Reresby Sitwell


Sir Sacheverell Reresby Sitwell, 7th Baronet DL was the head of the Sitwell family, and owner of Renishaw Hall, Derbyshire.

Early life

Sacheverell was born on 15 April 1927. The elder son of Sir Sacheverell Sitwell, 6th Baronet, and the former Georgia Louise Doble. His only sibling was Francis Trajan Sacheverell Sitwell, member of the Council of the London Philharmonic Orchestra who lived at Weston Hall, Northamptonshire.
His paternal grandparents were Sir George Sitwell, 4th Baronet, of Renishaw Hall, and the former Lady Ida Emily Augusta Denison. He was the nephew of poet and critic Dame Edith Sitwell and Sir Osbert Sitwell, 5th Baronet. His maternal grandparents were Georgie Doble and Arthur Richard Doble, a wealthy Canadian banker. His maternal aunt was Frances Doble, an actress who had a short career on the West End stage in the 1920s and 1930s before her marriage to Sir Anthony Lindsay-Hogg, 2nd Baronet.
He was educated at Sandroyd School then Eton College and King's College, Cambridge, but left the latter of his own volition without a degree.

Career

Between 1946 and 1948, he was a Lieutenant in the Grenadier Guards after which he worked in advertising and as a public relations executive from 1948 and 1960. From 1960 to 1970, he owned a vending machine business as well as a wine business with Bruce Shand between 1960 and 1975.
During his lifetime, Sitwell wrote a new variation upon the Robin Hood tale, wrote the book Hortus Sitwellianus, and co-authored the book Mount Athos, with John Cooper, 2nd Viscount Norwich. He was known for his support of the arts and the upkeep of Renishaw Hall.
He served as High Sheriff of Derbyshire in 1983, and was Deputy Lieutenant of Derbyshire in 1984. Upon the death of his father in 1988, he succeeded as the 7th Baronet Sitwell, of Renishaw, Count of Derby.

Personal life

On 31 October 1952, Sitwell was married to Penelope Forbes, the daughter of Colonel Hon. Donald Alexander Forbes and Mary Doreen Lawson. Together, they were the parents of:
Sitwell died on 31 March 2009. He was succeeded in the baronetcy by his nephew, George Sitwell, the son of his brother Francis, who died in 2004, and his sister-in-law Susanna Cross. Due to Sir Reresby and his brother being "never in harmony", he bequeathed Renishaw Hall to his daughter, and only child, Alexandra.