Waddesdon in bloom

The last time I wrote about Waddesdon Manor

http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2007/11/waddesdon-manor-buckinghamshire.html

the wonderful Victorian gardens were wrapped in their winter coat of repentance. This is not entirely an allegorical flight for the statues and garden ornaments are wrapped to protect them from the frost and the house is closed up for maintenance, conservation and a deep clean. The Parterre which is the last original parterre in England is dug out and in spring roundly 58,000 thousand fresh plants are planted according to a computer template in a design which like the labels of the Rothschild’s Chateau Mouton changes each year. So I thought it would be an idea to catch these lovingly tended gardens and plants in the Plant Centre when they are in their full summer glory.



Waddesdon Manor was built (1874-89) by Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild to entertain his guests and display his vast collection of 18th-century French decorative arts. The furniture, Savonnerie carpets and Sèvres porcelain rank in importance with those in the Louvre in Paris and the Royal and Wallace Collections in London. There is also a fine collection of portraits by Gainsborough and Reynolds, and works by Dutch and Flemish Masters of the 17th century.





The Victorian gardens are considered one of the finest in Britain and famous for the parterre, seasonal displays, shady walks and views, fountains and statuary. At its heart lies the aviary, stocked with species that were once part of Baron Ferdinand's collection. The Wine Cellars, modelled on the private cellars at Château Lafite-Rothschild, contain thousands of bottles of Rothschild wines dating back to 1868. It was one of 7 Rothschild mansions surrounding the Vale of Aylesbury, the others being Ascott House (Home of Sir Evelyn de Rothschild), Mentmore Towers (Former home of Lord Roseberry who married into the Rothschild’s and was Prime Minister), Halton House, Aston Clinton House, Tring Manor (Now home to the Walter Rothschild Collection of the Natural History Museum) and Eythrope House which borders Waddesdon and where Jacob (Lord) Rothschild lives.

http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2009/01/dead-zoo-at-tring.html





Looking at this magnificent French-style chateau standing in acres of lush parkland, it is almost inconceivable to visualise the 18th century Rothschild’s living in a Jewish ghetto in the suburbs of Frankfurt. From this unlikely environment a most powerful financial empire spread throughout Europe, and the family name is now synonymous with extraordinary cultured wealth.

Descended from the Austrian branch of the Rothschild family, Baron Ferdinand came to England in 1859 when he was just 20 years old. Following the tragic death of his new young wife during childbirth, he never remarried, but decided to look around for a suitable place to settle in England. Already living in Buckinghamshire, close to several members of his family, Ferdinand bought 3000 acres of land from the Duke of Marlborough in 1874 with the intention of erecting a property to house his growing collection of art treasures. Never intended as a home, Waddesdon Manor was designed as a pleasurable showpiece where specially invited guests could share in Ferdinand's passion for 18th century French art.





The massive building project took 15 years to complete, but the results were breathtaking both externally and internally. Designed by a French architect, Gabriel-Hippolyte Destailleur, the 19th century brick and stone cladding was used to create a stunning Renaissance style chateau, imaginatively fitted out with authentic French interiors. Wood panelling, screens and fireplaces are just some of the 'second-hand' materials, salvaged from French palaces and old Parisian houses being demolished, that were used to create the beautiful rooms at Waddesdon Manor.



Having installed his priceless collections in their perfect setting, Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild was now able to entertain selected groups of people who would appreciate the finery on display, and could indulge in the luxury of these surroundings. Regular weekend house parties were given during the 1880s and 90s, when his guests included royalty, politicians, writers and society beauties. In the absence of a long-term companion, Ferdinand's spinster sister acted as hostess at these frequent gatherings and, on his death, Waddesdon Manor was left to her. Alice's contributions include several pieces of fine porcelain from the houses of Sevres and Meissen.



Waddesdon has one of the finest Victorian gardens in Britain, renowned for its seasonal displays, colourful shrubs, giant tree ferns, parterre, and restored Pleasure Garden. There is also a Rose Garden and Children’s Garden. The rococo style Aviary houses a splendid collection of exotic birds and the extensive Rothschild wine cellars can be visited. In 2001 a woodland path to the parterre was laid out as the Baron’s Walk; this path features two sandstone statues carved in the 1730s by Jan van Logteren: Venus and Adonis. The statues were formerly in the garden of Aston Clinton (another Rothschild house in Buckinghamshire that was demolished in 1958).

Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild planned his house on essentially a bare hill, known as Lodge Hill. A letter to his uncle dated 2 February 1875 describes how pleased he was with the progress made in the plantations. Early photographs show young trees already in place while the carriage drive was still being laid out and the foundations for the house were barely dug. In the initial layout of the grounds, Ferdinand was aided by the French landscape gardener Elie Lainé, who was ‘bidden to make designs for the terraces, the principle roads and plantations’. Little is known about Lainé who was probably based in Paris. No doubt he was introduced to Ferdinand by the French architect of the house, Gabriel-Hippolyte Destailleur.



