A VAST, crumbling mansion that was once the largest private residence in Britain, faces a £200million repair bill after it was saved for the nation.
Wentworth Woodhouse, hidden in the South Yorkshire countryside just outside Rotherham, doubled for Buckingham Palace in recent Churchill biopic Darkest Hour.
It was snapped up for £7million by the Wentworth Woodhouse Preservation Trust and its new owners reckon it could become as cherished as iconic country houses like Chatsworth or Blenheim Palace.
But, their first priority of the is to fix the leaky roof - which covers four acres.
That has been funded by a £7.6million grant from the treasury.
Trust chief executive Sarah McLeod believes that the total repair bill could be between £150 and £200million and will be a long-term project. But she is hopeful it will become a national landmark sooner than that.
She said: "I don't think it will take anything like 20 years for that to happen, I think that will happen much sooner."
Its 606ft facade is wider than Buckingham Palace and its floor area is about the same as the Grand Kremlin Palace in Moscow.
It is reputed to have 365 rooms, although no-one seems to know for sure as it has cupboards the size of an average family lounge.
Sarah said: "Occasionally, I find a new room I've not found before."
Sarah said the trust was taking care not to blow Wentworth Woodhouse's trumpet too early - especially as she currently has a staff of just 15, compared with the 1,000 people who ran the house and estate in its heyday.
She said: "We need to ensure, before hoards of people come and visit us, that we're in a position to really look after them when they get here.
"There's a lot of groundwork going on behind the scenes. But I think, certainly over the next three to five years, we will see a huge change in both the trust itself and how the site is seen by the public."
"A big part of this process is consultation - talking to the community around us, talking to the people of South Yorkshire and finding out what they want for this site.
"After all, this is not a privately owned house any more. This is now owned by a charitable trust which, by definition, means it's owned by the nation for the benefit of the nation."
They hope to raise the huge sums required through a mixture of public grants and private donations.
She added: "We've made huge progress this year, I'm really, really proud of what we've achieved.
"How many people get to come to work in a Grade One listed mansion every day? It's fantastic."
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