A popular tour when visiting the south of England is to
Waddesdon Manor near Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire. Baron
Ferdinand de Rothschild created Waddesdon Manor in 1874. His
love of France and French art is instantly obvious by the
startling sight, confronted by first time visitors to Waddesdon,
of an extravagantly turreted chateau in the French Renaissance
style sitting on a hilltop in rural Buckinghamshire. However it
is not only the exterior of Waddesdon Manor that is stunning.
The Rothschilds were the greatest collectors of the 19th century
and inside the house you can see one of the finest collections
of French 18th century decorative arts in the world.
Going round the house you get a glimpse of a way of life most of
us can only dream of. Waddesdon was always intended as a venue
to entertain and give pleasure to friends during ‘Saturday to
Monday’ parties. Highlights of which would be tours of the house
and the garden both of which reflect the personality of the
Baron and his penchant for gimmicks and novelties. The number of
rooms open to the public is one of the best things about
visiting this house. Unlike some stately homes where you can
only visit 3 or 4 rooms, at Waddesdon you can really let the
imagination run riot and entertain thoughts of how it would be
to be a guest of Baron Ferdinand as large parts of the house are
open to view The only disappointment, to my mind, is that there
are no kitchens open as I always find the kitchens a fascinating
part of the history of a house.
You really do need a full day to visit Waddesdon Manor because
as well as the house, which takes a good two hours plus to do
justice there are many features to view outdoors. When Baron
Rothschild arrived at Waddesdon the site was totally bare, in
his own words, “There was not a bush to be seen, nor was there a
bird to be heard” This is hard to believe now as six years later
it had been completely transformed. Although a French Landscape
architect, Elie Laine, helped him in the layout of the hard
landscaping many of the planting schemes were designed by
Ferdinand. This results in an intriguing mixture of French
formality and English romantic parkland. On arriving at
Waddesdon, as you walk up the hill toward the Manor, carefully
sited gaps in the planting reveal glimpses of the lovely
Buckinghamshire countryside. Even in the garden Ferdinand’s love
of object d’art is reflected in his collection of sculptures,
which are placed throughout the garden. Ferdinand built the cast
iron Aviary before 1889 to house his collection of exotic birds,
from all over the world, including ibises, flamingos and African
cranes. This Aviary was restored in 2003 and now houses a
breeding pair of Rothschild Mynahs, a species that became
extinct in the wild as recently as 2004.
No visit to Waddesdon would be complete with a visit to the
Stables restaurant, which boasts a menu, which is not vast but
includes a regularly changing selection of well-cooked meals.
As well as all this, Waddesdon also host special monthly events
such as a Fine Food and Wine fare in May where 25 producers from
across the country sell the highest quality food, wines and
spirits in the Old Coach House at the Stables. There are regular
wine tasting days where Waddesdon’s own Master of Wine uses 6
wines to introduce guests to the pleasure of wine tasting. For
those hardy enough to get up for a 6.30 a.m. start there are
regular early morning wildlife walks where you can enjoy a
peaceful walk through the grounds looking for Waddesdon Wildlife
before returning to the Manor Restaurant for breakfast.
Waddesdon Manor is a gem and well worth a visit if touring the
area around Buckinghamshire.
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