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During the reigns of William 3rd and Queen Anne, in the long period of stability following the ousting of James 1st in 1688, stately homes were erected on a monumental scale all over England. The owners of these new country houses were often noblemen whose families had amassed enormous fortunes and estates since Charles 2nd had been restored to the Throne in 1660. Others were men who had made their money out of commerce or other lucrative posts. Yorkshire had some of the largest estates, and Yorkshire men held some of the most powerful positions in the country, as did the occupiers of Wentworth Woodhouse. So it is little wonder that mansions built in Yorkshire were amongst the finest in the land. The Fitzwilliam family seat at Wentworth Woodhouse certainly was and arguably still is one of England's finest mansions.

The attitude to life in the late 18th and early 19th century was an attitude which is strange and unreal to the post World War Two generation. During this time England was ruled by a small number of aristocratic families, under, but not far under, the King. The Fitzwilliams with their vast inheritance, added to that which had come to them through marriages and associations with the Wentworths and the Rockinghams earlier, certainly belonged to this small number.

On their estates they were the absolute rulers of all they surveyed, and their strong sense of privilege, which they undoubtedly had, was very closely linked to their equally strong sense of responsibility to their inferiors. They were outspoken in the criticisms of their equals but expected loyalty and obedience from their subordinates. In living out their beliefs they gave generously both in terms of wealth and time to their tenants, tied cottage occupiers and employees. It could be argued that the Fitzwilliam's outspokenness on the abuse of rank and position by their peers may have seriously prevented them from achieving even greater heights of distinction in national politics.

Great houses like Wentworth Woodhouse should not be regarded as simply a country home for the aristocrats of England. In their local community they played the role of factory owners, local government officers, Magistrates courts, welfare departments, clinics, canteens and they were by far the largest single employer of local labour in the district.

The provision of these services for the people and his tenants living in the community stemmed from the Lord of the Manor's sense of duty, responsibility, and pride towards his domain. The Lord of the Manor was the centre and hub of the community in which each person had a secure place and each person knew his or her place. Sadly in this modern day and age many people have neither security nor a place.

The name Wentworth means a pleasant abode. Wentworth being a compound of Went meaning fair or white and Worth meaning a dwelling place. In the Doomsday Book the village is mentioned as Winteworth, which has been interpreted as meaning "A high and cultivated spot where the cold was severe and the land productive."

None of the Wentworths, Rockinghams or Fitzwilliams, all of whom occupied Wentworth Woodhouse at some time, were great builders except within the estate. However it is fair to say that the same applies to other owners of country houses and estates. The village of Wentworth is not a model village but a village which grew naturally over the centuries. With a few modern exceptions the Wentworth Estate did own and maintain all the buildings in the village. It was announced in 1979 shortly before the death of the 10th Earl Fitzwilliam that the village of Wentworth was to be transferred from the Earl's ownership into the ownership of a charitable trust in order to preserve the character of the village and area for future generations to enjoy.

Wentworth Woodhouse had many earlier residents than the Fitzwilliam family and it is true to say that the Fitzwilliams were comparative late comers in inheriting, through marriage, the house and estate. It was once the residence of King Charles 1st's ill fated advisor and administrator Thomas Wentworth, the 1st Earl of Strafford. Thomas Wentworth was beheaded on orders from the King in 1641. It was this and other events leading up to his death that acted as one of the triggers that began the English Civil War.

On the death of the 1st Earl of Strafford the property was inherited by his son William, he became the 2nd Earl of Strafford, William did marry but the marriage was childless.

After the death of William the property was inherited by Thomas Watson the only son of William's sister who had married Edward, 2nd Baron Rockingham. On the death of Edward in 1723, his son Thomas Watson Wentworth inherited the house and estate, he went on to be created the 1st Marquis of Rockingham in 1746, a title he held until his death in 1750. When the 1st Marquis of Rockingham died he was succeeded by his 5th and only surviving son Charles Watson Wentworth. Charles became the 2nd Marquis of Rockingham and because of his inheritance, which had accumulated from several generations of well to do families, was now extremely wealthy, not only in terms of land but also in terms of money and income. At this time his income from rents alone was estimated to be in the region of £40,000 per year. Charles was to go on to achieve great heights of political power by eventually becoming the Prime Minister of England on two separate occasions.

Charles did marry but this marriage was also childless and on his death the property and fortune was inherited by his eldest sister Anne who had married William the 3rd Earl Fitzwilliam of Milton. For the first time, through this marriage, the Fitzwilliams became associated with Wentworth Woodhouse and the estate. On the death of the 3rd Earl Fitzwilliam the house and estate was passed on to William the 4th Earl Fitzwilliam and remained in the Fitzwilliam family until 1979.

On the land where Wentworth Woodhouse now stands, about a century after the Norman Conquest, William Fleming built a religious house which he presented to the Cannons of Bolton in Craven, who were at that time the ecclesiastical Lords of Bolton Abbey, or as it was then called, The Priory.

