HistoryA number of characters stand out in the history of the Bretton Estate as being of particular interest. In the 16th century Sir Thomas Wentworth had a beautiful bed and furniture designed for Henry VIII in case he ever visited Bretton. In 1720 Sir William Wentworth built the Palladian mansion that forms the centre of today's Bretton Hall. Sir William's son, Sir Thomas Wentworth, created a lot of the parks and gardens around his father's mansion, including having the River Dearne dammed and the lakes dug out. He is said to have been quite eccentric and often entertained guests on and around his lakes with firework displays, mock naval battles and plenty of alcohol. His illegitimate daughter, Diana Beaumont, more than doubled the size of the mansion in the early 19th century and had many glass houses and conservatories built, including what became known as the 'Far Famed Dome Conservatory', considered to be the largest of its kind in the world. Diana was a very domineering woman who fell out with almost everybody that she met, including her son Thomas Wentworth Beaumont who, on inheriting the estate, auctioned off everything that reminded him of his mother.
In 1948 Wentworth Henry Canning Beaumont sold much of the estate to West Riding County Council and a year later the mansion became a training college for teachers of art, music and drama, which later became part of the University of Leeds. Yorkshire Sculpture Park was established in 1977 by current Executive Director Peter Murray CBE who was leading a post graduate course in art education at Bretton Hall College. This is the start of the YSP story. This story is ongoing as YSP grows and develops. |
Over this time many buildings have been built on site and many taken down. The landscape has been carefully designed and meticulously managed to look 'natural'. Many of the top architects of their day have been involved in creating mansions, lodges, glass houses and follies here. |