Not far from Sheffield are two impressive estates situated just 6 miles apart - Wentworth Woodhouse and Wentworth Castle - established out of a bitter family rivalry.

In this lecture, Dr Patrick Eyres will examine how the family rivalry was both dynastic and political. Until the mid-1740s, the Wentworth Castle dynasty was superior in aristocratic rank and cultural display. It was once the Hanoverian monarchy was securely embedded, that the Whigs at Wentworth Woodhouse began to eclipse their Tory cousins in social status and estate embellishment.

We are fortunate that the rivals are being united by the endeavours of charitable trusts to conserve as a public amenity this magnificent legacy of competitive country house building and landscape gardening. The buildings, gardens and park of Wentworth Castle have been restored by the Wentworth Castle Heritage Trust and are now maintained by the National Trust whilst the grounds of Wentworth Woodhouse have been restored by the Fitzwilliam Wentworth Amenity Trust and the restoration, of what is still one of the largest private houses in Europe, is being undertaken by the Wentworth Woodhouse Preservation Trust.

Dr Patrick Eyres is director of the New Arcadian Press and has published extensively on the Georgian landscapes of the rival Wentworth Castle and Wentworth Woodhouse estates.

This talk and all our lectures are FREE for Friends to access. Members of the public are welcome to join us for the live-streaming of the lecture for just £5. Please register, pay in simple online check-out and you will receive details of the Zoom link to the lecture.

Chris Broughton, Wentworth Woodhouse and distant Wentworth Castle, New Arcadian Journal.