France Comes To England at Waddesdon Manor

Although by no means the oldest of the majestic country houses in Britain, you would have to go a long way to beat the “wow” factor of Waddesdon Manor in the Buckinghamshire village of the same name.

Taking on the Neo-Renaissance style of a French chateau, Waddesdon Manor was commissioned by Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild and was constructed between the years 1874 and 1889.

With a French architect, Destailleur, and a design based on the chateaux at Chambord and Maintenon, Baron Ferdinand appears to have achieved exactly the design that he wanted. The steel frame was revolutionary at the time, and the specification included features that were very much ahead of their time, including an electric bell system for the servants, central heating, and hot and cold running water in the bathrooms.

Already the owner of exception eighteenth century ceramics, furniture and tapestries, as well as Dutch and English paintings, the Baron installed his marvellous collection on completion of the building.

Set in an elevated position overlooking the village, the Manor also has an English landscape park and formal gardens and once again contains a striking French influence produced by the landscape architect Laine.

There is a lovely story concerning Queen Victoria, who having invited herself in order to view the exceptional gardens, was equally impressed with the electrical system that had been installed, and spent a full ten minutes turning a newly installed chandelier on and off.

There was sadness in Baron Ferdinand's life, as his wife Evelina died giving birth to their still born son in 1866. He built, equipped and endowed the Evelina Hospital For Sick Children in Southwark in her name.

When he died childless at the Manor at the early age of 59 in 1898, his collection was bequeathed to the British Museum, and the Manor to his unmarried younger sister, Alice, and thence to their nephew James, who bequeathed it to the National Trust on his death in 1957. At the time, the Trust also received what is, to this day, their largest ever endowment, equivalent to about £13 million in today's money.

Nowadays, the property is one of the jewels in the crown of the National Trust and has often attracted around 400,000 visitors per year. In 2003, there was a burglary and over 100 French snuff boxes and trifles were stolen, none of which have ever been recovered intact.