Renishaw Hall & Gardens (Renishaw Hall and Gardens)

Name: micksheff

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Product:	Renishaw Hall and Gardens
Date:	25/11/07 (105 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Lovely gardens

Disadvantages: Admission charges for house and car parking fees

I am very fortunate living where I do in the south west suburbs of Sheffield. I have easy to the Peak District National Park, but I also have some other interesting attractions on my doorstep. One such place is Renishaw Hall, which is actually within walking distance of where I live, albeit quite a long walk, but this is a place that I pass by frequently on one of my regular round walks.

Renishaw Hall is the family home of the Sitwell family, and has been for almost 400 years. The Sitwell family are one of the most well known families within this region and historically have always been large landowners. In fact they are second only the Duke of Devonshire (of Chatsworth House) in relation to the amount of land they own in this area.

Renishaw Hall stands within a 300-acre park. This park has been landscaped and there are several areas of mature woodland as well as lakes and ponds. Within this park there is an area of garden that covers eight acres, which has been set aside as an Italian Garden, and this is widely considered to be the most important examples of this type of garden in Britain.

The house itself is not visible from any of the roads that run along the boundary of the estate and so the first views of the house as you approach it from the private road into the estate is somewhat a surprise. I wouldn't describe Renishaw Hall as a magnificent English Country house in the same league that I would put Chatsworth House, but it is still impressive nonetheless.

The house is open to visitors but since it is still lived in there are large areas of the building that are out of bounds to the general public. There is an admission charge to tour the house so being the stingy sort of person that I am I have only been inside the house once. This was however both an enjoyable and memorable experience.

A large area of the house that is open to the public as been transformed into the Sitwell's own sort of personal museum. Here there are vast collections of artefacts that have been accumulated by the various generations of the family. These items include pottery and silverware from all around the World as well as some more curious items. These smaller items are displayed inside glass display cabinets with information cards inside them telling the visitor a little bit about the item.

There are several other areas of the house can be visited by the public including the drawing room. This large room has some examples of important pieces of furniture, including a Chippendale commode. On the walls here there are some fine paintings including a family portrait from John Singer Sargent, which is now widely considered to be a masterpiece from the turn of the 20th century. This drawing room is still occasionally used today by the Sitwell's to entertain their guests. There is also a large portrait of the current Lady Sitwell here too.

The dining room is another of the large rooms of the house and this is now often used for civil wedding ceremonies. Since the changes in Britain marriage laws Renishaw Hall has proved to be a very popular venue for couples to tie the knot as well as to host their evening party in the ballroom. The ballroom dates from 1808 and was added onto the house to host a ball for Princes Charlotte, the daughter of the then Prince of Wales who later became George 1V. The emblem of the Prince of Wale's three feathers is a prominent feature on the ceiling of this room. This room is also home to Lady Sitwell's favourite painting in the house "the Salvator Rosa of Belisarius in Disgrace".

One of the more curious objects at Renishaw Hall that I recall is "Robin Hood's Bow". This object was acquired from nearby Barlborough Hall where it was kept in a drawer with a letter saying that this bow had been given to the owner of Barlborough Hall from Kirklees Hall. During the days of the legendary Robin Hood, Kirklees Hall was a nunnery and it is said that Robin fled here to the safety of his cousin, the lady Prioress. Whilst it is impossible to know if this bow really did ever belong to Robin Hood it is a wonderful story.

As I mentioned I have only been inside the house once but I am quite familiar with the grounds to Renishaw Hall. There is a car park here which costs £1 to park a vehicle but if you are on foot there is no charge to enter the grounds. Close to the car park there is a cafe and toilets which are equipped for disabled access

The grounds are a very tranquil place since for some reason very few visitors seem to bother to take the time to explore them. There are several small fishing ponds and there is also a small chapel, which stands at the entrance to the Sitwell family's burial ground. There are several areas of the grounds that are private but the majority of the area is accessible. It does seem that the ground keepers of the estate have a sense of humour and there are several witty signs that mark off these private areas. One of these reads "The area beyond here is private. Please do not trespass as it will annoy Mr Sitwell's snakes!"

The house and its gardens are open from the end of March until the end of September.
The opening hours are Thursday through to Sunday (plus Bank Holidays) from 10.30am until 4.30pm.

Admission charges are:
Adults £5 (7.5 Euros)
Concessions £4.20 (6.5 Euros)
Children under 10 - Free

Summary: Renishaw Hall lies on the outskirts of Sheffield and is the family home of the Sitwells