Running riot and feral in once derelict ruins the ancient camellias of Wentworth Woodhouse were to grow so wild they burst through the roof.
But after an incredible discovery by head gardener Scott Jamieson, they are deemed to be among the oldest surviving in the whole of the Western world. Now, with a £5m restoration, the treasured Camellia House has been saved and its precious plants protected. It reopens as a global tea house. Visitors can once again take tea in this secluded spot in the gardens, as the great ladies of the stately home near Rotherham would have done back in 1738.
Once pampered and prized they had thrived under the elements, with trunks the width of trees and measuring 30ft tall. The conservatory was originally created from a tea house for Lady Rockingham as wife of the 1st Marquess, and it is thought the camellia collection could have begun in the next generation. Each plant could have cost the equivalent of a housemaid’s annual wage. But the building fell into decline from the late 1900s and the precious plants were forgotten.
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