Did Russian ballet star Anna Pavlova really dance for King George and Queen Mary in Wentworth Woodhouse’s magnificent Marble Saloon in 1912 – and what was the vitally important purchase that had to be made in preparation for that Royal visit?
Is it true that the Rotherham mansion’s creator, the first Marquess of Rockingham, had a huge fishpond built in his cellars so he could dine on fresh trout and bream year-round?
The answers, and much more, have been discovered by the mansion’s team of super-sleuth volunteer researchers – and will be revealed in two new visitor tours launching next/this week (Jan 15 & 16).
On a mission to find out more about the house and the people who lived and worked there, the 10-strong team and staff spent most of 2024 pouring through documents, ledgers and articles in the Rotherham and Sheffield Archives.
Their discoveries shattered a number of long-held legends and produced such a wealth of fascinating information, the Preservation Trust regenerating the Grade I listed site decided to share it with supporters via the new tours.
The Top To Bottom tour, running twice a day Thursday to Sunday from January 16 https://wentworthwoodhouse.org.uk/whats-on/top-to-bottom-tour/ starts in the mansion’s huge vaulted cellars. It is the first opportunity for people other than heritage construction specialists to explore them.
As the iron-clad cellar door closes, visitors descend to find a huge safe and where alcohol was kept from the 1800s, ranging from barrels of local beer to a vast collection of expensive French and German wines.
Guides also reveal the high-jinks when the cellars were used as discos by students of the Lady Mabel College of Physical Education, which occupied a large chunk of the house from 1949-79.
Then it’s up stacks of stairs to see derelict areas awaiting restoration and the attics.
The After Hours Tour is staged in evening candlelight twice a month twice a month and is running for a limited period only (up to March 28) https://wentworthwoodhouse.org.uk/whats-on/after-hours-at-wentworth-woodhouse/.
From January 15 it takes visitors in the footsteps of partygoers from the house’s glamorous past.
Ten rooms and corridors are brought to life with stories of the events they witnessed over the centuries. Expect intriguing tales of Royal visits, lavish celebrations and private family events.
Researchers have found details of the great effort and expense gone to when the second Marquess of Rockingham hosted a ball for George, the Prince of Wales, in 1789. According to a letter from an attendee, 8,250 oil lamps illuminated the Marble Saloon.
But perhaps their most touching find is the story of how the household rushed to organise a wartime wedding in just two days for the 7th Earl Fitzwilliam’s daughter, Lady Elfrida, when her fiance unexpectedly got leave from the Front in 1918.
He arrived at the house on Friday March 22 and the wedding, which had been planned for April, was held on the Sunday. There was no time to send invitations, the tables were decorated with white rhododendrons from the gardens and white orchids from the greenhouses, and the wedding cake was decorated with guns and a cannon.
Victoria Ryves, the Trust’s Head of Culture and Engagement, said: “Our researchers have unearthed a huge amount of information about Wentworth Woodhouse’s past life. In its heyday it was one of the most important houses in England, yet there is so much we don’t know about what happened here.
“Ongoing research helps us understand more about the mansion and find stories that connect visitors with local history.”
“Our new tours are packed with this new information. There are lots of surprises – such as the expensive mattress the 7th Earl had to order from London for the bed King George and Mary would be sleeping in.
“We shatter a few myths, too. The Marquess’s rumoured fishpond was probably just a water purification tank and Anna Pavlova’s ballet slippers never graced our marble floor. It was another Russian ballerina, Lydia Kyasht, who danced for the King and Queen.”