In his ‘Red Book’ (1897), Ferdinand, feeling the need to explain his choice of a foreign landscape gardener, relates how he first asked ‘Mr Thomas’ for his assistance. As Brent Elliott has pointed out in his guidebook to the gardens at Waddesdon, this is most likely Mr William Broderick Thomas, a well-known landscape gardener who was working for the Prince of Wales at Sandringham at the time. Thomas declined however, ‘for reasons he did not deign to indulge’, but probably because of his commitment to other projects. Unfortunately, no designs by Elie Lainé for the layout of the grounds at Waddesdon appear to have survived. His involvement went beyond the mere supply of designs though, as he stayed on site, supervising with Mr George Alexander, an engineer from London, the laying out of the roads. Early account books show payments to Lainé in February of 1876, 1877 and 1878 (Bellaigue). During this period Lainé and Destailleur were also working together at Vaux-le-Vicomte in France. A later design by Destailleur for the lowest terrace at Waddesdon Manor shows indeed some similarities with his work at Vaux-le-Vicomte (Pons). This design was not carried out. In his ‘Red Book’ Ferdinand made it clear, that although Lainé was involved with ‘the chief outlines of the park’, he himself was responsible for much of the ornamental plantings: ‘the pleasure grounds and gardens were laid out by my bailiff [George Sims] and gardener [Arthur Bradshaw] according to my notions and under my superintendence’.





As his father had done at Schillersdorf, and as his relative and friend Lord Rosebery (who was married to Ferdinand’s cousin, Hannah) did at Mentmore, Ferdinand transplanted large trees, using Percheron mares. ‘My trees came – some of them – from Wooburn [sic] Abbey…and some from Claydon House – Sir Harry Verney’s place. Some from Halton; some from Drayton Beauchamp – wherever I could get them. Yes, they turned out as we wished…with the exception of the oak. The oaks have given trouble; but the chestnuts have done remarkably well’. (The Woman at Home)
In the early 1920s a Rothschild from the French arm of the family inherited the splendid manor house, and he established a stud farm at Waddesdon Manor, as well as introducing additional 18th century works of art. Ironically, the only time that this ostentatious mansion has had permanent residents was during the Second World War, when 100 child evacuees stayed with their nannies and nurses.



Although the present Lord Rothschild is actively involved in the continuing restoration and day-to-day management of the estate, Waddesdon Manor was bequeathed to the National Trust several decades earlier. With the family collections being enlarged all the time by new acquisitions, and the gardens being continually transformed by experimental planting schemes, the estate is just a never-ending spectacle of colour and opulence.





You name it, Waddesdon had it and everybody visited from Queen Victoria down. Waddesdon and its estate was no family seat built over the centuries but a modern building masquerading as a 16th Century Chateau built in a short space of time to the best quality standards with no expense spared. So it had its own powerhouse, gas works, dairy, railway station and railway line, lift, central heating.




Parterre

Waddesdon has one of the finest Victorian gardens in Britain, famous for its Parterre, seasonal displays, colourful shrubs, mature trees, statues and carpet bedding. At its heart lies the Aviary, stocked with species that were once part of Baron Ferdinand's collection and other birds that are depicted on Waddesdon's famous Sèvres porcelain collection.





One of the most unusual features of the garden is the Aviary. Completed in 1889 by an unknown architect, it was built for Baron Ferdinand as a reminder of one he had grown up with in his childhood home, the Villa Gruneburg outside Frankfurt. It is made of cast-iron in the style of a rococo trelliswork pavilion, such as those erected at Versailles and Chantilly in the early eighteenth-century.

The Aviary houses a specialised collection of softbill birds (fruit and insect eating species) and a few of the rarer pigeons, doves and partridges. At Waddesdon Manor the aviary aims to foster an appreciation of the species it works with and to serve as a centre of biological study, environmental education, and conservation activities. Wherever possible the aviary endeavours to make sure that there is real conservation value in the work that is done here. In addition to the captive breeding programmes Waddesdon Manor aviary also supports conservation initiatives in the wild.





No mansion was complete without an extensive range of glasshouses and Waddesdon was no exception. In 1882 a contract was signed between Ferdinand and George William Watkins Berry for ‘the erection of glass houses & other work at Lodge Hill’. From 1885 onwards there are also huge payments to the firm of glasshouse suppliers, R. Halliday & Co, from Middleton near Manchester. Earlier payments (1883-1885), similarly huge, are listed under the name of ‘Holliday’ but this is almost certainly a misspelling of Halliday, as actual designs for the glasshouse range by Halliday date from 1884 and possibly earlier. The 2nd edition OS map of 1898 gives some idea of the glasshouse range, which included a large palm house. Situated between the stables and the dairy, on the lower slope to the north east of the manor, the glasshouse complex, known as ‘Top Glass’, adjoined a layout of formal flowerbeds. It survived until the 1970s when it became structurally unsound and was pulled down.



