Members of a Chinese community group helped Wentworth Woodhouse to celebrate its win in Europe’s most prestigious cultural heritage awards.
The restoration of the Grade II* Camellia House in the gardens of the Rotherham mansion was named as the UK’s only winner in the Europa Nostra Awards 2025.
The Camellia House is home to one of the oldest surviving collections of camellias, which were brought from China 150 years ago. Members of the South Yorkshire WH Community, a voluntary group which supports Chinese people living in Rotherham, were thrilled to see their native blooms.
Presenting the award in the category of Conservation and Adaptive Reuse, Europa Nostra Board Member Graham Bell praised Wentworth Woodhouse Preservation Trust and its team for their ‘gumption’.
He said: “Europa Nostra represents over five million people in 67 countries across Europe and beyond. We are the largest civil society organisation in, of and for Europe whose common cause is cultural heritage – the characteristics that define who we are, the places we call our own.
“I want to take the opportunity to celebrate the people and resources that made this project a success. You managed a possibility through to reality, which should never be taken for granted.
“I know of elegant structures that do not have access to the acumen or the gumption you have to convert heritage written-off as liabilities into social and economic assets.”
The Camellia House was a roofless wreck on the Heritage At Risk register before its 2024 restoration.
Its oldest part dates from 1738 and was a tea room for Lady Rockingham, wife of the house’s owner, the 1st Marquess. In the early 1800s an orangery was added for the family’s growing collection of camellias, which had recently begun to arrive from China.
The camellias that survive have been deemed a nationally-important collection. The £5million restoration of their home for 150 years was funded by The National Lottery Heritage Fund, Historic England and other contributors and carried out by heritage architects Donald Insall Associates.
The building is now a restaurant and cultural venue, and a model of sustainable design in historic buildings.
Traditional craftsmanship and heritage conservation methods were integrated with low-carbon upgrades: breathable insulation, a rainwater harvesting system, and underfloor heating powered by a ground-source heat pump. The historic camellias were carefully nurtured throughout.
The Trust’s Vice-Chair of Trustees, Bronwen Knight, told attendees: “This beautiful building was a derelict shell when I first saw it. Saving it from ruin and giving it a new and useful purpose, all while protecting the camellias, was a complex project which could not have happened without the funders, supporters and our community.
“The quality and sustainability of the Camellia House project has been recognised with a number of awards and we are incredibly proud of all of them, but winning the Europa Nostra Award is the icing on the cake.”
The Lord Lieutenant of South Yorkshire Prof Dame Hilary Chapman joined South Yorkshire WH Community members and other guests in a camellia crafting class.
She commented: “Wentworth Woodhouse is one of the jewels in South Yorkshire’s crown. It is truly embedded in our community.
“Since the Camellia House’s restoration, over 10,000 people have come to see the historic collection of camellias in the most beautiful of buildings.
“Gaining this award will bring even more people to Wentworth Woodhouse, our town, our county, which drives forward economic growth for our region.”
