Renishaw Hall: The Story of the Sitwells

By Desmond Seward

This is the story of one of England’s most beautiful houses and of the family who have lived there for nearly four centuries.

Built by a Cavalier, enlarged by a Regency Buck who hunted and killed a tiger with his hounds, it has been the home of many colourful Sitwells.

Now triumphantly restored, Renishaw continues to flourish, attracting more visitors every year to the place that Rex Whistler called ‘the most exciting place I know’.

Renishaw Hall in Derbyshire has been the seat of the Sitwell family since 1625. Its remarkable story is only matched by that of the family who have dwelled there, and with whose fortunes it has risen and fallen, only to rise again.

In telling the tale of the Sitwells through the centuries, Desmond Seward also takes us on a tour through English history, to the house’s restoration at the end of the twentieth century, and the return to its former glory as a jewel of British heritage, winning the coveted Historic Houses’ Association Award for Garden of the Year in 2015.