Today the remnants of the greenhouses and raised beds are the Waddesdon Plant Centre which as well as tending the gardens of the house and the wonderful parterre are run as a garden centre specialising in English Roses and excellent perennial plants and garden furniture as well as seasonal bedding. It is not the cheapest option but the quality is good and the advice from the knowledgeable staff always reliable.



See also;

http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2007/11/waddesdon-manor-buckinghamshire.html

The Dead Zoo at Tring

Walter Rothschild driving a Zebra Cart

Near us at Tring in an annexe of the Natural History Museum is the remarkable collection of Walter Rothschild, known locally by children as the “Dead Zoo”. It is almost a museum of museum’s containing as it does row upon row of stuffed animals, fish and birds in glass cases and displays. This is the legacy of a talented yet tortured man, for this Rothschild was the same Lord Rothschild to whom the British Foreign Secretary Arthur Balfour sent the classified letter to his London address at 148 Piccadilly stating that the British government "view with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people" with the understanding that "nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine, or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country." The declaration was made in a letter from Foreign Secretary Arthur James Balfour to Lord Rothschild (Walter Rothschild, 2nd Baron Rothschild), a leader of the British Jewish community, for transmission to the Zionist Federation, a private Zionist organization. The letter reflected the position of the British Cabinet, as agreed upon in a meeting on 31 October 1917. It further stated that the declaration is a sign of "sympathy with Jewish Zionist aspirations." That this is a source of contention to this day can be seen from events in Gaza and from its incorporation into the Treaty of Sevres with Turkey which Osama Bin Laden referred to in his video address after 9/11. And he is also the Walter Rothschild who drove a carriage and zebras to Buckingham Palace and who was ridiculed as the “Butterfly Buffoon” but who left behind a remarkable legacy and after whom the Rothschild Giraffe and Mynah Bird are named, amongst others.



Born into what was one of the wealthiest families in the world, "Walter Rothschild" became the best known zoologist of his day - and one of Britain's great eccentrics. A benign and enigmatic figure with a boundless enthusiasm for nature, he amassed the largest accumulation of zoological specimens ever collected by one man, establishing his own private Museum in 1892, now the Natural History Museum at Tring. Walter's extraordinary life traversed the fields of politics and finance, as well as zoology, and was packed with both achievement and incident. From his involvement with the Balfour Declaration to his prodigious personal scientific output, Walter's life was anything but commonplace. He went up to Cambridge accompanied by a flock of kiwi, drove a team of zebra down Piccadilly and into the forecourt of Buckingham Palace, and was a victim of blackmail for many years.



The origins of the Rothschild family lie in the Jewish ghetto of Frankfurt, the Judengasse. Conditions for the community in the Judengasse were oppressive. There were restrictions on movement outside its walls, restrictions on the number of marriages that could take place each year and the community fought a long battle to secure the rights to buy property in the city beyond.


Five Arrows - the symbol of the Rothschilds

Mayer Amschel Rothschild was born here, in 1744; From roots in the Jewish ghetto in Frankfurt, Mayer Amschel's five sons set up a banking network in the then five major financial centres of Europe - London, Frankfurt, Paris, Naples and Vienna. The Five Arrows, as they became known, created vast wealth and established themselves at the very peak of European society. The third of Mayer Amschel's sons, Nathan Mayer Rothschild, left Frankfurt for England in 1798, aged just 21. He settled, first of all, in Manchester in order to co-ordinate one of the most important aspects of the family's trading business, the supply of British textiles to the continental market.


A Moose in the Hoose!

After ten years in Manchester, he and his wife Hannah moved to London, where Nathan expanded the purely financial side of his business and became a merchant banker, based at New Court, St Swithin's Lane. From this address, Nathan and his brothers secured their first great business coup - the commission from the British Government to supply funds to finance the Duke of Wellington's campaign against Napoleon Bonaparte. The bank is still in the same address today in a modern building set back from the lane. In the tradition of Rothschild discretion there is no sign on the outside proclaiming NM Rothschild and Sons but merely a discrete and small plaque with the family coat of arms, the 5 arrows. If you don’t know what it is you probably have no business being there!

The remarkable collections in the galleries of the Natural History Museum at Tring were once the private passion of its founder, Lionel Walter, 2nd Baron Rothschild. The Rothschild family gifted the entire Museum and its collections to the nation in 1937.



