Bachelor wing of Rotherham stately home to become “prestigious” business space

Bedlam, a suite of rooms once reserved for “boisterous Georgian bachelors” at Rotherham stately home Wentworth Woodhouse, could soon become one of the most prestigious business lets in the UK.

Plans are afoot to transform Bedlam into rental spaces attractive to both national PLCs and local companies. When Wentworth Woodhouse Preservation Trust took over the Grade I listed mansion in 2017, decades of neglect had left one of the finest homes in the UK in what it described as a “sorry state”.

Bedlam’s roof, along with those of the mansion’s chapel and riding school, was one of the first to be tackled when £7.5m of capital Works and emergency repairs began in late 2018, using grant funding awarded in the Chancellor’s Autumn 2016 Statement and managed by Historic England.

After 15 months of work, the Trust can now explore its aim of turning Bedlam into commercial property rental space. The Trust hopes to see a wide range of businesses sharing its address, from national companies looking for a “prestigious” setting for their HQ, to specialists in heritage construction and the digital and creative industries.

CEO Sarah McLeod commented: “Our priority is to use the spaces we have at Wentworth Woodhouse to generate healthy income for our ongoing restoration tasks and to boost the local economy.

“When we launched our master plan in 2018, Bedlam was designated for commercial office lets. It is in a prime position, right alongside the state rooms on our famed East Front and this stunning and impressive location has easy access to the M1, M18 and A1 motorways.

“The fact that the name was adopted at Wentworth Woodhouse gives an insight into the high jinks which happened in that wing,“commented WWPT historian David Allott.

“In Georgian and Victorian times young gentlemen of the house slept there, as did visiting bachelor guests and their male servants. The rooms would have been well-furnished, comfortable - and a safe distance from those occupied by single women.”

The men-only domain switched to women-only when the rooms became the dormitories of the Lady Mabel College of Physical Education from 1950 to 1977.

It could be three or four years before Bedlam’s next occupants arrive, though. Permission for change of use from residential to commercial would need to be granted by Rotherham Borough Council and extensive repairs and refurbishment are needed.

By Matthew Neville – Correspondent, Bdaily

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