Renishaw Hall & Gardens, a stunning dog-friendly historic house in Derbyshire 

Address: Renishaw Hall, Renishaw Park, Derbyshire, S21 3WB.

Did you watch the TV show ‘Keeping Up With The Aristocrats’ on ITV last year? The programme gave exclusive access to lives and houses of aristocratic families in the UK. One of the series was about Renishaw Hall in Derbyshire and its owners, Alexandra Sitwell and her husband Rick. Alexandra inherited the property that has been in Sitwell’s family for about 400 years. 

How can we describe this place? This is an abundance of magnificent greenery, an abundance of colourful and fragrant plants and flowers, an abundance of intriguing stories, and an abundance of love and care! 

The original Renishaw Hall was built by George Sitwell in 1625, a wealthy ironmaster. The George’s descendants extended the original house by adding two large wings on each side of the building. New architectural constructions such as the Stable Courtyard (1795), the Gothic Temple (1803) and the Gothic Lodge (1807) appeared in the Renishaw landscape as well. Another milestone was the creation of Renishaw’s famous Italianate gardens, between 1886-1936. The gardens are absolutely stunning, with lots of roses, different plants, statues and sculptures. Every generation of the family has made significant improvements to the grounds complementing the Italianate theme. In 1988, the estate was opened to the public for the first time. 

Renishaw Hall is also famous for its award-winning wines that are produced from grapes grown on the family-owned vineyard.