The extensive collection, housed in several rooms, includes extinct animals and birds such as the quagga, thylacine, great auk and reconstructions of the moa and dodo. Oddities include hybrids and examples of abnormal coloration. The dogs display was relocated to the Rothschild Zoological Museum from the Natural History Museum, South Kensington, and London after World War II. These show how domestic dogs have changed shape due to selective breeding and include the tiny Russian and Mexican Lapdogs as well as famous racing greyhounds. The Museum has six galleries each one of which houses a different set of animals. The first gallery contains Birds, large carnivores and primates, the second is used to show temporary exhibits, the third Crocodiles, Crustaceans, fish, insects, large mammals and marine invertebrates, the fourth accommodates Rhinoceroses, Tapirs, wild ass and Zebras, the fifth holds Antelope, cattle, deer, goats, hippopotamuses, marine mammals, pigs and sheep finally the sixth gallery contains Amphibians, bats, British Mammals, domestic dogs, flightless birds, reptiles and small mammals. The Museum also contains a Discovery Room, designed for young children and the Rothschild Room which is a room set out to recreate the surroundings that the Rothschild family would have worked in.



It became part of the Natural History Museum in 1937. In April 2007 its name was changed to the Natural History Museum at Tring. The site is also home to the ornithological research collections (Bird Group, Department of Zoology) and the ornithological library (Department of Library and Information Services) of The Natural History Museum, but these are not open to the public. There are small special themed exhibitions throughout the year showcasing specimens not normally on display, as well as activities for youngsters.


A Bear Stare

The museum is best accessed by car. The nearest rail station is at Tring Station which is two miles from Tring. Buses and taxis run during commuter times, but are infrequent outside of rush hours and taxis do not wait at the station at weekends. The nearest taxi company is at Berkhamsted. According to museum staff, the reason the rail station is so remote is that Lord Rothschild did not want passing trains to upset his menagerie. He was able to ride to the station in a horse-drawn, or zebra-drawn, carriage. The museum's Zebra Cafe alludes to Lord Rothschild's love of zebras and has photographs of his trained zebras harnessed to open carriages. He also bred hybrids between zebras and horses (zebroids) and a hybrid foal is on display.


Zebras at Tring

The zebras on display at the Natural History Museum at Tring seem to be resting, posed with their legs tucked themselves. It is a space-saving tactic that is used throughout the museum: resting takes up less room. Positioned on shelves and stacked up the walls behind glass, zebras relax, elans stretch their necks out, ostriches and emus recline in feathered mounds. The zebras are particularly striking. Generally speaking, museums will display one representative of a species, so why so many? It seems an unnecessary repetition. But if Noah had know his taxonomy as well as his divine mandate, he would have welcomed a small army of zebras onto the ark. It is not particularly common knowledge that there is no one zebra but many zebras. In fact, three species of zebra have been distinguished– Plains Zebra (Equus quagga), Mountain Zebra (Equus zebra), and Grevy’s Zebra (Equus grevyi) – and seven sub-species generally argeed upon. All are on display at Tring. With closer attention, what seems to be one species at first glance blossoms into many with subtle differences. The variation in widths and distribution of stripes, the size of ears, a tuff of hair on a tail. Burchell’s Zebra is distinguished by absent or incomplete leg stripes, the Grevy’s zebra has an unmarked belly, and most preciously, the extinct quagga. An unexpected comprehensive vision of a family where only one solitary species might expected.

Lionel Walter Rothschild, 2nd Baron Rothschild, was born in 1868 into an international financial dynasty, but was destined to be famed as a zoologist and collector rather than a banker. Walter was the eldest son of Nathan Mayer Rothschild, who was head of the distinguished firm of merchant bankers NM Rothschild & Sons and Member of Parliament for Aylesbury. As a child, Walter knew exactly what he wanted to do when he grew up, announcing at the age of seven, 'Mama, Papa, I am going to make a museum...'. By the time he was ten, Walter had enough natural history objects to start his first museum, in a garden shed. Before long, Walter's insect and bird collections were so large they had to be stored in rented rooms and sheds around Tring. Then in 1889, his father gave him some land on the outskirts of Tring Park as a 21st birthday present. Two small cottages were built, one to house his books and insect collection, the other for a caretaker. Behind these was a much larger building, which would contain Lord Rothschild's collection of mounted specimens. This was the beginning of the Zoological Museum, which opened to the public in 1892.




Butterflies and Moths

Nathan’s chosen architect at Tring was 'Wm. Huckvale', and his work can be seen all over the area. Constance Battersea, Nathan’s cousin, wrote, "Cottage building was one of his hobbies, and very comfortable and well-constructed his cottages are, with a low rental to recommend them... He built four hundred at the very least on his estate." The number may be an exaggeration! Two striking examples of William Huckvale's work are the Walter Rothschild Zoological Museum and the Louisa Cottages, Park Road, the latter named after Emma's mother. In addition, many of the estate buildings are his work, some of which are the offices (including The Counting House) that form the entrance to the Park and the Rose and Crown Hotel. The Zoological Museum (now part of the Natural History Museum), including a library and curator's cottage, was built in 1889, opened to the public in 1892 and subsequently much extended. It was given by Nathan to his son Walter as part of a coming-of-age present, for Walter to house his zoological collection, accumulated since the age of six. Before his death, Walter agreed to give the Museum to the nation.


