A Brief Exploration of Wortley Hall

 

The crest of James Archibald Stuart Wortley

My brief visit to the Wortley Hall estate, to photograph the Grade II* listed Wortley Hall and its associated buildings and other structures as part of my British Listed Buildings Photo Challenge, continued by having a look at the Grade II listed steps and retraining wall to the east of the hall.

 

Views of the balustraded retaining wall

Taking in the panoramic view across the estate towards Pilley, I then turned my attention to the east elevation of the original part of the hall, which was rebuilt in 1686 by Sir Richard Wortley on the same site as the C16 hall and then remodelled from 1742 to 1746 by Giacomo Leoni for Edward Wortley-Montagu. 

 

The east entrance to Wortley Hall

 

Pevsner barely mentions this, only stating that the east wing appears Early Victorian but may incorporate the house designed by John Platt, with the Historic England (HE) description being typically dry and providing no comment on his architectural style, except to mention the Ionic columned doorcase to the main entrance. 

 

The south front remodelled by Giacomo Leoni

 

After taking a few record photographs of this elevation, I went to find the Grade II listed terrace steps and retaining walls to the gardens, which HE date as probably early C19 and are built with rock-faced and ashlar sandstone, with the copings surmounted by gadrooned vases. 

 

Views of the steps on the terrace

When wandering around the south terrace, I was very interested to come across an information panel that describes the fossilised stump of an Upper Carboniferous club moss, Lepidodendron, which is thought to have been found in a local coal mine. 

 

The information board describing the fossil Lepidodendron stump

Fossils like these are quite rare and, in Sheffield, I have seen examples of these at the Botanical Gardens and at the Wadsley Fossil Forest - which have since been buried – and I was therefore surprised to see that it had become quite overgrown in such a well maintained historic garden. 

 

The partially obscured fossil Lepidodendron stump

Continuing with my wander around the gardens, I took advantage of the sunshine to take a few snaps of the south elevation of the hall, which Pevsner describes as being “Good Grecian” and HE refers to the pairs of Ionic columns flanking the outer bays. 

 

The south front of Wortley Hall

To the west of Leoni’s remodelled south front is the west wing (1784-88), which the HE description attributes to John Platt for Lady Mary Bute (d.1784) and completed for James Archibald Stuart-Wortley under the guidance of John Carr of York. 

 

The west wing of Wortley Hall

 

Returning to the south end of the western terrace, the Grade II listed early C19 arbour was the next structure on my Photo Challenge, which has a balustraded wall and scrolled brackets carved with rose and oak leaf motifs, but is only included for its group value. 

 

The arbour

Heading back to the south front of Wortley Hall, a circular pool with a statue is sited at the centre of the garden, which HE credits Lady Caroline Creighton - the wife of James Archibald Stuart-Wortley - as being responsible for the survival of the early C19 landscaping. The Italian white Carrara marble statue of a male figure, which is seated on three entwined dolphins, has unfortunately lost part of both arms. 

 

The circular pool and statue

 

Moving nearer to the south front, I took a couple of photos of the 3-bay central pediment, which projects from the outer bays on each side and has engaged Ionic columns below. The crest is that of James Archibald Stuart-Wortley, which was added after his elevation to the peerage in 1826. 

 

The pediment and engaged Ionic columns

 

Finding the French doors on the south front open, I popped inside to take a quick look at the fireplaces, where I hoped that I might find some interesting marbles. Although I have been told that there are fireplaces that make good use of marble elsewhere in the house, there weren’t any here and I just took a few general record photos and returned to the garden. 

 

A few views of the interior

 

I only spent 30 minutes wandering around the gardens and didn’t examine the sandstone ashlar used for Wortley Hall. From a distance, although the pediment and upper part of the walling beneath the eaves has weathered to reveal a yellow colour, which is characteristic of the Grenoside Sandstone, much of the sandstone lacks this colour but I can’t think of any other sandstone in this part of South Yorkshire that might have been used.

 

A view from the south-west