The house built by William Fleming was known as the Manor of Friar House in Wentworth. The house and the lands with which it was surrounded were held by this religious community until the dissolution of the monasteries by Henry 8th in 1534. At the time of the dissolution of the monasteries, the Wentworths, who had increased their possessions considerably by the marriages of members of their family to the Tinsleys, Gascoigns and Pollingtons received a grant of The Manor of Friar House in Wentworth, it being part of the properties of the Monasteries, namely the Priory of Bolton.

The original Wentworth Woodhouse was replaced at intervals by a stone house with a double square courtyard in front and a porter’s lodge in the outer wall. This layout was a favourite plan for houses built in the reign of Henry 8th and the early part of the reign of Queen Elizabeth 1. Its appearance was fully reflective of the classic tradition first introduced into England by Innigo Jones after his return from Italy in 1615. The house of Thomas Wentworth, the 1st Earl of Strafford, seems to have been built in the Tudor period and in common with many other houses of the 17th Century was built out of brick and stone.

The origins of Wentworth Woodhouse go back in time several centuries, for the original house was built in about 1400 by the early Wentworths. There is nothing left of this early building to give any clues as to what materials it was constructed from or to tell what it looked like, but as the name implies, it was probably made from wood.

The picture of the house below is probably one of the earliest indications as to what the house did look like in the late 17th century. This shows the house clearly as it was when the 1st Earl of Strafford lived at Wentworth and which he had built about 1630. In the time of Strafford the house accommodated a total of some sixty people (including forty nine servants) and in 1672 was taxed on forty four hearths.

The first building development of the 17th century house was the construction of the West facing range by the 1st Marquis of Rockingham. It was built of both red brick and sandstone; work began on the new West range in 1725 and was not completed until 1734.

The dating of the building of the West facing range can be accurately established because of the heraldic device worked into the portico above the doorway. Records show that the 1st Marquis of Rockingham was created as a Knight of the Bath in 1725, in 1728 he was created Lord Malton, and at this time a coronet was added to the heraldic carving to commemorate him being honoured.

In the first edition, published in 1722, of Defoe's "Tour of Britain" there is no mention of Wentworth but in the 1738 edition we read that the "Earl of Strafford's seat is still in the possession of Thomas Wentworth. Lord Malton, his great grandson who has made such improvements to it and is still making more, that it is inferior to few in Great Britain."

The style of the West facing range has been ascribed to Vanbrugh - thought of as "vastness of conception emphasising the effect, not its comfort." But in view of certain decorative features of the pillars and windows it is considered that the builders were more influenced by continental styles, a feature reflected in other Yorkshire houses built at this time.

The house is a fairly large three storey symmetrically built house with two wings. These wings are connected to the main building by covered galleries. The first floor being partly submerged below ground, and the top two storeys towering well above ground level. The centre block is two storeys high over a basement whose windows just peep above ground level. The hipped roof is mostly hidden by a balustrade topped with a statue and urns. Pink forms the backcloth to the liberal stonework of the front especially that of the central three bays. Each bay is gaily decorated in an emphatically Baroque manner with four rich giant Corinthian pilasters.

The house built by the Earl of Strafford in around 1630 has been incorporated into two later developments of the West and East range; traces of these later developments still remain today. After the 1st Marquis of Rockingham built the new West facing range he changed the name from Wentworth Woodhouse to just simply Wentworth House. It was to be some years later before the 4th Earl Fitzwilliam was to bring back the old name of Wentworth Woodhouse.

A. Gallery. K. Gateway.

B. Clifford's Lodgings. L. Middle Court.

C. Billiard Room. M. North Court.

D. Vestibule. N. Offices perhaps existing 1734.

E. Yellow Bedroom. O. Planned wings of East Front.

F. Dressing Room. P. Plan of Central Block of East Front.

G. Oak Staircase. Q. Site of later Chapel.

H. Blue Chamber. R. Remaining 17th century doorways

I. South Court. and windows.

J. Library.

When work began on the West facing range it took quite a while to complete and long before its completion the 1st Marquis took the decision to build another house on to the back of the West facing range. He went ahead and began work on the East facing range; it is this East facing range that most people refer to when they talk of Wentworth Woodhouse. The reason for this is because access to view the West facing range is restricted and can only normally be seen from a certain area of the Wentworth Garden Centre grounds, indeed some people don't realise that there are two houses and they are built back to back.

The 1st Marquis of Rockingham was responsible for beginning the building of the East facing range but the work was not completed in his life time. The work on the East facing range was continued by the 2nd Marquis of Rockingham, and was later supplemented by the 4th Earl Fitzwilliam.

In 1734, when the West front was completed, work on the much larger East front had already begun. The East facing range is an excellent example of a house built in the Palladian style, it very closely resembles Wanstead. Wanstead was the first of the Palladian palaces built between 1714 and 1720 by Colin Campbell for Sir Richard Child who was created Earl of Castlemain in 1714; he was also chairman of the East India Company.

