But there is little in the history books about the women whose lives played out within the walls of one of the greatest houses in England.
Ahead of Women’s History Month (March 1-25), the Preservation Trust regenerating Wentworth Woodhouse set out to redress the balance.
Four volunteer researchers, and the House Researcher and Lead Guide, David Allott, spent most of 2024 pouring through documents, ledgers and articles in the Sheffield Archives and uncovered a wealth of information about six women who lived or worked at the great country house.
They were each ‘women of substance’, who forged their own path and changed lives along the way. Some of them challenged authority and society’s dictates. One actually changed the future of the house itself.
Their stories are being told in The Women Of Wentworth Woodhouse, a new, time-limited house tour running throughout Women’s History Month.
The Trust’s Head of Culture and Engagement, Victoria Ryves, instigated the move to bring the stories of Wentworth’s women out from the shadows. She commented: “The theme for this year’s event is Moving Forward Together! Women Educating and Inspiring Generations - and that could not be more fitting for the Trust.
“Providing educational opportunities is a cornerstone of its community work and we have inspirational women at the helm as we steer the house to a new life. Dame Julie Kenny DBE DL, our chair of trustees, fought a long campaign to purchase the house and rescue it from its decline, and leading its £155 million regeneration is Sarah McLeod OBE, our CEO.
“But what of the women who went before? Little was known so our researchers trawled through old letters, documents and diaries and thanks to their work, we have fascinating stories to tell during Women's History Month.”
The 2nd Marchioness of Rockingham, Mary Watson-Wentworth, emerges from the shadow of her husband’s successful political career.
In the 1700s, the Marquess became Prime Minister twice and led the Whig opposition to Britain’s war with the colonists of North America.
But It is now known that Lady Mary was a skilled politician in her own right. Wentworth Woodhouse’s researchers have found that Opposition party members often sent their letters straight to her, and her husband so valued her political acumen he compared her to the Roman goddess of wisdom.
After the Marquess’s death, Lady Mary developed her passion for horticulture and botany, collecting plants from the far corners of the British Empire and corresponding with leading botanists. Today’s academics are now appreciating the contribution she made to the field.
Some 100 years later, another woman in the aristocratic family occupying Wentworth Woodhouse carved her own political path.
Lady Mabel Florence Harriet Wentworth-Fitzwilliam was the daughter of Viscount Milton, the eldest son of the 6th Earl, who died before inheriting the title.
While her brother became the 7th Earl, she became a Socialist politician in South Yorkshire, stating her social conscience developed after seeing the conditions of children who lived on the Wentworth estate.
But Lady Mabel must also go down in history as the woman who saved Wentworth Woodhouse from a dire fate.
In the 1940s, the house was in the hands of her nephew Peter, the 8th Earl, and the high cost of running and maintaining the vast stately home was weighing heavily. Aunt Mabel came up with the solution.
She brokered the deal which saw much of the house leased to West Riding County Council for the launch of the Lady Mabel College of Physical Education. All-importantly, the lease agreement meant the lessee was responsible for the building repairs and maintenance.
Negotiations became even more vital after Peter died in a plane crash in 1948, bringing further death duties. Wentworth Woodhouse could easily have joined the 2,000-plus country houses demolished by their owners in the 1900s, but the college opened in 1950 and the family could afford to keep the house going.
The tour also introduces the college’s first Principle, Miss Nancy Mollar, a woman so redoubtable she took on the Local Education Authority in a bid to get better-quality local food for her students. She lost the battle and was so angry about the provisions sent by Local Authority-approved suppliers, she resigned.
Also featured in the tour is the story of a house laundry maid whose inter-racial marriage in the 1700s could have been one of the earliest in the county.
This is thanks to support from Dig Where You Stand, an archival justice movement unearthing untold stories of South Yorkshire’s Black and racially marginalised people.
Sarah’s husband George Senegal was a house footman. He and their child died early and are buried in Wentworth churchyard. Sarah later married another person of colour.
Countess Maud, the 7th Earl’s wife, comes into the spotlight on the tour, as does her beloved childhood nanny, Miss Katherine Moffat. The Countess so valued Miss Moffat, she employed her as governess for her own children from 1880-1920.
Women of Wentworth Woodhouse tours are running on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays from March 2- 28. https://wentworthwoodhouse.org.uk/whats-on/women-of-wentworth-woodhouse/