seven years and we are proud that English Heritage has played its part by offering advice and grants totalling 571,329.

“Many of our historic landscapes in Yorkshire have been lost over the years, so it gladdens the heart to see such an outstanding site revived and made available for a new generation.”

The Rotunda was built in the year that Wentworth’s creator of Thomas Wentworth died. His son, William continued his father’s work, further developing the landscape and building the Rotunda Temple.

Originally it stood clear of trees on a grassy hill and was a prominent feature visible from far away. But in the 20th century it became derelict and overgrown with vegetation and was lost among trees.

The director of Wentworth Castle Trust, Vicky Martin, said: “We are extremely grateful to English Heritage and East Peak Innovation Partnership for providing the much needed funds to restore the Rotunda.

“The Rotunda is one of the highlights of the monument trail in Stainborough Park, and the work will reinstate the building as an important ‘eyecatcher’ in the landscape.”

There are two other buildings at risk at Wentworth Castle: the 18th century Gun Room and the Victorian glass conservatory, built in 1877. English Heritage is investigating a possible restoration scheme for the conservatory.