More digital opportunities at Wentworth Woodhouse thanks to National Lottery grant

5th December 2024

A grant of £132,880 from The National Lottery Heritage Fund means Wentworth Woodhouse in Rotherham can push forward with its digital goals, grow its team and engage more young people with their local history and culture.

The 250-year-old stately home set up a volunteer Digital Team to keep in touch with its supporters in 2020, during pandemic lockdowns.

A dozen decidedly un-techy volunteers stepped up to learn how to make short films about life at ‘the Big House’ and get them online.

They gained thousands of hits and viewers all over the world. Wentworth Woodhouse now has its own YouTube channel, with over 5,000 subscribers and the volunteer Digital Team now has 25 members, aged 20 to 80  (www.youtube.com/c/wentworthwoodhouse1).

Their work promotes Wentworth Woodhouse and charts its Capital Works repair and restoration projects and has impressed not only the public, but government ministers and funders.

The National Lottery Heritage Fund supports projects that connect people and communities to the national, regional and local heritage of the UK.

Some of the award to Wentworth Woodhouse will pay for a digital specialist to lead the team for two years. Recruiting starts this month Our Team - Wentworth Woodhouse 

The new Digital Lead will develop a much-needed strategy to expand the use of digital across the organisation and manage the Trust’s new Perception Busters Project, which will see two young people become Trainee Creative Producers at Wentworth Woodhouse for a year.

The two trainees will be funded by the Children’s Capital of Culture traineeship programme through Rotherham Council.

They will create four films, with production costs being funded by the  National Lottery Heritage Fund grant.

The first, ‘What is Heritage?’ will engage young people with heritage and culture on their doorsteps, including Wentworth Woodhouse itself,  Elsecar Heritage Centre and Rotherham Museums, Arts and Heritage Service. 

The films will be seen at Children’s Capital of Culture-funded festivals to be staged at Rotherham’s new Arc Cinema and Wentworth Woodhouse in 2025, when Rotherham becomes the first place in the world to host the year-long celebration.

The project has come to be thanks to 20 young people who had their lives changed by taking part in Children’s Capital of Culture Trainee Creative Producer programmes at the mansion in 2022 and 2023.

They learned digital skills for film-making and produced live shows, documentaries and film concepts in the build-up to the Children’s Capital of Culture festival year.

They formed a lasting link with the Trust. Many are now volunteers and a number set up the Wentworth Woodhouse Filmmakers’ Club, which will work closely with The Perception Busters trainees.

They were consulted for ideas for another project and suggested one which would  explore the importance of heritage through the eyes of young people and debunks their preconceptions about what ‘heritage’ is.

“Before they came to us, they all thought heritage was just old buildings that had no bearing on their lives,” said Steve Ash, volunteer founder and leader of WWPT’s volunteer Digital Team.

“Their preconceptions  were transformed by the hugely positive experience that they had here, and discovering how we use our buildings and gardens to enhance everyone’s lives today.

“Thanks to their idea, we received funding from The National Lottery Heritage Fund. The Perception Busters will give two more people training in the art of film-making. It’s a massive leg-up to get into the film and TV industry, as a number our 20 alumni have done.”

Steve Ash will continue volunteering with the Digital Team and is looking forward to handing over the reins after almost five years. He said: “I’m very proud of how far this department has come, but there is so much more it can achieve and it now needs more drive and digital skills than this 62 year old possesses.”

Helen Featherstone, Director, England, North at The National Lottery Heritage Fund said: “Supporting digital use within heritage is a key focus for us at Heritage Fund and so it is fantastic to see how much the digital volunteers at Wentworth Woodhouse have grown in confidence and ability since 2020! 

“This funding for specialist support will enable them to continue their learning journey with expert, professional guidance.”