News

Its latest heroine, Dame Julie Kenny, is centre stage

Wentworth Woodhouse is the latest inspiration for legendary Sheffield artist Joe Scarborough.
Joe, 82, has now stamped his inimitable style on a glorious, action-packed oil painting of the Rotherham stately home to help its fundraising.
He knew the mansion long before, though…
In his youth, Joe was a miner at Thorpe Hesley Colliery. Every day, when he finished his shift at the coal face and came up from the shaft, there it was on the horizon.
“I knew it as the Big House and admired it on my way to the pit bath house. I never thought I’d ever step inside it, let alone be asked to paint it,” said Joe, who was a miner for six years before quitting to pursue life as an artist.
The dazzling colours of daylight which hit him when he got back above ground each working day had inspired him to paint, and he’s never looked back.
His work now commands thousands and is highly sought-after by collectors. He has his own website, https://joescarboroughart.co.uk/
Thanks to a commission from Dame Julie Kenny, the Rotherham businesswoman who created the Wentworth Woodhouse Preservation Trust and campaigned to purchase and save the Grade I listed mansion, hundreds of supporters can now own a copy of Joe’s latest masterpiece.
The Trust is selling a limited number of signed prints to raise much-needed funds to regenerate the house, its Stables, Riding School and Camellia House.
There are 100 canvas versions for sale at £200 and 250 matt and 250 silk prints at £100. Framed versions are also available.
Said Joe: “I was honoured to be asked by Dame Julie and having seen it all those years ago, was struck by how circuitous life can be. Julie invited me to the house and I was overwhelmed by its beauty and flooded with ideas.
“I wanted the painting to span several decades and show the life and times that have gone on there.
I hope fans of the house don’t mind, but I rearranged things a bit – I moved the great chandelier into the Marble Saloon, where a wonderful ball is happening, and took down a wall of the house down to reveal the action inside.”
Outside, a line of guards from the Marquis’s own regiment and a procession of cars through the ages are arriving… including the early 1900s Sheffield Simplex which Earl Fitzwilliam funded, and those of King George and Queen Mary, who stayed at the house in 1912.
In the background, the Gate House, Stables, Camellia House and monuments can be seen, along with Lady Mabel College students and cricketers on the Wentworth Green,
Right in the centre of the picture is Dame Julie.
“I couldn’t leave her out – she is in the entrance to the Marble Saloon, wearing the pale blue outfit she wore to Buckingham Palace to receive her Damehood,” said Joe, who spent almost four months on the work, which currently hangs at Julie’s home.
She plans to loan it to the house and a special place has been earmarked for when it opens again in September (Government Covid-9 restrictions permitting).
“It’s a wonderful artwork in Joe’s inimitable style. He was enthralled with the house and so much of its history is featured. It really tells the story,” said Dame Julie.
“One of our volunteers suggested the idea at a fundraising meeting. I thought it would be lovely to have a new painting of the place and a great way to raise money. Lockdown has badly affected our income and this is a new way for people who love the house to support us,” added Julie.
Prints and canvases are available at the pop-up gift shop now open in Wentworth Woodhouse’s open gardens from Weds to Sunday and via the Trust’s new online shop https://bit.ly/31gkkmm

Wentworth Woodhouse’s first ever fundraising T-shirt suits Rawmarsh mum of two Zoe Rowbottom to a T… And so it should – because she designed it.

Each slate ‘floats’ inside an elegant box frame, is individually numbered and bears the Wentworth Woodhouse insignia and certification – making these must-have limited editions truly collector’s pieces.
We are asking for donations to the Trust for each slate presentation box, at a suggested amount of £200.
These beautiful items will help the Preservation Trust to build up the funds it currently needs to support the house and grounds at this difficult time. During the pandemic, all fundraising was forced to halt.

Lockdown Art Contest brings stunning entries from as far away as Australia – and designs for our fundraising!

We decided to launch an art contest during Lockdown – and what an incredible response we got. Entries came from as far away as Australia! Paintings, sketches, models and even a pavement chalk picture depicting the life and times of the Big House were created by supporters aged from two to 75. What a talented bunch our supporters are! Many got arty to pass time during the pandemic. Others seized the chance to showcase earlier Wentworth Woodhouse-inspired creations. The top entry – which will soon be emblazoned proudly across the front of the Preservation Trust’s first-ever fundraising T-shirt – had been gathering dust in an attic for 13 years!

We have an update from our Facilities Manager, Julie Readman. Julie takes care of the house and all of its fixtures and fittings. Here she explains what her and her team have been doing behind the scenes to prepare for our reopening/

Our Catering Assistant, Molly Humphries is todays presenter in our Wentworth at Home series. Molly works in our popular tearoom and here she explains how she has been using her time away from the house and her plans for when we return.