From a roofless ruin to a community asset

The Camellia House at Wentworth Woodhouse, which sat derelict for five decades, was listed on Historic England’s ‘Buildings at Risk’ register. As part of ongoing works to reimagine the wider Wentworth estate, we led a conservation project to restore and revitalise the Grade II*-listed Georgian building.

The Camellia House was constructed in 1738 as a teahouse for the first Marchioness of Rockingham. In 1812, architects Watson and Pritchett extended it as an orangery to house a collection of rare camellias – some of Britain’s first to arrive from East Asia. By the 20th century, the once-beloved teahouse was all but forgotten: the roof collapsed and the camellias grew untamed reaching heights of 30ft.

A delicate renovation

Due to its age and the post-war open cast mining at Wentworth Woodhouse, the building had settled unevenly. This created a challenge for the installation of the refurbished trusses and the new glass panes. Specialist scaffolding was also required to ensure the camellias were protected while allowing enough daylight for the plants and mitigating the impact of building dust and debris entering the soil. This was especially important as the refurbishment was extensive including the repair or renewing of roof timbers, stonework, windows, doors, lime plaster and ceilings.

The end result is a very accurate recreation of the Camellia Room reusing the original floor and recreating the original specification to the walls and roof.

A sustainable future

The environmental performance of the building has been improved through the introduction of underfloor heating and a ground source heat pump that works symbiotically with the historical floors. A rainwater harvesting system provides naturally mineralised unchlorinated water to the camellias and WCs, reducing reliance on the mains water system.

The Camellia House is now a community asset, accessible to all. Every Monday the building is reserved exclusively for community use. Access has improved significantly, with five disabled parking bays added, an accessible WC and step-free access throughout. Most significantly, a purpose-built Changing Places facility was installed in collaboration with Muscular Dystrophy UK, one of the first for a heritage site in the UK. The project has also bolstered the local economy, with 22 local hospitality jobs created.