m39a2 wrote "If the safety is either all the way down to the right (Fire) or straight up (safe but bolt can be moved) and not down all the way on the left side (Safe with bolt locked) the bolt should be able to be moved."
He's on the right path but he's got it backwards.
If the safety is all the way down on the "LEFT" the bolt will not lift.
If the safety is all the way down on the "RIGHT" or in the "UP" position the bolt will lift.
At least, this is how my Mauser 98s work when they have the milspec safety you indicate your firearm has.
Those old Whitworth receivers were surplus military, cleaned up, scrubbed of all stampings, well refinished, and assembled into rifles utilizing as many milsurp parts as possible to keep the price of manufacture down.
They were chambered in most of the "popular" cartridges of the period and mostly aimed at the American, Australian, and African markets.
Don't be surprised if that rifle shoots very well.
Whitworth had a lot of good people working for them when those rifles were put together. I've never seen one that hasn't shot well, when fed ammunition it likes and the operator is capable.
I just finished converting one of their rifles, built on a commercial Husqvarna 98 action, and chambered for the 7x57.
I put it into a Hogue over-molded stock, with an aluminum bedding block, recut the chamber for the 280Rem, and added a Timney trigger.
I will be taking it to the range next week and hopefully, it shoots as well as it did before I recut the chamber.
Those Whitworth rifles were real gems for the price they were offered for back in the day. Time hasn't made them any worse unless they've been ridden hard and put away wet.
When they show up today, they usually fetch appx $500 even in excellent condition, in after-market stocks.
When they're in the condition you describe, they often shoot just as well as ever but aren't "pretty."
I love it when I find one like that, it takes a bit of TLC to get it presentable again, but I wouldn't pay more than a couple of hundred for one in such condition.
Still, if you're using it on the boat or in very rough conditions it will serve your needs.