Wentworth: May 2026
Contents
Wentworth Castle, South Yorkshire
15th—17th May 2026
Information
- Dates: 15th—17th May 2026 Arrive Friday after 2:00 pm.
- Venue: Wentworth Castle, South Yorkshire. See below.
- Cost: £255 for two nights B&B. See below.
Situated in rolling countryside not far from the M1 and just three miles from a mainline railway station (you will be collected at the station and returned by a delegate at no extra cost), the Wentworth Writing Weekend is a laid back learning holiday for writers of every genre and level.
Our residences are the Farmhouse and the Home Farm cottages and our meeting room is the Arched Barn conference centre. This was once the estate farm of Wentworth Castle and has a quaint charm, yet with many up to date features.
Rooms suitable for people with disabilities are available on the ground floor. All the rooms are en-suite.
The 60 acre garden, just beyond a Greek Temple, will be in full bloom in Spring, housing as it does a National Azalea and Rhododendron Collection. The Earl of Stafford's handsome conservatory was restored and opened in 2013, having been completely rebuilt. To the side of the great house is a 500 acre deer park.
This is our 15th year!
There will be around 15 delegates, and I can guarantee that they will be friendly and interesting company as many have been to a number of these events in the past.
We arrive after 2 pm on Friday 15th of May and gather at The Arched Barn, where there is coffee and tea always available. In the evening we go for a pleasant meal to a Toby Carvery a couple miles away.
On Saturday morning there is an optional writing workshop with our tutor, Leonora Rustamova, who is an author, publisher's editor and creative writing teacher at a Leeds college.
After lunch (included in the price) we can walk in the gardens, write and converse with other writers from different parts of the country, or do just what we like. Dinner is in the dining room with the exotic painted ceiling, after which we gather at the Arched Barn where delegates can give talks (we've had a variety of talks: on The National Space Centre, Dragonflies, Bees, Trilobites, "My ranch near Santiago de Chile", the origins of money, Robin Hood who actually lived not far away etc.), there will be a literary quiz, and we enjoy a pleasant party atmosphere.
— Chris Huck
Prices ↑
This year's price is £255. This includes 2 nights B&B in single or double en-suite accommodation, Saturday dinner and the tutored workshop.
The weekend is not intended to be a money making event and we charge as close as we can to our costs.
| Days | Description | Year / Cost | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2026 | ||
| Friday, Saturday, Sunday: | We feed ourselves on Friday with an evening pub meal. | 125 | 150 | 150 | 158 | 255 |
| Saturday & Sunday: | All in. B&B, evening meal, tea and coffee throughout the day. | 95 | 120 | 120 | 125 | |
Booking ↑
Details on how to book your Wentworth Writing Weekend can be found on the booking page, including:
- Contact details.
- Booking form.
- Payment options.
The Venue ↑
Wentworth Buildings
Address
Northern College Wentworth Castle Stainborough Barnsley S75 3ET
About Wentworth Castle
Wentworth Castle is a palladian stately home built in the 1720s for Thomas Wentworth. It is out in the country about 4 miles from Barnsley in South Yorkshire and around 10 miles from Sheffield.
The first Earl of Strafford, Thomas Wentworth, made himself so unpopular with parliament that they passed a bill and had him beheaded, even though Charles I initially refused to sign the death warrant. He only signed it after Strafford wrote and asked him to sign it. In sacrificing himself Strafford hoped to prevent a civil war. He was executed on 12th May 1641. The English Civil War began when Charles left London in January 1642. It was the same parliament he fought against that had condemned Strafford.
Wentworth Gardens
Strafford's great nephew, Thomas Wentworth, also became the first Earl of Strafford, the title having died out in the C 17th. The earldom was revived for him by Queen Anne in 1711. He had inherited titles but not the Strafford estate, so he bought Stainborough Castle nearby and fashioned a very grand house out of it which he renamed Wentworth Castle. He put up an obelisk to Anne and put a proud Roman statue of himself in the castle he built at the top of the hill. The statue is now at the rear of the house and the house has become Northern College. It is located three miles from Barnsley in South Yorkshire.
NAWG holds its writers' retreat at Northern College.
The house has had much of its grandeur restored, the most recent restoration being the beautiful conservatory which was reopened last year. The gardens are lovely. There are 60 acres of garden set in idealised countryside designed in the manner of Capability Brown. The landscape is literally idyllic, being romantic, pastoral and incorporating a large deer park with beautiful fallow deer.
The grounds are fantastic . . . just the place to stroll between writing for inspiration.
There are more photographs from previous events.