Wentworth Woodhouse, South Yorkshire

A magnificent building - wish there were buildings like that in my neck of the woods!

This house has only been partially occupied since World War Two, the wing in the foreground has no interior left as it was gutted by a college which occupied it in the 1960s. A lot of money has been spent on the house in recent years but it is now once again showing sign of decay. its also suffering from subsidence due to old coal mine workings beneath it. Their is a history of the family out in paperback called Black Diamonds, Best Wishes James

Well remembered! in the immediate post war period the British Government passed a very dubious planning law which allowed something called an 'Interim Development Order' these orders allowed for the extraction of coal and other much needed raw materials in all sorts of beauty spots without any thought to the consequences. Whats even more worrying is that they were open-ended, and we are not completely sure just how many are still out there as many of the crucial records were later destroyed.

They also forced through the extraction of coal beneath many fine buildings which had previously been protected, this was done by one of the most dubious politicians this country has ever made a cabinet minister (and thats saying something) I think he was called Manny Shinwell.