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For a small village, Wentworth is unusual in that it
has two churches - the partly ruined (but still occasionally used) old
church and the Victorian new church.
The new church was commissioned in 1872 by the 6th
Earl of Fitzwilliam at a cost of around £25,000 in memory of his parents.
It is dedicated to the Holy Trinity, as was the original church.
The church was designed by the leading Victorian
church architect James Loughborough Pearson (who later went on to design
Truro Cathedral) and has been described by architectural historian Sir
Nikolaus Prevsner as "a very fine, sensitive, and scholarly piece of
Gothic revival".
It was built on a grand scale, and its
spire of almost 200 feet is visible for miles around. The vast interior
can comfortably seat over 500 people, far more than the population of the
village either now or at the time it was built! It has a number of
interesting architectural features including some impressive stone vaulting
and two large stained glass windows by Kempe (W) and Clayton and Bell (E).
There is also a carved stone reredos depicting the Last Supper which was
donated by the 6th Earl's children to commemorate the Golden Wedding
anniversary of the Earl and his wife, Lady Frances Harriet Douglas.
As well as the Sunday and midweek church services,
the New Church is often used for art exhibitions and concerts - its
excellent acoustics have also made it a popular venue for classical music
recording sessions. The church is often open to the public when it is not
in use for services; there is no charge to enter but small donations to
support the maintenance of the fabric of the building are welcomed.
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