A pane-staking restoration in South Yorkshire

A stunning Victorian conservatory at Wentworth Castle in Stainborough near Barnsley, one of the finest examples of its kind anywhere, has been painstakingly and faithfully restored to its former glory.

William Anelay Ltd, a building firm established in 1747, was charged with the task of delivering a complex 12 month project, in conjunction with architects Buttress Fuller Alsop Williams that involved the complete restoration of the conservatory and the construction of an adjoining new build extension with visitor area, shop and cafe facilities.

The recently completed project has already been nominated and shortlisted for a English Heritage Angels award under the category "Best Craftsmanship employed on a Heritage Rescue".

Set in the rolling countryside of South Yorkshire, the grade I Listed Wentworth Castle is currently home to the Northern College for Residential and Community Education and was propelled into the national consciousness as a runner up in the 2003 BBC Restoration series hosted by Griff Rhys Jones. Previous work also saw Wentworth shortlisted in the Country Life Restoration of the Century award back in 2010.

Over the past decade a major programme of work has taken place, with the support of the Heritage Lottery Fund, English Heritage, the Country Houses Foundation, the European Regional Development Fund and the venue's own Trust with William Anelay involved in a number of phases of the building restoration work.

The 300 square metre conservatory was constructed in 1885 by Crompton and Fawkes of Chelmsford and is thought to be the first to incorporate electric lighting. It had fallen into a dangerously bad state of disrepair and had become overgrown with vegetation.

William Anelay worked closely with Shepley Engineering of Barnsley to dismantle and catalogue the complete structure and carefully restore each of the hundreds of wrought iron glazing bars before infillng with new glazing, sited within a 2mm seating, supplied by Bootle Glass on Merseyside.

Anelay Project Manager Dave Akitt explained "This was an incredibly challenging process that started in September 2012. It was akin to an enormous Mecanno jigsaw puzzle. Inch perfect precision was required to reassemble the conservatory effectively and sympathetically. Were any of the beams just a few millimetres out then we would have had to start from scratch.

“One key aspect of the complexity lay in the way the conservatory was originally constructed with the 28 circular hollow columns also serving as rainwater down pipes. In order to protect these Shepley coated the inside with bitumen paint.

"That is why Shepley are restoring or replacing every single part of the structure and then reassembling it in full in their large workshop facility.

“The start of works involved the clearing of vegetation inside the Conservatory prior to Shepley arriving on site and carefully scheduling and dismantling the structure.

“The ground was excavated to form a flat terrace, level with the original floor of the conservatory with the original masonry walls being cleaned and repaired as necessary.

“Now reconstructed, the conservatory has access in to what was originally a potting shed. This forms part of the new build extension that includes toilets, kitchen, plant room and an interpretation area.

“The new build aspect of the project is of a timber construction with cedar cladding and a green and patent glazed roof. Both the conservatory and the extension were fitted with new mechanical and electrical services throughout,” added Dave.

The rear of the conservatory features new terracing and soft landscaping with hard landscaping around the new and restored structures to improve visitor access and parking areas.

Claire Herring, Director of Wentworth Castle Heritage Trust comments, “Great team work has made this project possible involving funders and our volunteers as well as the experience and skill of the craftsmen who have brought the Conservatory back to life. It’s been a real labour of love.”

Anelay Chairman Charles Anelay concluded: “This is undoubtedly one of the most challenging projects we have undertaken in recent times. There was no room for manoeuvre when it came to accuracy and it called for very close liaison with all of those organisations involved.

“The end result is a new conservatory and welcome area that will radically transform the experience for the thousands of visitors that make their way to the castle and park every year and also creates a venue that is perfect for weddings and other major events,” added Charles.

The finished Wentworth Castle conservatory reflects the very best traditions of days gone by as well as the cutting edge skills and knowledge of today.