Our work at Wentworth Castle Gardens

Planting trees at Wentworth Castle Gardens | © Steve Bradley

Your support helps us to look after Wentworth Castle Gardens for generations to come. Over the five years that the National Trust have cared for this Grade-1 listed landscape, we have worked to restore the formal gardens, create new habitats in the parkland, and conserve important buildings and monuments.

Victorian Flower Garden

Thanks to a gift in will, we are currently completing a project to improve the look and feel of this formal garden.

The paths are being re-edged to retain moisture and widened to improve access.

The urn that sits in the centre of the garden has been stripped of its newer paint and will be repainted to reflect its original look. The shelter at the top end of the garden is having its timber replaced to ensure its long-term future.

We will be introducing a new planting scheme in the beds, including more climate-resilient perennial planting, which will allow visitors to continue enjoying the garden for many more years to come.

Union Jack Garden

The project to restore the Union Jack Garden was completed in September 2024, with community groups working with us to re-design the different segments of this historic wilderness garden. Read more here.

To improve access in the South Union Jack Garden, new paths have also been laid, work which was possible through a gift in will.

Woodland and tree planting

Across the estate we have started to reintroduce new tree plantings and woodlands. In 2022 a new woodland, funded by a generous gift in a will, was planted and will be opened to the public in future years. In 2024 we also introduced new pasture planting on the main drive.

Our ambition is to increase the number of trees on the estate. In the field known as the Horseshoe field, arable reversion is taking place in 2025 with pasture planting to follow at the end of the year.

Lady Lucy’s Ponds

In Autumn 2024, work was completed at Lady Lucy’s Ponds to revive the open-water habitat.

The ponds had been neglected for over 20 years, causing the open water habitat to disappear and dry out. Overgrown trees were blocking daylight from reaching the ground.

Thanks to funding from Natural England’s District Level Licensing (DLL) scheme, the ponds were dug out to precise depth and profile specifications. Protective bunds were formed around the ponds using the removed spoil.

Over time the ponds will re-fill, providing a habitat for pond creatures, including the endangered Great Crested Newt population.

You can find the restored ponds in the parkland, on the far side of the Palladian bridge.

Restoration of Lady Lucy's pond at Wentworth Castle Gardens | © Rob Nutt

Built Structures

Over the last five years we have undertaken a programme of work to improve the condition of the built structures around this historic site. Much of this important conservation work has been funded by Barnsley Council as part of our 25-year partnership lease agreement.

At the bottom of Lady Lucy’s Walk, the Gun Room is a brick-built building with a mysterious history. We know it was used by the estate’s Victorian owners to store guns for shooting game on the estate, but its earlier uses are still being investigated – could it have been a bathhouse, or perhaps a model dairy?

During 2024 we were able to weather-proof and conserve the exterior of the building. This has included repairs to the canopy structure, refurbished steps and replacing tiles.
The walled gardens at Wentworth Castle Gardens date to the early 19th century. They are currently used to house greenhouses and as storage for the outdoors team, with an area also leased to Barnsley beekeepers. We are starting to explore options for a full recreation of the space.

The condition of the walls surrounding the Walled Garden was very varied and so in 2023 critical repairs were made, particularly to the southwest wall, which runs along the road to Northern College.

The previously derelict orangery within the walled garden had its roof, windows and doors replaced to conserve the structure for future use.

Visitors by the Sun monument and battlement walls at Wentworth Castle Gardens | © Annapurna Mellor

Stainborough Castle and battlement walls

The folly castle and battlement walls were built by Thomas Wentworth in the early 18th century to impress both his friends and foes.

In 2021 we completed work on the folly, with specialist stone masons replacing eroded stones, repointing joints where mortar had perished, and replacing perished timber lintels. During this work we went to great lengths to protect our resident bat population who roost within the castle.

From 2024, work moved to the battlement walls, which run the length of castle approach. Sections that were previously in poor condition were made safe and rebuilt using locally reclaimed stone. This work is continuing into 2025, focusing on the area behind the Sun Monument.