Wentworth Park

The public rights of way through Wentworth Park have always been popular with local walkers. The highlight is the magnificent East Front of Wentworth Woodhouse (the widest house in the country!) with its equally grand stable block, but there are plenty of other buildings and sights of interest in the park. These include the famous follies of Hoober Stand, the Needles Eye, Keppel’s Column and the Mausoleum, plus lesser known features such as the Doric and Ionic Temples. The lakes in the park are also worth a visit and are very popular with local anglers (fishing licenses are available from the Estate Office).

Village

Wentworth village itself is of considerable historical interest. The well preserved estate cottages along Main Street were built in an ad hoc fashion from the early 17th century onwards and have a charm of their own. The Old and New Churches are also worth a visit. You might also find events being held in the Mechanics Institute or in the Barn at the Rockingham Arms.

Shopping

For a small village, Wentworth has a very wide range of shops and businesses, all of which are popular with visitors. The Garden Centre is perhaps the best known attraction; built on the site of the old Wentworth Woodhouse kitchen gardens , the complex also includes a number of craft shops and a children’s farm.

Elsewhere, there are a number of shops in the old Building Yard area near the entrance to Wentworth Park; these include the relatively new Arts, Crafts and Antiques centre, plus a number of craft outlets.

In the village itself, you will find the Village Shop, Post Office, Little Gallery, a hairdresser, wine merchant and number of smaller craft shops near the George and Dragon pub. See our Business Directory for further details.

Nearby Attractions

A mile or so from Wentworth, the former estate village of Elsecar has a number of attractions, notably the popular Heritage Centre which has a number of permanent exhibitions and craft shops, as well as a preserved steam railway. A walk in the countryside around the village can be a pleasant way to spend a few hours and may bring you to charming outlying hamlets such as Street, Lea Brook and Hood Hill. Finally, for those who can’t resist shopping, there is of course the Meadowhall centre, one junction down the motorway!