Black Diamonds Ball VIPs leave with an illuminating piece of Wentworth Woodhouse!

TV presenter and comedian Clive Anderson and his wife, leading HIV and AIDs specialist Jane, went home with a piece of Wentworth Woodhouse after attending the Rotherham stately home’s Black Diamonds Ball on Saturday

In the night’s silent auction, the couple fell for the charms of a table lamp hand-made by one of the volunteers and placed the winning bid of £500.

The lamp was fashioned from old sink fittings stripped out of bedrooms in the mansion’s Bedlam – a wing which earned its nickname because its rooms were reserved for boisterous bachelor guests and staff.

Kimberworth pensioner David Johnson, known at the house as ‘Brasso Dave’ for his metalworking skills, said: “I’m as proud as Punch! I’ve made 14 lamps by recycling old – brass and chrome sink traps from Bedlam rooms we are restoring. We’ve already sold seven. I’d like to think Clive and Jane will think of us, every time it’s used.

“I’m now looking at what else I can make from the bits and pieces I salvage at the house.”

The Grade I listed mansion has been owned by the Wentworth Woodhouse Preservation Trust since 2017 and a 25-year restoration and regeneration is underway.

Its annual Black Diamonds Ball began in 2019. Named after the title of author Catherine Bailey’s book charting the story of the house, the ball was launched by Dame Julie Kenny, who played a key role in the purchase of the house in 2017 and was the dedicated and driven Chair of Trustees.

It became a major fundraiser and after Dame Julie’s unexpected death in February this year, the Trust staged this year’s ball in her honour.

Guests included VIPs from the world of arts and entertainment, Yorkshire dignitaries and business leaders, her family and many of the friends she made during her public and business life and £30,000 was raised.