The Great War affected rich and poor alike, as a series of special talks at Renishaw Hall will reveal this summer. Rosie Gilligan talks to Alexandra Sitwell as we approach the centenary of the outbreak of that terrible conflict.
RENISHAW HALL is usually closed to the public on a Monday, but Alexandra Sitwell is taking me on a tour. “This is a house that lends itself to parties,” she says as we enter the Big Dining Room. Today the sun shines in a clear blue sky and we have wonderful views of the fountain and the spring borders of the elegant Italianate garden, designed from 1895 onwards by Alexandra’s great-grandfather, Sir George Sitwell (4th Baronet)…