Stables Regeneration Phase 1: December 2025 update

In our August stables update video we showed you how we plan to transform the visitor access route into Wentworth Woodhouse from the new car park and into the main stables courtyard. Visitors will progress from the courtyard either directly into the gardens or leave the stables and take the main driveway down to the house itself. A key feature of this new route will be the reimagined Mews Court which will house the new ticket office and a coffee shop. Our volunteer gardeners have been busy landscaping this area and our future plans involve the creation of a new set of gates which will sit between the car park and Mews Court. Once inside the main stables courtyard visitors will be able to enjoy the new stables cafe. We've followed the phase one regeneration works on the exterior structure of the building that will become the new cafe in previous videos. We're now working hard to get the cafe ready for opening in the spring of 2026. Before we begin, thanks for supporting the Wentworth Woodhouse Preservation Trust by watching this video. If you'd like to help us build something extraordinary at Wentworth Woodhouse please give what you can using the link in the description below. Thank you. If you look inside the stables courtyard today you'll see that a whole range of arch windows have been boarded up. This is the front of the new cafe and we intend to have both outdoor and indoor seating available when the cafe opens. The interior of the building offers up a large space which will make a beautiful cafe. When it was originally built the interior looked something like this archive photograph. In the mid-20th century the wall where the hay feeders can be seen was altered and the hay feeders were replaced with a new run of arched windows which face out onto Osler's Court. Fortunately some original architectural features do still remain including some of the panel doors and their majestic stone door frames. These doors are very wide and very heavy. They were designed to allow a horse and groom to pass through them easily and they're one of the statement design elements of the whole stables complex helping to visually tie the whole structure together. The phase one works replaced the slate roof of the new cafe and we undertook timber repairs where necessary to the roof structure. Exterior stonework was also repaired and a new doorway was introduced giving access into Osler's Court which replaced a very unsympathetic 20th century doorway which had been cut into the original wall structure. To get the cafe ready to open to the public our own maintenance team and a number of Wentworth Woodhouse volunteers have been working on the windows that face into the main stables courtyard. The windows have all been removed and taken inside the building. We've stripped away many layers of old paint and undertaken timber repairs to the frames. As always we retain as much original material as possible introducing repairs using new timber only when absolutely necessary. Much of this work has been done during the autumn of 2025 and we're now in the process of painting the window frames so that they can be reinstalled. Once this is done we can press on with the remaining jobs. These include the introduction of a new ceiling and lighting to the cafe space, redecoration of the whole interior and connecting a heating system to keep the space warm. This fit out will be a very simple one. We have more ambitious plans for the cafe interior and will implement these when our finances allow but for now our work will mean that we can open a part of the stables to the public for the very first time and we couldn't be more excited. Initially most of the catering for the new cafe will be done in the main house kitchens and transported up to the cafe for storage and display. Future phases of work will see the completion of the planned production kitchens which will be sited next to the cafe itself. Once installed the production kitchens will transform the catering capabilities of the entire Wentworth Woodhouse site and we're actively trying to secure the funds needed to undertake this important project. We'll follow the progress of work at the new cafe in future videos. We're also delighted to confirm that work has begun on the realisation of our plans for a new heritage skills training centre which will be sited next to the cafe itself. In fact 2026 is shaping up to be a very important year for the stables and for Wentworth Woodhouse as a whole. Watch out for a new video which outlines our ambitious plans for the coming new year. Keep watching our channel for future updates and don't forget to like our videos and leave us a comment. You can also subscribe for free so that you never miss a new video release.