Wentworth Woodhouse Gardens An Illustrated History - By Prof. Mel & Joan Jones

A large part of Wentworth Garden Centre occupies the site of the great former kitchen garden and pleasure grounds complex of Wentworth Woodhouse built in the late 18th Century by the Fitzwilliam family.

Created under the supervision of renowned York architect John Carr, the kitchen gardens principal role was to provide an abundance of fresh fruit, herbs, vegetables and cut flowers for the house throughout the year. 

By 1850 there were 36 gardeners (with ages ranging from 16-69) working under head gardener Joseph Henderson. It was during this period under the direction of Lady Maud Fitzwilliam (d.1967) wife of the 7th Earl, that the gardens took on the main outlines that still exist today with the addition of pools, cascades, lush planting schemes and the creation of a beautiful rock garden.

Inevitably, much of the cultivated area fell into disrepair after the second world war, until the creation of the garden centre in 1976. A continuous programme of investment over the past 30 years by ourselves has seen the garden (which was initially beyond derelict) restored to its former glory. 

This book traces the history of the gardens using a wide range of historical sources including the garden accounts, covering a century and a half, that have survived in Sheffield Archives, together with a wide variety of illustrative material.