Tag Archives: Marquess of Rockingham

The Largest Private House In The UK

Now, if you were asked to name the largest private residence in the UK, many of you would say it was Buckingham Palace that is occupied, although not owned, by the Queen. In fact, this is not the case as the largest private home in the UK is actually called Wentworth Woodhouse and is located a few miles from Rotherham in South Yorkshire.

Wentworth WoodhouseYou may also be interested to know that, since around the middle of last year, Wentworth Woodhouse has been for sale through Savills estate agents for in excess of £8 million. It is a Georgian mansion built in the 18th century and sits in 82 acres of woodland and gardens.

The property was originally owned by the 1st Marquess of Rockingham and has 250,000 square feet of floor space of which 124,600 square feet is living space albeit some of the property is not presently habitable as it requires millions of pounds spending on it to restore it to its former glory. It is said to have the longest façade of any private home in the UK with a width of 606 feet.

It is believed to have at least 300 rooms and 5 miles of corridors. There is a marble saloon that, although not large at 60 square feet, was once felt to be England’s finest room of Georgian times. There was a stable block once occupied by 84 racehorses as horse racing was an interest of the 2nd Marquess of Rockingham.Wentworth Woodhouse

Its last owner was the late Clifford Newbold who was an architect and bought the property in 1999 for around £1.5 million. He spent a considerable amount of money on partly restoring it but died last year at the age of 88.

His family decided that the property should be sold so this sounds like a wonderful opportunity for someone to take up the challenge of finishing off the good work Mr Newbold started although, from the sound of things, any new owner will need a large bank balance to not only buy it but carry out the repairs.

Here at AIB Insurance, we have insured many large family residences. So, if you would like a competitive home insurance quotation why not give us a call on 02380 268 351.