Video: Taking apart Barnsley’s ‘crown jewel’

The glasshouse at Wentworth Castle Gardens was built in 1877 for the estate’s then owner Frederick William Thomas Vernon-Wentworth but more recently had fallen into dereliction and disrepair with foliage running riot.

Last year, the trust which runs the gardens near Barnsley won a Heritage Lottery Fund grant for restoration and the plants which had overrun the structure and the glass has now been removed.

Specialists Shepley Engineering, based in nearby Shafton, Barnsley, have taken on the job of restoring the framework, a job which is expected to take its staff the rest of the year.

Charlie James, the project engineer, said the company had already worked on large projects including the recent restoration of London’s St Pancras station so were confident of success.

He added: “We are tagging every piece of metalwork so that can be traced through the process, every single piece has a number.

“We will be bringing the framework back to our workshop in small pick up trucks and it will be reassembled here so we can see which parts can be saved and which need replacing.

“We hope to be able to retain about 60 per cent of the original metalwork, but some of it will have to be replaced and we will have to make sure it all fits before it goes back to site.

“It is just like a big Meccano set with every piece numbered and entered onto a record sheet which will show which bits have been retained and which have been replaced.”

It is thought it will take around eight weeks to remove the framework to ground level before the full extent of the damage can be assessed.

Mr James said it was hoped that the team would be back on site in January for the reconstruction.