Julie Banham is our guest speaker. She explains: ” In 1974, Sir Roy Strong’s exhibition The Destruction of the Country House at the V&A showed that since 1875, over 1900 country houses had been demolished and, despite the formation of the National Trust in 1895, many remained at risk.

Despite being one of the largest residences in Britain with more fine rooms than Buckingham Palace, Blenheim or Castle Howard and home to politicians who helped shape the national landscape, a similar fate nearly befell the little known Wentworth Woodhouse.

It was saved by being turned into a teacher training college at the end of WWII and, in 2014, the newly created WW Preservation Trust was charged with securing the future of the mansion for the benefit of the nation.”