Wentworth Reimagined - digital plan to bring mansion’s characters back to life

Soon such imaginings will become a reality - in the virtual sense - as the Grade I listed mansion develops an immersive visitor experience bringing history to life.

A pilot project, Wentworth Reimagined, could be drawing greater numbers of family visitors to the house by next summer, and is being made possible thanks to a Respond and Reimagine Grant from Art Fund, the UK’s national charity for art.

Wentworth Woodhouse Preservation Trust has been awarded £40,000 from the charity’s pot designed to help museums, galleries and cultural organisations hit by the Covid-19 pandemic adapt and reimagine new ways of future working.

“We are incredibly grateful to Art Fund for this generous sum,” said WWPT’s visitor operations manager Jen Booth.

"Launching Wentworth Woodhouse Re-imagined will bring our beautiful but empty rooms to life and appeal directly to family visitors.

“We will be inviting visitors to step back in time.

"As they walk through the mansion they will be immersed in a fun and fascinating experience and hear the hustle and bustle of below stairs, statues gossiping and even fireplaces singing.”

Wentworth Reimagined will use the latest technology to tell some of the untold tales from the house’s rich and varied history.

A series of short, story–led films will be projected along the visitor journey and seasonal character-led activity days will be created.

It may/will be developed into an online experience for people wanting to learn about the house during temporarily closures brought about by the pandemic.

The grant will be spent on audio and visual equipment to bring the stories to life.

Local community artists Becky Newbould and Gemma Weelan, of WE Great Ladies, have been commissio ned to research, write and direct the films and audio recordings.

The women are working alongside the Trust’s Volunteer Research Team to identify fascinating stories of people who lived above and below stairs over the centuries.

The team is led by research volunteer co-ordinator Helen Jones and house archivist David Allott and features well-known Rotherham historians Melvin and Joan Jones.

*Wentworth Woodhouse is one of the largest houses in Europe and was built between 1725 and 1750. It is a Grade I listed stately home with the longest façade of any country house in England. It stands in 87 acres of gardens and grounds and has extensive views over former parkland, including a deer park and lakes, which are vested in the Fitzwilliam Wentworth Amenity Trust.

The house was sold in March 2017 for £7million following a five-year campaign by SAVE and the Wentworth Woodhouse Preservation Trust.

Wentworth Woodhouse Preservation Trust is now managing a major project to restore the house and open it to the public.

More details about Wentworth Woodhouse are available at www.wentworthwoodhouse.org.uk or by calling 01226 351161.

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