Louisa Cottages at Tring

Educated at Magdalene College, Cambridge, Walter worked for the family firm in London from 1889 to 1908, though his passion was for his natural history collection. At this time his collection was one of the largest in the world. Walter's interest in natural history was not restricted to museum specimens. He kept an astonishing variety of animals in the grounds around the Museum and in Tring Park, including zebras, a tame wolf, rheas, kangaroos, kiwis, cassowaries and giant tortoises. He even drove a team of zebras into the forecourt of Buckingham Palace. Walter Rothschild also had a political career, as a Liberal and Liberal Unionist Member of Parliament for Aylesbury from 1899 to 1910. He was closely involved in the formulation of the draft declaration for a Jewish homeland in Palestine and in 1917 a letter from Arthur Balfour, addressed to 'Dear Lord Rothschild', set out the Balfour Declaration, which committed the British Government to supporting the establishment in Palestine of a national home for Jews.



The Museum has two libraries, the stunning Rothschild Library and the modern Ornithological Library. T he magnificent Rothschild Library was added to the Museum between 1908 and 1912. Augmented by The Natural History Museum's ornithological collection, it now houses some 75,000 books and is considered to be one of the finest ornithological libraries in the world. By the time Lord Rothschild died, his collection included some 2,000 mounted mammals and a similar number of mounted birds, along with 2 million butterflies and moths, 300,000 bird skins, 144 giant tortoises, 200,000 bird’s eggs and 30,000 relevant books.


Hi!

Poignantly, Nathan’s death in 1915 marked the end of Tring's glorious late Victorian and Edwardian era. Whilst the younger son Charles inherited a fortune, Walter succeeded to the title as the second Lord Rothschild; he received the famous letter from the Prime Minister, the "Balfour Declaration", which led to the creation of the state of Israel. Walter remained uninterested in banking and devoted his life to the museum. Indeed Walter Rothschild spent 18 years with the Bank and the kindest judgement is that his lack of interest meant he did no harm and he passed the baton to his brother Charles who committed suicide at the age of 46 in 1923. The male Rothschild’s for all their many gifts have a history of depression and it is not known if Walter’s abdication of his banking responsibilities contributed to Charles’s demise, but it was widely assumed at the time. Charles’s contribution to Nature Conservation was significant and he is regarded as a pioneer of nature conservation in Britain, and managed his estate at Ashton Wold in Northamptonshire to maximise its suitability for wildlife, especially butterflies. He was concerned about the loss of wildlife habitats, and in 1912 set up the Society for the Promotion of Nature Reserves, the forerunner of The Wildlife Trusts partnership. In 1915 the Society produced a schedule of the best wildlife sites in the country, some of which were purchased as nature reserves.


Why am I extinct?

Charles predeceased his older brother Walter Rothschild, 2nd Baron Rothschild (1868-1937) who died without issue. The peerage therefore passed to Charles's son Nathaniel Mayer Victor Rothschild, 3rd Baron Rothschild. Like his zoologist brother, he devoted much of his energies to entomology and natural history collecting. His collection of fleas is now in the Rothschild Collection at the British Museum. He also discovered and named the plague vector flea, Xenopsylla cheopis (Rothschild), also known as the oriental rat flea, at Shendi, Sudan, on an expedition in 1901, publishing his finding in 1903.

Emma was left a life interest in the house, where she lived with her son Walter spending her 20-year widowhood at Tring until she died in 1935. Walter survived her by just two years, dying, unmarried, in 1937. The family wanted the whole estate to be used as a research centre and Wildlife Park but this was refused and it was subsequently broken up. Emma's grandson, Victor, inherited the title as the third Lord Rothschild; he was also Walter's nephew and a distinguished scientist. He is remembered for his gift of Victoria Hall to Tring. Faced with the burden of death duties, in 1938 came the first of the estate sales. The County Council gained the woodlands and the Mansion was used briefly by the bank before becoming a school. The remaining estate later passed to his son Jacob who was to succeed to the title himself, in 1990. Meanwhile, Tring Park was sliced in two by the Tring bypass in 1975 and the land on the south side was sold in 1989. Tring Park's history has shaped the town and its legacy is immense.



Tring is an historic market town, nestling in the foothills of the Chilterns, close to the border with Buckinghamshire. Although Tring has been an economic centre for many centuries, the town really prospered under the watchful eye of the Rothschild family at the turn of the 20th century. The Rothschild’s’ legacy was predominantly one of the architecture they influenced in Tring and the Zoological Museum. Other tourist attractions in and around Tring include the Tring reservoirs, Tring Park, the church with its connections with the family of George Washington and the Chiltern Hills themselves.


