Grade I-listed mansion in Yorkshire to become visitor attraction

Wentworth Woodhouse, near Sheffield, England is to be converted into a visitor attraction to ensure its future financial prosperity.

The Wentworth Woodhouse Preservation Trust (WWPT), which bought the mansion in 2016, is set to take its plans for the attraction to the UK government next week with the permission of Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond.

Should it get the go-ahead, the attraction will become so during its build phase, allowing visitors to witness work as it takes place and to talk to restoration teams on hard-hat and hi-vis tours.

"The Chancellor's invitation for us to unveil our plans is testament to the huge national significance of what is arguably Britain's greatest restoration project for a generation, and its solid cross-party support,” said WWPT chair Julie Kenny CBE, who founded the trust in 2014.

"The masterplan is the start of an exciting journey, a catalyst for change for the people whose lives the trust touches and the communities we serve.

“For three centuries the house was the hub of social and economic life across South Yorkshire and we intend to make it so once again."

Hammond awarded a £7.6m (US$10m, €8.7m) grant to WWPT in his 2016 Autumn Statement, which was used for roof repairs to halt damage to rooms created in 1735 by the Marquess of Rockingham and the Earl of Fitzwilliam.

WWPT currently has 19 staff and 100 volunteers. It has monetised the building since taking ownership, generating income from retail and catering, events, weddings and film and TV productions.