Wentworth Woodhouse Bear Pit

One of the most impressive mansions in the country, Wentworth Woodhouse, near Rotherham, has an 18th century Eastern façade 606 feet long and the whole building complex covers more than 3 acres. There is little left to see of the Jacobean/Carolinian house and garden that Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford built before being executed in an unavailing attempt by Charles I to appease Parliament in 1641. When the Earl’s great-grandson Thomas Watson-Wentworth, 1st Marquis of Rockingham, built the West and then the East Fronts, he largely enveloped the old house. In the Chapel Court a few remnants from the 17th century house can be seen in addition to the Well Gate, which is shown on a 1625 engraving, but in a different location.

‘The Fate of Wentworth Woodhouse’ from The Sphere, 8 Feb, 1947.

The garden suffered a more sinister fate, being bulldozed to extract coal in 1946 at the behest of Manny Shinwell the Labour Minister for Fuel and Power. It became the largest open cast mine in Britain and the coal extracted was of very poor quality so the whole operation has been seen as an ugly manifestation of the class war. A small portion of the garden West of the mansion has survived and is accessible through the Garden Centre which thrives in the old Walled Garden.

One of the most interested features of the remaining garden is the Bear Pit which is often mistaken for an Ice House. It is on two levels with an entrance on each level and a spiral stair connecting them. The base for the pole to which the bear would have been attached can be seen in the in the centre of the circular chamber. Two small cells – presumably to house the bears - lead off and the archway leads to the lower doorway. The doorway is a fine example of the early 17th century style of architecture (c.1630) and shows what a high status this building had within the garden.

One hopes that the pit was used to view the bears rather than to bait them since the ownership of a Menagerie in the grounds has been seen as a status symbol since the time of Henry I’s Menagerie at Woodstock Palace in 1110.

The upper, rather plain, doorway has a plaque which reads:-

 "There is a healing in the garden

When one longs for peace and pardon

Once past the gate no need to wait

For God is in the garden."

The East Front is undergoing restoration but the site is well worth a visit – it is owned by the Wentworth Woodhouse Preservation Trust who are doing an excellent job with the help of a £7.6 million government grant, awarded in 2016.