Tring Park

Tring Park was one of 7 Rothschild mansions surrounding the Vale of Aylesbury, the others being Ascott House (Home of Sir Evelyn de Rothschild), Mentmore Towers (Former home of Lord Roseberry who married into the Rothschild’s and was Prime Minister), Halton House

http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2008/08/wendover-buckinghamshire.html,

Aston Clinton House, Waddesdon Manor,

http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2007/11/waddesdon-manor-buckinghamshire.html

which is the last remaining complete example of 'le goût Rothschild' and Eythrope House which borders Waddesdon and where Jacob (Lord) Rothschild lives. It is a great pity that the intention of Walter Rothschild’s bequest to the British Museum to have a research centre at Tring Park and a wildlife park in the demesne was not respected as if it was the “Dead Zoo’s” collection would be seen in a living context and Britain would have had a wonderful and developing zoological amenity and research facility which would have contributed to our understanding and appreciation of the natural world. In this context the decision in 2007 to drop the name “Walter Rothschild Collection” from Tring appears to add insult to injury. Nonetheless visitors young and old will still be enthralled with what they see and hopefully the Natural History Museum will enhance the collection and deal with the access issues to make this unique collection and museum more accessible to all.



Natural History Museum at Tring
The Walter Rothschild building
Akeman Street
Tring
Hertfordshire
HP23 6AP

Tel +44 (0)20 7942 6171

Opening times

Monday to Saturday 10.00-17.00
Sunday 14.00-17.00
The Museum is open every day except 24-26 December.

http://www.nhm.ac.uk/tring/index.html

Waddesdon Manor, Buckinghamshire.

Five Arrows Hotel


Garden Front

Travel about six miles out of Aylesbury on the A41and on a hilltop on the left a strange mirage comes into view, a huge 16th Century French Renaissance-style château with flags flying magically on a hilltop to the left. As you come into the picturesque village of Waddesdon some clues to the ownership of this apparition become apparent. The local hotel is called the “Five Arrows” and it and many of the buildings in the village sport a “5 Arrows”, the coat of arms of the fabled Rothschild family. The Rothschild banking dynasty was immensely powerful in 19th century Europe. From roots in the Jewish ghetto in Frankfurt, Mayer Amschel's five sons set up a banking network in the then five major financial centres of Europe - London, Frankfurt, Paris, Naples and Vienna. The Five Arrows, as they became known, created vast wealth and established themselves at the very peak of European society. There is a further clue in the colour of the woodwork on most of the buildings which are painted in a dull dark red. The name “Rothschild” means “red shield” for this was the form and colour of the street signs in the Jewish Ghetto in Frankfurt, elsewhere the street signs were blue shields. So this colour, now known as Rothschild Red, is not a design statement but a reminder of their origins in the ghetto and that being Jewish, they were not considered “blue bloods.”






Entrance Front

Waddesdon Manor was built (1874-89) by Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild to display his outstanding collection of art treasures and to entertain the fashionable world. On a hilltop overlooking the Aylesbury Vale, it is the last remaining complete example of 'le goût Rothschild'. The House combines the highest quality French furniture, textiles and decorative arts from the 18th century with magnificent English portraits and Dutch Old Master paintings. Fascinated by the history and culture of France, he commissioned a French architect, Gabriel Hippolyte Destailleur, to build him a Renaissance-style chateau, based on those in the Loire Valley, and employed a French garden designer, Elie Lainé to lay out the grounds. Like other members of his family he wanted a retreat outside London and chose Buckinghamshire because several of his cousins already had houses there (it was known as "Rothschildshire" in the late 19th century).









Parterre

The Manor was only used for weekends in the summer months, for Ferdinand's famous house parties, and was the last word in luxury with electric lights, lifts and under-floor heating. Single or unaccompanied male friends stayed in the Bachelors' Wing, complete with Billiard and Smoking Rooms. Couples stayed in one of the 9 suites in the Main house.

Waddesdon Manor was built (1874-89) by Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild to entertain his guests and display his vast collection of 18th-century French decorative arts. The furniture, Savonnerie carpets and Sèvres porcelain rank in importance with those in the Louvre in Paris and the Royal and Wallace Collections in London. There is also a fine collection of portraits by Gainsborough and Reynolds, and works by Dutch and Flemish Masters of the 17th century.



The Victorian gardens are considered one of the finest in Britain and famous for the parterre, seasonal displays, shady walks and views, fountains and statuary. At its heart lies the aviary, stocked with species that were once part of Baron Ferdinand's collection. The Wine Cellars, modelled on the private cellars at Château Lafite-Rothschild, contain thousands of bottles of Rothschild wines dating back to 1868.