The 1st Marquis of Rockingham was very much influenced by Richard Boyle the 3rd Earl of Burlington who had completed his almost obligatory "Grand Tour" of Europe during 1714 and 1715, and had become the arbiter of fashion. Lord Burlington had a Yorkshire country seat at Londesborough in the Yorkshire Wolds and was Vice Admiral of the county of York he was also Lord Lieutenant of the East and West Ridings of Yorkshire.

With this background and position of power within the community it was no wonder that the 1st Marquis of Rockingham was influenced by Burlington, indeed it was him who recommended the Marquis to consult the architect Henry Flitcroft to design the East facing range of Wentworth House. Flitcroft was to be assisted by Ralph Tunnicliffe from Dalton and they both became the resident architects for the East front building project.

1. Portico. 12. Oak Staircase.

2. Grand Saloon. 13. Gallery.

3. Sculpture Room. 14. South Tower.

4. Dining Room. 15. South Wing.

5. First Library. 16. South Court.

6. Second Library. 17. Middle Court.

7. Third Library. 18. North Court.

8. Supping Room. 19. Offices.

9. Van Dyck Room. 20. North Wing.

10 Whistle-Jacket Room. 21. North Tower.

11. The Chapel. 22. Front Lawn.

23. Grand Staircase.

The entrance for the family and visitors was by the flights of stairs leading through the majestic portico and directly into the Marble Saloon.

The East facing range took many years to complete, Flitcroft’s drawings are dated 1733. One major delay was the collapse of The Great Terrace which was some 1500 feet long built to the South side of the house in 1736. At this time the building of the Great Terrace was deemed more important than the East front and work on the East front took second place to the building of The Great Terrace.

Between 1782 and 1784 the 4th Earl Fitzwilliam commissioned John Carr of York to re design Ralph Tunnicliffe's original East front wings and add another storey to each of them to provide bedrooms for the domestic staff and also to enhance the frontage considerably. Tunnicliffe's wings were only one and a half storeys high and had plain broad pediments. Pictures below show the design of Tunnicliffe's original wings and John Carr's re-designed wings.

The pavilions at each end of the wings were the design of Henry Flitcroft, but his most important contribution to Wentworth Woodhouse was the fitting up and decorating of the principle apartments. Work on the interior was still not complete when Arthur Young made a visit in 1769, and the rooms in the South wing were not finished until after 1800. And so, at last, after nearly 70 years of building, the "new" East front was eventually completed.

Photographs indicate that both the West and East facing ranges were intended from the outset to be commensurate with the rank and wealth of the aristocratic families who resided in Wentworth Woodhouse. Both houses differ greatly in their styles of architecture. The West range is English Baroque; the East range is of the Palladian style. Without doubt the East facing range has a far superior and grand look to it than the West facing range and with a frontage of more than 606 feet, was and is acknowledged to be one of the most splendid "back to back" residences not only in England but in Europe also.

There is no grand entrance to the estate to provide access to the grand front doors of either house. A clue is provided as to the splendidness and scale of the houses as you enter the grounds from the village of Wentworth. On your right just a little way into the park there is the stable block, featured on the left, designed by the York architect John Carr, and built for the 2nd Marquis of Rockingham in 1766.

The stable block cover some two acres in area and could easily be mistaken for the houses proper. The size of the stable block was necessary because the number of horses stabled was no fewer than 84. This number being made up of horses needed to pull coaches, ploughs and of course, the Marquis's hunters and racers. In the latter part of the 18th century the stables at Wentworth were acknowledged as being the finest in the land.

In its heyday Wentworth Woodhouse was packed with many fine furnishings, paintings and works of art. Sadly today very few of them remain in the house. Some have been removed to Milton Hall, the Fitzwilliam's family home near Peterborough. Undoubtedly some will have been sold to meet death duties and to generally enable remaining members of the Fitzwilliam family to live in the style they have come accustomed to over the years, other art treasures and the like will have been placed on "permanent loan" to museums up and down the country.

To give some indication of what Wentworth Woodhouse was like inside, the following extract, from an article which appeared in The London Illustrated News in September 1888, paints a vivid picture of the treasures, internal decorations and old masters which Wentworth Woodhouse was home to.

Immediately above this hall is the Grand Saloon, into which the grand portico leads; indeed a noble room - square, lofty and very spacious and bright. Round it are yellow pillages of Scagolia, but all the rest is white; a marble floor, white walls, with recesses in which statues stand, and, higher up, a gallery running around the room. Red curtains to the windows - that look across the wide sweep of lawn and distant hill almost into Nottinghamshire - and great vases of a deep green give colour, so the Grand Saloon does not look cold or bare; all is stately and satisfying, as in the great room of a great house it should be.