Wentworth Woodhouse

[Sigismund 10]

'Black Diamond'. An excellent and informative read.

 

Sigismund/

[1066 10]

I went to college at Wentworth Woodhouse from 1971-74 - teacher training. During the miners' strike, we were supplied with coal to use in the old fireplaces and nearly got smoked out. The Stubb's painting "Whistle Jacket" used to hang in a room of the same name and there was a fantastic chandelier with thousands of droplets in the same room (I think). The swimming pool was built during these years and we used to carry out swimming exams. there. Most of our lectures were in the stable block at the top of the drive but our free periods were spent either in the beautiful grounds or in the local Rockingham Arms in the village. We used to hang our trainers on convenient parts of the nude male statues in the big house. Many happy memories!

[longtimepass 10]

I've read this too but my interest is in the local families employed as miners not necessarily by wentworths but by the clarkes of nobletorpe hall at silkstone since i discovered my family were miners at silkstone common and possibly a gamekeeper there.

[longtimepass 10]

and curiously my family named some of their boy children Milton after Lord Milton but the dates dont stack up ! Shame I always thought I was descended from aristocracy.

[mature5011 10]

I worked in this house from 1972 until 1985, it is just typical of the type of house built in that period.

The family then and now are not interested in it, if they were they would have donated some of the £11 million pounds they got for whistlejacket towards its upkeep.

People look back on such things with rose coloured glasses.

 

Just take a while to think about the abject poverty the ordinary people lived in while the eqvialent of millions was spent on building such places.

[JayVee 10]

I worked in this house from 1972 until 1985, it is just typical of the type of house built in that period.

The family then and now are not interested in it, if they were they would have donated some of the £11 million pounds they got for whistlejacket towards its upkeep.

People look back on such things with rose coloured glasses.

 

Just take a while to think about the abject poverty the ordinary people lived in while the eqvialent of millions was spent on building such places.

 

Where did you get the idea that they sold the Whistlejacket painting for £11m?

They never owned it!!They only paid a nominal figure for the house from Rotherham Council - £1m I believe - they were glad to get it off their hands.

[Scozzie 10]

There was a docco on Wentworth Woodhouse and Wentworth Castle not long ago on BBC(?).

I thought the intertwined histories of both was fantastic. Maybe you could do a search for it?

I'm sorry, but I cant remember anything else about it.

It may even have been another channel. Sorry, not a big help, but maybe this post will jog someone elses memory.

 

Good luck.

[Bertielil 10]

The Rockingham's did own Whistlejacket, he was the Marquis's horse. George Stubbs (painter) was paid 60 Guineas for it c. 1762. The 11 million pounds previously mentioned came from the Heritage Lottery Fund in 1997 & allowed the National Gallery to acquire the painting.

Interesting, 1066, I was at LMC 1971-74.

[mature5011 10]

Where did you get the idea that they sold the Whistlejacket painting for £11m?

They never owned it!!They only paid a nominal figure for the house from Rotherham Council - £1m I believe - they were glad to get it off their hands.

 

It seems you do not know anything correctly

 

First the house has always been owned by the family, part of the grounds and part of the house was leased to West Riding County Council just after the war to create Lady Mabel College of Physical Education training ( Lady Mabel was a memeber of the famliy and on the council)

The famlit retained the west front of the house as an apartment which they used mostly for the Leger and August the 12th shooting.

With the demise of WRCC the lease passed to Rotherham Borough Council but with cut backs in higher education Rotherham could not sustain it and it was leased by them to Sheffield Polytechnic for 3 yrs.

 

When the polytechnic moved out, Rotherham was still bound by the lease to maintain the building until the family did then sell it to Hayden Ballie who went bankrupt. The deterioration in the building all occurred from that point, even after the present owner took it.

 

Thanks to Bertielil and others for confirming the sale of Whistle jacket.

[mature5011 10]

I went to college at Wentworth Woodhouse from 1971-74 - teacher training. During the miners' strike, we were supplied with coal to use in the old fireplaces and nearly got smoked out. The Stubb's painting "Whistle Jacket" used to hang in a room of the same name and there was a fantastic chandelier with thousands of droplets in the same room (I think). The swimming pool was built during these years and we used to carry out swimming exams. there. Most of our lectures were in the stable block at the top of the drive but our free periods were spent either in the beautiful grounds or in the local Rockingham Arms in the village. We used to hang our trainers on convenient parts of the nude male statues in the big house. Many happy memories!

 

I think a little bit of embellishment there 1066, during the miners strike the college boilers were contiunally supplied with coal and thus the heating and hot water was maintained. The only firplaces I can recall having fires in were the ones in the pillared hall, but that occurred anyway when ever there was a do on to give atomsphere

[Bertielil 10]

During the Miners' Strike they sent the majority of the students home, but in order to keep the heating ticking over, the smallest course, who were non P.E. students, remained. If I remember correctly there were 36 of us. Part of the time we stayed in college & were frozen. I can remember going to bed in a jumper, cardigan, woollen hat & fishing socks. lol. Later we were farmed out to other peoples houses. My friend & I stayed at a house in Nether Haugh, it seemed a very long walk up & down Cortworth Lane.

[1066 10]

The Rockingham's did own Whistlejacket, he was the Marquis's horse. George Stubbs (painter) was paid 60 Guineas for it c. 1762. The 11 million pounds previously mentioned came from the Heritage Lottery Fund in 1997 & allowed the National Gallery to acquire the painting.

Interesting, 1066, I was at LMC 1971-74.

 

I was in the general course although I did P.E as subsidiary. (Carol). We all enjoyed going to the pub in free periods and playing tennis, rounders and girls' rugby touch on sports afternoons. Where has all the time gone. Were you in the p.e specialist group?