Looking at this magnificent French-style chateau standing in acres of lush parkland, it is almost inconceivable to visualise the 18th century Rothschild’s living in a Jewish ghetto in the suburbs of Frankfurt. From this unlikely environment a most powerful financial empire spread throughout Europe, and the family name is now synonymous with extraordinary cultured wealth.



Descended from the Austrian branch of the Rothschild family, Baron Ferdinand came to England in 1859 when he was just 20 years old. Following the tragic death of his new young wife during childbirth, he never remarried, but decided to look around for a suitable place to settle in England. Already living in Buckinghamshire, close to several members of his family, Ferdinand bought 3000 acres of land from the Duke of Marlborough in 1874 with the intention of erecting a property to house his growing collection of art treasures. Never intended as a home, Waddesdon Manor was designed as a pleasurable showpiece where specially invited guests could share in Ferdinand's passion for 18th century French art.



The massive building project took 15 years to complete, but the results were breathtaking both externally and internally. Designed by a French architect, Gabriel-Hippolyte Destailleur, the 19th century brick and stone cladding was used to create a stunning Renaissance style chateau, imaginatively fitted out with authentic French interiors. Wood panelling, screens and fireplaces are just some of the 'second-hand' materials, salvaged from French palaces and old Parisian houses being demolished, that were used to create the beautiful rooms at Waddesdon Manor.



Having installed his priceless collections in their perfect setting, Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild was now able to entertain selected groups of people who would appreciate the finery on display, and could indulge in the luxury of these surroundings. Regular weekend house parties were given during the 1880s and 90s, when his guests included royalty, politicians, writers and society beauties. In the absence of a long-term companion, Ferdinand's spinster sister acted as hostess at these frequent gatherings and, on his death, Waddesdon Manor was left to her. Alice's contributions include several pieces of fine porcelain from the houses of Sevres and Meissen.




Service Entrance

In 1891 Waddesdon had an indoor staff of 24, with a further 24 coming in to work and at least 66 gardeners. The stable is a fine building in its own right being modelled (to a smaller scale) on the Tullieres Palace in Paris, maybe a slightly unwise tribute to the “touts les Louis” whose furnishings and artwork Baron Ferdinand admired so much. At the end of the 19th century, Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild commissioned a local firm of architects to create a Dairy to house his prize-winning herd of cattle. In its day it had wonderfully pampered cows providing, milk, cream, butter, whey and cheese to the house.


Bachelors' Wing


The story is told of the Duke who came to stay and wrote a snorting letter to a friend on how the Roths were getting above themselves showing off their excessive amount of new money.

A butler appeared in the bedroom in the morning.



B. "Tea, your Grace"

D. "Yes"

B. "Would it be Assam, Darjeeling, Gunpowder, Earl Grey, Orange Pekoe or Ceylon your Grace?"

D. "Assam."

B. "Milk, your Grace?"

D. "Yes."

B. "Would it be Hereford, Friesian, Shorthorn or Jersey, your Grace?"



Dairy


This vignette is a reminder that the Rothschild’s were the plutocrats of their day with huge cash piles at their disposal while the traditional aristocracy by contrast were asset rich but cash poor. For Waddesdon and its estate was no family seat built over the centuries but a modern building masquerading as a 16th Century Chateau built in a short space of time to the best quality standards with no expense spared. So it had its own powerhouse, gas works, dairy, railway station and railway line, lift, central heating.


Power House

Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild planned his house on essentially a bare hill, known as Lodge Hill. A letter to his uncle dated 2 February 1875 describes how pleased he was with the progress made in the plantations. Early photographs show young trees already in place while the carriage drive was still being laid out and the foundations for the house were barely dug. In the initial layout of the grounds, Ferdinand was aided by the French landscape gardener Elie Lainé, who was ‘bidden to make designs for the terraces, the principle roads and plantations’. Little is known about Lainé who was probably based in Paris. No doubt he was introduced to Ferdinand by the French architect of the house, Gabriel-Hippolyte Destailleur.

In his ‘Red Book’ (1897), Ferdinand, feeling the need to explain his choice of a foreign landscape gardener, relates how he first asked ‘Mr Thomas’ for his assistance. As Brent Elliott has pointed out in his guidebook to the gardens at Waddesdon, this is most likely Mr William Broderick Thomas, a well-known landscape gardener who was working for the Prince of Wales at Sandringham at the time. Thomas declined however, ‘for reasons he did not deign to indulge’, but probably because of his commitment to other projects. Unfortunately, no designs by Elie Lainé for the layout of the grounds at Waddesdon appear to have survived. His involvement went beyond the mere supply of designs though, as he stayed on site, supervising with Mr George Alexander, an engineer from London, the laying out of the roads. Early account books show payments to Lainé in February of 1876, 1877 and 1878 (Bellaigue). During this period Lainé and Destailleur were also working together at Vaux-le-Vicomte in France. A later design by Destailleur for the lowest terrace at Waddesdon Manor shows indeed some similarities with his work at Vaux-le-Vicomte (Pons). This design was not carried out. In his ‘Red Book’ Ferdinand made it clear, that although Lainé was involved with ‘the chief outlines of the park’, he himself was responsible for much of the ornamental plantings: ‘the pleasure grounds and gardens were laid out by my bailiff [George Sims] and gardener [Arthur Bradshaw] according to my notions and under my superintendence’.



