Waddesdon Manor is perhaps the most well-known of all the great Rothschild houses in England. In 1874 Ferdinand de Rothschild (1839-1898) bought a tract of land in the Vale of Aylesbury. Inspired by the châteaux of the Valois, Ferdinand employed Gab…
Waddesdon Manor is perhaps the most well-known of all the great Rothschild houses in England. In 1874 Ferdinand de Rothschild (1839-1898) bought a tract of land in the Vale of Aylesbury. Inspired by the châteaux of the Valois, Ferdinand employed Gabriel-Hippolyte Destailleur to build him his own French-style country house. The grounds were landscaped to create parkland and gardens with plenty trees and shrubs. The house was opened in 1883.
In a family of collectors of distinction, Ferdinand was pre-eminent, and Waddesdon Manor was a showcase for Ferdinand's collections of fabulous art and objects. The Waddesdon Bequest Room at the British Museum was established to accommodate the enormous collection he left the institution in his will.
After Ferdinand’s death in 1898, the estate passed to his sister Miss Alice de Rothschild (1847-1922). Miss Alice was closely involved with the designs of Waddesdon, and she is best remembered for her stringent housekeeping regime, known as 'Miss Alice's rules' and her almost fanatic love of the gardens. Miss Alice left the estate to her great-nephew, James de Rothschild (1878-1957), who bequeathed the house to the National Trust in 1957. James’ wife, Dorothy (1895-1988), made Jacob, 4th Lord Rothschild her heir in 1988.
Archive sources: records of the Waddesdon estate in the collections of The Rothschild Archive London
The Rothschild Archive has few records relating to Waddesdon. Some records concerning Rothschild estates were retained in the files of the London bank at New Court. Within the Accounts Current series, there are many accounts concerned with estate management, including in the NMR Current Accounts series I/2 an Estate Building Account for Waddesdon. The Rothschild Archive London holds a small amount of Ferdinand's private correspondence to other members of the Rothschild family; see the list of papers of individual family members. A reproduction photograph of Waddesdon, from the collections of the National Monuments Record will be found in 000/529, a collection of research papers of Miriam Rothschild concerning her book Rothschild Gardens.
The Waddesdon 'Red Book'
The Rothschild Archive holds a copy of a large album, bound in red leather, with the cover embossed with ‘Waddesdon’, known as the ‘Waddesdon Red Book’ (The Exbury Collection 000/880/21/1). This volume was created by Ferdinand de Rothschild in 1897. It contains large black and white plates of the exterior and interior of Waddesdon Manor and is prefaced by an essay by Ferdinand. From the dedication it seems likely that Ferdinand had the album printed as presents for his friends and family - “I dedicate this album to my Friends, who have taken a sympathetic interest in the growth and development of Waddesdon, and trust it may be acceptable to…
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https://guide-to-the-archive.rothschildarchive.org/rothschild-family-collection/depts/estates/gunnersbury-park-estate-middlesex
