Those who book tours of the house will be able to see some of the spectacular collection of art and historical artefacts that has been put together by generations of Sitwells. It is quite literally a treasure trove, of inestimable value to students and art lovers alike.
There is a splendid drawing room at Renishaw, which the family still use for large parties. It holds much Italian furniture, valuable Brussels tapestries, and the Sargent 1900-01 conversation piece of the family (see below), hanging above a Chippendale commode - examples of the furniture maker and the painter at the height of their powers.
There are Brussels tapestries and many paintings, including a portrait of the present Lady Sitwell, a great beauty of her day, by Molly Bishop. From this room, you pass through an antechamber, designed by Lutyens in 1914, into the ballroom added in 1808.
Joseph Badger, a local Sheffield architect, designed it (and also the dining room where weddings are solemnised today), and it was added for a ball given in honour of the Prince of Wales and his daughter Princess Charlotte. His emblem, the three feathers, is on the ceiling among other decoration. Lady Sitwell's favourite painting in the house is the Salvator Rosa of Belisarius in Disgrace which hangs on the wall facing you as you enter. She is not alone in admiring it. Thomas Jefferson liked it too. The room has some of Sir George's collection of Italian furniture. Two Doges' chairs are on either side of the Belisarius, so large that only a sitting giant's feet would touch the ground.
For a more detailed account of the treasures and works of art at Renishaw Hall please refer to Renishaw Hall and the Sitwells by Sir Reresby Sitwell, available in the shop at Renishaw.
Sir Osbert remembered seeing Robin Hood’s Bow hanging in the neighbouring country house of Barlborough Hall and a mysterious letter by Mr Benjamin Bartlett saying that he had been given the bow by the family at Kirklees Hall.
This had been a nunnery to which Robin Hood had fled for safety. He was taken ill and ordered to be bled into a porringer by the Lady Prioress, his cousin.
This lady had a lover, Sir Roger of Doncaster, known as Red Roger. Why they should conspire to murder an old man is a mystery, but according to Mr Bartlett’s letter a hole was cut in the bottom of the porringer so that he bled to death.
As he was dying he grasped his bow and an arrow and told his companion Little John that where the arrow landed he wished to be buried. This is a terrific tale, but nobody could manage to send an arrow the 600 yards up hill through the window of the gatehouse!
This was the only part of the building that has survived to this day.
The bow and accompanying letter was bought by the Principal of the Polytechnic at Worksop who sold it in 1949 to Sir Osbert at a sale which he attended.
Sir George commissioned a portrait of his family from the popular society painter, John Singer Sargent. Sir George pointed out the large and bent nose of his daughter, whom he disliked, and urged Sargent on no account to flatter her. Sargent, a kind gentleman, ignored him. He painted Edith's nose straight and gave her father a decidedly crooked one.