It was the home of a knight, a baron, a viscount, two marquises and nine earls. The family had estates not only in South Yorkshire, but also in North Yorkshire, the Midlands and Ireland, at their greatest extent covering nearly 120,000 acres. One head of household was beheaded. Another saw one of the last wolves in the British Isles. One owner built the Palladian mansion at Wentworth, which has the longest frontage of any country mansion in Britain, and was one of the earliest growers of pineapples in this country. One head of family was prime minister. Twice. Another provided financial assistance to more than 6,000 of his Irish tenants and their families to emigrate to Canada during the Great Famine. Another had a christening attended by 7,000 official guests. Yet another bought an ocean liner to go and search for buried treasure in the Pacific.

This copiously illustrated book explores the history of the house, the estate and the family over more than 400 years, drawing on a wide variety of sources, particularly the family records (the Wentworth Woodhouse Muniments) held in Sheffield Archives.

• Cover
• Halftitle
• Dedication
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Acknowledgements
• Introduction
• Historical Timeline
• Chapter 1 THE 1ST EARL OF STRAFFORD
• Chapter 2 ... ACROSS THE SEA TO IRELAND
• Chapter 3 THE 1ST MARQUIS OF ROCKINGHAM’S JOURNAL, 1723–50
• Chapter 4 THE 2ND MARQUIS OF ROCKINGHAM AND THE AMERICAN COLONIES
• Chapter 5 KEPPEL AND HIS COLUMN
• Chapter 6 THE PARK, GARDENS AND MENAGERIE AT WENTWORTH WOODHOUSE
• Chapter 7 WENTWORTH, THE FITZWILLIAMS’ ESTATE VILLAGE AND ELSECAR, THEIR ‘MODEL’ INDUSTRIAL VILLAGE
• Chapter 8 THE FAMILY’S PATERNALISTIC CONCERN FOR THEIR EMPLOYEES AND TENANTS
• Chapter 9 EARL FITZWILLIAM, COCOS ISLAND AND THE TREASURE OF LIMA
• Chapter 10 CELEBRATORY EVENTS
• Chapter 11 SOME MILITARY USES OF WENTWORTH WOODHOUSE
• Chapter 12 GRANDEUR AND DECLINE
• Notes and References
• Plates