his land passed to his brother William, but Houndhill and the rest of his wealth passed to his daughter Elizabeth who married John Copley. Houndhill subsequently passed into the ownership of Capt F.W.T.V.Wentworth. In 1932 Alfred O Elmhirst negotiated the re-purchase of Houndhill on behalf of his brother, the noted philanthropist Leonard Knight Elmhirst. Houndhill then underwent substantial restoration. In 1950 it was gifted by Leonard Elmhirst to A.O.Elmhirst who lived at Houndhill from 1932 until his death in 1995. Their brother was Air Marshal Sir Thomas Elmhirst, Commander-in-Chief Royal Indian Air Force and Lieutenant-Governor of Guernsey. Houndhill and its surrounding farmland suffered from severe coal mining subsidence for most of the 20th century although the family benefited from the mining royalties paid during the 19th century and the early part of the 20th century. In 1972 the character of the valley below Houndhill was changed when the M1 motorway was routed through it. The house and the surrounding land remain in the possession of the family which can now record continuous ownership of land in Worsbrough for more than 20 generations. Elmhirst family Details of the family appear in Burke's Landed Gentry although the pedigree in that book is incomplete as it does not show Richard Elmhirst (1738–1805) who was the third son of Thomas Elmhirst (1692–1769). Richard's son Philip (1781–1866) was a Midshipman on HMS Africa (1781) at the Battle of Trafalgar for which he was granted 2000 acres of land near Peterborough, Ontario, Canada. He was joined there by his brother Joseph, who had eight children. Some of that land is still owned by Elmhirsts who are very numerous in Canada. So far as is known, all living Elmhirsts are descended from Thomas Elmhirst (1649–1696) an Alderman and merchant of Boston, Lincolnshire, England. References External links Country houses in South Yorkshire Grade II* listed buildings in South Yorkshire Buildings and structures in Barnsley Tourist attractions in Barnsley