Papers of the Wentworth family of Woolley Hall, Yorkshire

Scope and Content

An extensive collection of deeds, accounts, letters and maps relating to the Wentworth family and their estates at Woolley Hall, Yorkshire, and dating from the 14th century onwards. They cover all aspects of the family's estates and interests.

Administrative / Biographical History

The Wentworths were one of the most prominent land-owning families in Yorkshire. Sir Thomas Wentworth of Wentworth Woodhouse married Beatrice Woodrove of Woolley, near Wakefield in ca.1514, but a branch of the family was established at Woolley in 1599, when Michael Wentworth purchased an estate from Francis Woodruffe (or Woodrove), whose family had owned land there since the fourteenth century. Woolley Hall is a Jacobean building, dating from 1635, with many later alterations. The surrounding landscape park is largely unchanged since 1800, and includes wooded pleasure grounds

Arrangement

The boxes are numbered 1-12 and 14-20; documents formerly in Box 13 are now in Box 20

Access Information

Access is unrestricted

Acquisition Information

Deposited by Commander Ewart Wentworth

Note

In English

Other Finding Aids

The contents of the archive are listed in detail in Handlists 9 and 10. The manorial documents have been indexed by the Historical Manuscripts Commission for their on-line Manorial Documents Register.

Related Material

See also MS Dep. 1949/1. The printed material formerly part of the archive (180 items) is catalogued and shelved separately in Special Collections at the classmark Wentworth-Woolley Hall.

Family Names