suze2000

On Wednesday, we went on a coach trip to visit Waddesdon Manor in Aylesbury, near Oxford, which was built by Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild (1839-1898) between 1874 and 1885 in the French Renaissance style.  The area was known as Rothchildshire because the family already owned so many properties there, and this house was specifically designed to showcase the antiques and collectables that Ferdinand showed to his guests during lavish summer house parties. Weekend parties would start on Saturday and end on Monday when Ferdinand returned to London and included royalty amongst the guests.

Owned by the Rothschild family up until 1957, the manor was bequeathed to the National Trust. Currently, Dame Hannah Rothschild (British filmmaker, author, and philanthropist) is the chair of the Rothschild Foundation, managing and caring for Waddesdon.

It's a very impressive place, and Wednesday had particularly dramatic skies to show it off:


Every room was decorated with French architectural features and filled with art collections. There was a LOT to see, including furniture, panelling, plaster work, chandeliers, jewellery, paintings, sculptures and more - and so there are quite a few photos of my favourites under this cut...
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It was a fascinating place, and we spent nearly three hours wandering around and didn't even get time to see the gardens. We shall definitely visit another day. If you want to explore more about the house and the story of the Rothschilds, there is a lot of information on the Waddeston Manor website here.  If you want to see more of the collections, click here.