Their friendship was also entwined in family alliances. Rendel confessed, ‘I do not know how Mr and Mrs Gladstone came to be so often my guests. I think it was because Mrs Gladstone desired to promote the friendly relations of her children and mine’. It seems that Mrs Gladstone’s maternal motives were a success, as Rendel’s daughter Maud eventually married Gladstone’s son Herbert.
Lord Rendel at Hatchlands
During his ownership of Hatchlands Lord Rendel made big changes. He constructed a new entrance on the east side, converting what had originally been Admiral Boscawen’s bedroom and dressing room into a dining room and entrance hall. In 1900 he asked influential garden designer Gertrude Jekyll to submit designs for a formal garden that is still here today. Then, in 1902, he commissioned Sir Reginald Blomfield to design a music room.
The family tree branches out