Calls to restore grand northern stately home nearly lost because of ‘spiteful class hatred’

CAMPAIGNERS have called for ministers to save a forgotten architectural jewel to make up for its near destruction under a post-war diktat motivated by “class hatred”.

Wentworth Woodhouse, one of the greatest stately homes in the North, went into rapid decline after a Labour minister for power ordered that its grounds be mined for coal.

Manny Shinwell’s plan to ease fuel shortages after the war meant that the coal buried beneath the landscaped grounds was mined right up to the windows of the neo-Palladian villa, built by the Marquess of Rockingham in 1725.

As a result, the land in front of the house, then the largest open-cast coal mine in Britain, looked like a “scene from hell”, according to one historian.

Mr Shinwell’s 1946 orders were seen by some as an act of spiteful class war against the gentry, and even local miners opposed them. Two years later, the property’s owner, Peter Fitzwilliam, was killed in a plane crash over France and the house was leased to a college, before passing through other owners.

Now local businesswoman Julie Kenny and Marcus Binney, president of Save Britain’s Heritage, have begun a campaign to preserve and restore Wentworth Woodhouse. Ms Kenny said: “There is a moral obligation on government to put this right.” The Wentworth Woodhouse Trust proposes opening the interiors and gardens to the public, with parts of the building being leased for catering, offices, events and holiday lets.

Chancellor Philip Hammond has been urged to provide funds via a direct grant to the National Heritage Memorial Fund and a decision is expected in time for the Autumn Statement.

Robert Jenrick, Conservative MP for Newark, has backed the proposals, calling it the “best heritage regeneration project in the north of England”.