Editing Wentworth Woodhouse (section)

==Coal mining on the estate==
[[File:Opencast coal mining in 1947 at Wentworth Woodhouse.png|thumb|upright=1.3|Opencast mining reaching the back of the house. From [[The Sphere (newspaper)|''The Sphere'']], 8 February 1947]]

In April 1946, on the orders of [[Manny Shinwell]] (the then [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party]]'s [[Minister of Fuel and Power]]), a "column of lorries and heavy plant machinery" arrived at Wentworth. The objective was the mining of a large part of the estate close to the house for coal. This was an area where the prolific [[Barnsley seam]] was within {{convert|100|ft|m}} of the surface and the area in front of the Baroque West wing of the house became the largest [[Open-cast mine|open-cast mining site]] in Britain at that time: 132,000 tons of coal were removed solely from the gardens.<ref>Hyams 1971:149.</ref> Ostensibly the coal was desperately needed in Britain's austere post-war economy to fuel the railways, but the decision has been widely seen as useful cover for an act of [[class conflict|class-war]] spite against the coal-owning aristocracy. A survey by [[Sheffield University]], commissioned by [[Peter Wentworth-Fitzwilliam, 8th Earl Fitzwilliam|the 8th Earl Fitzwilliam]], found the coal to be "very poor stuff" and "not worth the getting"; this contrasted with Shinwell's assertion that it was "exceptionally good-quality."<ref name="The Sunday Times Magazine">''The Sunday Times Magazine'', 11 February 2007 p.&nbsp;23</ref>

Shinwell, seemingly intent on the destruction of "the privileged rich", decreed that the mining would continue right up to Wentworth Woodhouse. What followed saw the mining of {{convert|99|acre|ha}} of lawns and woods, the renowned formal gardens and the show-piece pink shale driveway (a by-product of the family's collieries). Ancient trees were uprooted and the debris of earth and rubble was piled {{convert|50|ft|m|abbr=on}} high in front of the family's living quarters.<ref name="The Sunday Times Magazine"/>

Local opinion supported the earl. [[Joe Hall (trade unionist)|Joe Hall]], President of the [[Yorkshire Area of the National Union of Mineworkers]], said that the "miners in this area will go to almost any length rather than see Wentworth Woodhouse destroyed. To many mining communities it is sacred ground". In an industry known for harsh treatment of workers, the Fitzwilliams were respected employers known for treating their employees well. The Yorkshire branch later threatened a strike over the Labour government's plans for Wentworth, and Joe Hall wrote personally to [[Clement Attlee]] in a futile attempt to stop the mining.<ref name="The Sunday Times Magazine"/> This spontaneous local activism, founded on the genuine popularity of the Fitzwilliam family among locals, was dismissed in Whitehall as "intrigue" sponsored by the earl.<ref>Catherine Bailey, ''Black Diamonds: The Rise and Fall of an English Dynasty'', (London: Penguin) 2007:393. {{ISBN|0-670-91542-4}}</ref>

The open-cast mining moved into the fields to the west of the house and continued into the early 1950s. The mined areas took many years to return to a natural state; much of the woodland and the formal gardens were not replaced. The current owners of the property allege that mining operations near the house caused substantial structural damage to the building due to subsidence,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/art/architecture/9106722/Stately-home-owners-claim-100-million-as-house-sinks-into-ground.html |title=Stately home owners claim £100 million as house sinks into ground |work=The Telegraph |date=26 February 2012 |access-date=3 March 2013}}</ref> and lodged a claim in 2012 of £100&nbsp;million for remedial works against the [[Coal Authority]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.insuranceclaims.co.uk/news/100m-claim-for-owners-of-wentworth-woodhouse-stately-home/ |title=£100m Claim for Owners of Wentworth Woodhouse Stately Home |publisher=Salmon Assessors Ltd |date=23 March 2012 |access-date=3 March 2013}}</ref> The claim was heard by the Lands Chamber of the [[Upper Tribunal]] in April 2016. In its decision dated 4 October 2016 the tribunal found that the damage claimed for was not caused by mining subsidence.<ref>[[Upper Tribunal#Lands Chamber|Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber)]] [2016], decision ref. 0432 (LC)</ref>

Two sets of [[death duties]] in the 1940s, and the nationalisation of the Fitzwilliam coal mines, greatly reduced the wealth of the family, and most of the contents of the house were dispersed in [[English country house contents auctions|auction sales]] in 1948, 1986, and 1998. In the Christies sale of 1948, ''Rinaldo conquered by Love for Armida'' by [[Anthony van Dyck]] raised 4,600&nbsp;Guineas<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Vandyck fetches 4,600 Guineas Services|url=http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000320/19480611/018/0001 |newspaper=Gloucestershire Echo |date=11 June 1948 |access-date=1 June 2015 }}</ref> (equivalent to £{{formatnum:{{Inflation|UK|4830|1948|{{Inflation-year|UK}}|r=0}}}} in {{Inflation-year|UK}}).{{Inflation-fn|UK|df=y}} Many items still remain in the family, with many works lent to museums by the "Trustees of the Fitzwilliam Estates".