Waddesdon Manor: fine Rothschild art

Waddesdon was a typical village in Aylesbury Bucking­ham­shire. The medieval church in its centre reminds the town of its history that dates back to the times before the Norman conquest in 1066.

royal silver service commissioned by George III, 1770s

Made in France by goldsmith Robert-Joseph Auguste, 72 diners.

Waddesdon Manor

Ferdinand de Roth­schild (1839–1898) linked the English and Austrian branches of the famous European banking dyn­as­ty. Ferd­inand’s fat­h­er­, Viennese Baron Anselm de Rothschild, took over the Vien­nese bank in 1849. His mother Charlotte was the daughter of Nathan who est­ab­lished the NM Rothschild and Sons bank in London.

  
Born in Paris and raised in Frankfurt and Vienna, Ferdinand made England home in 1859. In 1865 he married his cousin Evelina de Roth­schild. Ferdinand bought a bare hilltop from the Duke of Marl­borough in 1874, and hired flamboyant French arch­it­­ect Gabriel-Hippolyte Destailleur to build him a chateau he’d seen in Touraine.

Ferdinand had Waddesdon Manor built between 1874-89. The manor’s spires, turrets and towers drew ins­pir­ation from the great Loire Valley chateaux of the Valois kings, with features from Chambord, and Blois. Did these features suit the English country­side? Yes, it was fit­ting that Ferdinand should bring a little piece of France to the Home Counties. But Waddesdon was huge. Did Ferdinand think that Uncle Lionel was going to leave all his art treasures to Evelina’s estate, even though Eveline died in childbirth in 1866? Probably not; anyhow Lionel’s had 4 other perf­ectly suitable heirs. Did Ferd­inand think he was going to amass a huge collection himself? Yes!

But even for Ferdinand, Destailleur’s vision was too grandiose. Over the Frenchman’s objections, new plans were drawn up. In the meantime, a railway was constructed to bring in building materials, the grounds were landscaped and mature trees were planted.

By summer 1877, week­end house parties enabled Ferdinand to showcase his coll­ect­ion of C18th French furniture, Sevres porcelain, Beauvais tapestries and English portraiture. Louis XV panelling from the Maréchal-Duc de Richelieu house was brought from Paris.

The Bach­elors’ Wing was completed in 1880, Ferdinand had small house parties for close male friends. Above the kitchens, the wing contained 10 bedrooms for single male guests and 15 extra bedrooms for the male staff. Its bil­liard room contains intricately carved, dark wood panelling from another French chateau. The smoking room displayed his C16th works of art, in locked cabinets.

In 1883, the house was complete. The Dining Room was a fine room, apparently inspired by Louis XIV’s state rooms at Vers­ailles. Note the marble walls, gold Beauvais tapestries by François Bouch­er, two giant chandeliers, French rococo mirror frames by Nicolas Pineau from the Paris house of the duc de Villars. After dinner, the men remained in the room and drank port. The wom­en retired to the Grey Drawing Room to listen to music, play cards and admire the three tall Sir Joshua Reynolds por­traits.

  

Dining room

marble walls, gold Beauvais tapestries, chandeliers

In 1889, Ferdinand acknowledged his architect’s original advice was correct and the house was extended. Guests in the Morning Room read newspapers and wrote let­ters, seated at one of two desks which had once stood in Louis XVI’s study at Versailles, surrounded by Dutch Old Masters. If Fer­dinand needed privacy, he disap­peared into the Small Library, immersing himself in his books on politics, his­t­ory and literature. His small writing table was originally made for Marie Antoinette.

Because of the many properties owned by the family in the Aylesbury Vale, Ferdinand had ample time to pursue his real pass­ions. With little interest in banking, he devoted himself instead to a] pol­it­ics, b] art collecting and c] philanthropy. Ferdinand settled into the community, representing Aylesbury as Liberal MP from 1885 on, and serving as JP and Sheriff of Buck­ing­hamshire. In the Jewish community, Ferdinand served as Treasurer of the Board of Guardians from 1868-1875, was Warden of the Central Synagogue and founded the Technical Scholarship at Stepney Jewish Schools. And he established and supported the Evelina Hospital for Sick Children in London.

From late 19th on, Waddesdon had very special visit­ors. Its weekend house parties entertained royals, Parliamentarians and the cream of aristocratic society. Ferdinand often entertained both the Prince of Wales and Prime Minister William Gladstone. In 1890, Queen Victoria visited Waddesdon, leaving Ferdinand a bust of herself.

The new Rothschild Treasury, housed in the old servants’ quart­ers, was a contemporary version of a Schatzkammer-C16th treas­ure room. 300 objects were lent by the family eg a silver gilt baby set of a beaker and cutlery bearing the monogram FR. A gold brace­let with Victoria’s portrait en­crust­ed with dia­monds was a royal gift to Ferdinand’s sister Alice (1847-1922). A mahogany chest contained an ancient coll­ection of gold and silver Greek and Roman coins.

A pearl tiara was a wedding gift to a new Rothschild bride from her future father-in-law. Some of its emeralds formerly belonged to Empress Eugenie of France. An extrav­agant silver/enamel Renaissance revival commemor­at­ion vase was given to Ferd­inand’s great-uncle by the Frankfurt branch of the Rothschild bank.

The family also had a passion for sponsoring archaeological ex­cavations eg see ancient jewellery and glass from the Middle East and a C2nd gold engagement ring. A fascination with tech­nical ingenuity caused Ferdinand to collect 2 astronomical clocks; the C18th clock had been acquired by Ferdinand’s father, Anselm.

Ferdinand’s sister Alice von Rothschild purchased her Piccadilly house in 1866 after the death of her sister-in-law Ev­e­lina, so that she could be close to her widowed brother. And she purchased the neighbouring estate to Waddesdon, where she built a small house. Alice inherited Waddesdon from Ferdinand after he died in 1898.

 Reynolds and Gainsborough paintings

Dutch landscapes, Morning room

The Waddesdon Collection

The house is no longer owned by the Rothschilds since it was bequeathed to the National Trust in 1957. Now they are in­viting visitors to see architecture, fine arts, decorative arts and collectables. I recommend reading Mr M of Telford. 

Waddesdon Manor, from the parterre

Mr M of Telford