Wentworth Castle is a Grade I listed country house located in the village of Stainborough, South Yorkshire, England. It was built in the early 18th century by Thomas Wentworth, the 1st Earl of Strafford, and remained in the Wentworth family until the mid-20th century.
The estate on which the house stands has a rich history dating back to the 13th century when it was owned by the de Stainborough family. It was later owned by the Reresby family and then passed to the Wentworth family in the 16th century.
In 1708, Thomas Wentworth, the 1st Earl of Strafford, commissioned the architect John Carr of York to design a new house on the estate. The resulting building was a grand Baroque mansion, featuring a central block with two wings, and was surrounded by extensive gardens and parkland.
The house remained in the Wentworth family until 1948 when it was sold to the West Riding County Council. The estate was opened to the public in the 1950s and was used as a teacher training college until the 1980s. In 2001, the house and estate were sold to the Northern College, a further education institution, which used the house as its headquarters.
Today, Wentworth Castle Gardens is a public park and the house is leased to the Wentworth Castle and Stainborough Park Heritage Trust. The trust has been working to restore the house and gardens to their former glory, and it is now a popular tourist attraction and wedding venue.
