Village of the Week: How a family feud fuelled castles and stately homes in Barnsley

Now, most amount to nothing more than a bit of dirty linen being aired in public and an awkward Christmas dinner – but this one resulted in a Gothic folly, a grand house and estate and a re-created Earldom title.

It is the stuff that makes good novels and indeed has provided the subject material for many books and publications over the years.

But for where this took place, it is easy missed if you don’t know this particular part of Barnsley very well.

Stainborough as we see it today is nestled between Dodworth, Pilley and Hood Green, which sounds like a bit of a mess when you look at a map, but prior to mass development, there wouldn’t have been much other than open countryside to separate them.

Authority-wise it is covered by Barnsley Council and the local parish council encompasses Stainborough and Hood Green, which is even more of a haven away from busy town life than Stainborough also surely is.

For its residents, which are less than 400 in number, the close-knit way of life defines the community.

The parish council is active and works to make sure those little touches that give certain villages that something ‘extra’ are maintained.

It keeps itself to itself, has the most charming character in appearance and in looking around at the buildings, homes and properties they all seem to absorb history.

Heritage is a key feature to Stainborough. There is so much of it – the parish contains 33 listed buildings – which is not bad when there are thought to be just 170 homes here.

Some of the listed buildings are farmhouses, farm buildings, the local pub The Strafford Arms, and a schoolroom converted into dwellings.

The others are within the grounds of Wentworth Castle, which itself is Grade I listed and considered to be of “exceptional interest”.

It is feasible to say, with little other information available to reveal what life was like at Stainborough before-hand, that the key, if not then the starting point of village history, is the Wentworth Castle estate.

Not to be confused with Wentworth Woodhouse, which is eight miles away by road, the two are linked though.

In 1695, Thomas Wentworth expected to inherit the estate, land and vast wealth that came with Wentworth Woodhouse when the second Earl of Strafford died childless.

Much to his surprise, and anger, the estate was instead left to Thomas Wentworth’s cousin Thomas Watson.

Thomas Wentworth enjoyed a successful and esteemed career as a soldier, serving under King William III, but the feeling of resentment to his cousin lingered – and he wanted that title back.

In 1708, he bought what at the time was called Stainborough Castle. Over the years he had it re-modelled, re-developed and various buildings created within the extensive gardens and landscape in a bid to always be going one better than his cousin at Wentworth Woodhouse.

Queen Anne re-created the Earldom of Strafford and Thomas Wentworth became the first Earl Strafford of the second creation.

Next, he began to build a mock castle on the highest point of the estate which would probably have been visible at that time from Wentworth Woodhouse. He called this Stainborough Castle, and on its completion in 1731 he renamed the house and estate as Wentworth Castle.

Stainborough Castle is grade II listed and was designated in the 1960s for its features. It is believed to be one of the oldest surviving follies of its kind in the country.

Other unusual features that ended up being built around the grounds were the Gun Room which probably originated as a banqueting house; a marble statue of the first Earl of Strafford; an obelisk, known as the Sun Monument, dedicated to English aristocrat Lady Mary Wortley Montagu and a Rotunda.

With all this going on, you wouldn’t be surprised that Wentworth Castle has some hidden histories too and you’ll find some in one of the most spectacular parts of the gardens.

Lady Lucy’s Walk is found in a long line of Lime Trees that were planted opposite each other around the time of 1920 to create a corridor once fully grown.

It is an incredibly atmospheric feature and is said to be haunted by Lucy, one of Thomas Wentworth’s daughters.

The story goes that she fell in love with one of the gardeners but due to the difference in their social standing, they couldn’t be together.

She died of a broken heart and her spirit has had a presence amongst the trees ever since.

Wentworth Castle, upon the death of Thomas Wentworth, passed down the family lines and in 1902 it was inherited by Captain Bruce Vernon-Wentworth who at the time was MP for Brighton.

He preferred his life down south it is said, so he sold a lot of the contents of the house and in 1949, sold the actual house to the Barnsley Corporation.

Wentworth Castle was used to house a residential teacher training college, the Wentworth Castle College of Education, until 1978.

After this it fell into a state of vast disrepair and since then several millions have been spent on schemes and projects under different guises.

In 2019, a partnership between the National Trust, Northern College and Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council saw Wentworth Castle and Gardens re-open with a programme of cultural and environmental events managed by Barnsley Museums.