Fine Arts Society learns of scandal and shuttlecocks in the Wentworth Woodhouse story
The March meeting of the Gainsborough & District Fine Arts Society featured a talk by David Winpenny on Wentworth Woodhouse, near Rotherham.
With a facade more than twice the length of Buckingham Palace and some of the finest 18th Century rooms anywhere, the seat of the Marquesses of Rockingham and then of the Earls Fitzwilliam is now being awoken from more than half a century of slumber and opened for visits.
It was a story of the rivalry between two branches of the same family, between different political ideologies and styles of architecture, including untold wealth and magnificence from coal, political power, royal visits and enlightened social care.
Members also discovered the part that the shuttlecocks had to play in this dramatic and fascinating story.