Waddesdon Manor – A Delightful French Château in Buckinghamshire

Waddesdon Manor Estate was merely farm land in 1874 when the land was purchased by Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild (1839-1898). De Rothschild was born in Paris of a French mother and English father. His mother died when he was just 19 and in 1860 he moved to England to be close to his mother’s relatives.

Grand entrance to the Waddesdon Manor

A plaque at Waddesdon Estate indicates he was inspired by the châteaux of the Loire but on the Rothschild archival website the information varies. There it notes that he was inspired by the châteaux of the Valois. The Valois was an area in the Oise river valley in the Picardy region which is to the north of Paris – the Loire is central France.

Rothschild contracted the French architect Gabriel-Hippolyte Destailleur to build his manor house. Completed in 1880, the first wing had the modern conveniences of running water, central heating and electricity. De Rothschild wanted external staircases and turrets such as those he had seen in châteaux in the Touraine. The map here gives a nice visual of specific areas of the Loire Valley. Various parts of the facade remind me of different châteaux we have visited.

Return to the first image and look at the length of the house. The plans Destailleur submitted for Waddesdon manor were twice that length. When we toured the house, we walked a specific route…..almost like following a path. It took over 2 ½ hours of steady walking to go through the part that was on view to the public! The line of solid people moved steadily along.

Waddesdon Manor ‘s Collection of Art and Objets d’Art

As this house is the best-known of the Rothschild houses in England, it has become the home of his art and objets d’art. There are more than 15,000 pieces in the collection. This even includes architectural elements of the rooms and exterior. During construction, they relocated interior pieces of 18^th century Parisian townhouses to Waddesdon manor for decorations. Here is just a glimpse of the exterior architecture.

What a grand entrance!

A closer look at the upper level of the entrance.

The details of the architectural sculptures are fascinating. This turret is to the left of the main portal.

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Zooming in for a closer: just look at those faces and their expressions!

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Interior Art and Objets d’Art

Moving to the inside, I’ll give you a peek at some of the art and objets d’art that represent the Rothschild collection. There are several dining rooms ranging in size and level of elaborateness. Here, in the formal dining room, the rococo mirror frames represent part of the objets d’art collection.

Formal dining room

This dining room was much smaller and less ornate but it still possesses the detailed features.

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This drop-front lacquer secretaire, cabinet and clock is circa 1770. The artist/maker was Rene Dubois. At the top is an eagle holding symbols that are emblematic of peace and war. Two female figures sit to the left and right of the clock . Four other figures grace the corners just below that level. You can read an extremely detailed description on the Waddesdon Archives .

Fall-front lacquer desk

The collection of 18^th century Vincennes and Sèvres pottery collected here makes Waddesdon manor internationally renowned.

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These pieces (above and below) comprise part of the Sèvres porcelain Razumovsky service

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Needless to say, there is an absolute wealth of French 18^th century furnishings here!

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We saw Gobelins tapestries as well as tapestries and seat covers from makers in Brussels and Beauvais.

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Waddesdon Manor Estate and Gardens

It was fun to watch all the families spread out in various areas of the gardens with their picnic lunches. The green spaces are open and welcoming. I’m quite sure we didn’t begin to walk all the paths. That would entail a whole day itself. We just touched on the high points!

Beginning our walk at the back of the manor, we thought it more lovely than the front of the manor. The flowers and the fountain were beautiful.

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Walking down beyond the fountain (which reminded me of a smaller version of the fountain in the Jardin des Grands Explorateurs in Paris), we had the amazing view below. This is my favorite photo from the whole trip!

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The aviary houses exotic and rare birds and the gardens here were a lovely place to sit and just enjoy the view and the sun while listening to the birds.