Sir George Sitwell was an antiquarian, author and landowner. He was a Conservative Member of Parliament for Scarborough seven times between the years 1885-6 and 1892-5. He also collected antiquities and took a great interest in Italianate gardens, an example of which he built at Renishaw Hall. In 1909 he moved to the Castello di Montegufoni in Italy where he restored the buildings to their original designs. He died in Locarno, Switzerland in 1943.