The early landscape history of this central part of the Wentworth Woodhouse estate is thinly recorded in historical sources. The estate was acquired by 'William de Wyntword' by his marriage to Emma Wodehous in the 13th century (English Heritage RPG). The element 'Woodhouse' appears in many two part place names and is thought to relate to "the house in the wood" (Smith 1961, 121). It is difficult to trace earlier landscapes in the heavily ornamented landscape that now makes up the park area and it is possible that the area was heavily wooded until its clearance by the Wentworth family. A medieval hall is thought to have been replaced in 1630 by the first Earl of Strafford. The present house is in fact two 18th century houses built back to back and extended in subsequent decades. The grounds, which feature 18th century monuments, ornamental woodlands, a mausoleum, lakes, cascades and pyramids was already landscaped by the mid 18th century and reworked by Humphrey Repton c1790 (ibid). The park is now partly managed by Rotherham MBC as a public recreational area, and partly in private hands. The former estate also includes land managed for arable farming, a garden centre and a family farm. Some parts of the park have also been subject to mid 20th century open cast mining and reinstatement. Disparate management regimes reduce the overall coherence of this historic landscape. Fragmentary legibility of earlier phases of park.