As his father had done at Schillersdorf, and as his relative and friend Lord Rosebery (who was married to Ferdinand’s cousin, Hannah) did at Mentmore, Ferdinand transplanted large trees, using Percheron mares. ‘My trees came – some of them – from Wooburn [sic] Abbey…and some from Claydon House – Sir Harry Verney’s place. Some from Halton; some from Drayton Beauchamp – wherever I could get them. Yes, they turned out as we wished…with the exception of the oak. The oaks have given trouble; but the chestnuts have done remarkably well’. (The Woman at Home)



You name it, Waddesdon had it and everybody visited from Queen Victoria down. It was one of 7 Rothschild mansions surrounding the Vale of Aylesbury, the others being Ascott House (Home of Sir Evelyn de Rothschild), Mentmore Towers (Former home of Lord Roseberry who married into the Rothschild’s and was Prime Minister), Halton House, Aston Clinton House, Tring Manor (Now home to the Walter Rothschild Collection of the Natural History Museum) and Eythrope House which borders Waddesdon and where Jacob (Lord) Rothschild lives.


Stables

After Ferdinand's death in 1898, the pace of entertaining slackened, but his sister and heir, Miss Alice, maintained the house, collection and grounds to impeccable standards. James and Dorothy de Rothschild, who inherited in 1922, did not add to the collection until the death of James' father Baron Edmond, at which point a third of the Barons collection arrived, including over 2000 18th century drawings. James' main interest was horse racing and he built the stud at Waddesdon. The war years brought a different emphasis to the Manor, and following James' death in 1957, it was bequeathed to the National Trust and opened to the public, with Dorothy in charge of management.



Jacob Rothschild, 4th Baron Rothschild


Now, the Manor is run by a family charitable trust chaired by the present Lord Rothschild. The Collection continues to grow, new features and displays are added to both House and Gardens and there is a varied programme of events and activities. The Rothschild’s donated over 12 million pounds to the restoration of the house and this money shows because nowhere in England will you see a house in finer condition or with more splendid and opulent contents. The contents overpower for Ferdinand Rothschild was addicted to the opulence of the French Decorative style and the artworks, furnishings, Sevres china, tapestries, clocks and much else dazzles the eye.



This is a small part of the Waddesdon Collection, more can also be seen in the “Waddesdon Room (Room 46) at the British Museum. There is ample evidence also of the family’s support for Zionism. When the British Foreign Secretary made “The Balfour Declaration” ,it was made in a letter dated November 2nd. 1917, from Arthur James Balfour to Lord Rothschild (Walter Rothschild, 2nd Baron Rothschild), a leader of the British Jewish community, for transmission to the Zionist Federation, a private Zionist organization. The original document is kept at the British Library and there is a copy at Waddesdon along with a model of the Israeli Supreme Court, the building was donated by the Rothschild family.

http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2009/01/dead-zoo-at-tring.html





Waddesdon is frequently used as a movie location by directors who take advantage of over 7 miles of quiet roads and lanes only used by estate and farm traffic, unusual estate buildings and stunning views over the Vale of Aylesbury. Scenes from Daniel Deronda, An Ideal Husband, Cambridge Spies and the Bollywood movie Kabhi Khushi Khabie Gham were filmed at Waddesdon Manor. The Wine Cellars, modelled on the private cellars at Château Lafite-Rothschild, contain thousands of bottles of Rothschild wine dating back to the 19th century. Seen “Hyde Park” in “An Ideal Husband” you were actually seen the driveway at Waddesdon, seen Helen Mirren as “The Queen” walk with Tony Blair into the gardens at “Buckingham Palace”, it actually was the Parterre at Waddesdon. This in itself is the last parterre which is still planted each year as it would have been in Victorian times with 58,000 new plants each year. The design changes each year a bit like a Chateau Mouton label and the planting scheme is done on a computer, such is the complexity.




Wine Cellars

Indeed Jacob Rothschild's interest range far beyond those of most financier's and Waddesdon has been a regular venue for visiting heads of state including Presidents Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton. Margaret Thatcher received French President François Mitterrand there at a summit in 1990. He hosted the European Economic Round Table conference in 2002, attended by such figures as James Wolfensohn, president of the World Bank, Nicky Oppenheimer, Warren Buffett and Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Waddesdon has one of the finest Victorian gardens in Britain, famous for its Parterre, seasonal displays, colourful shrubs, mature trees, statues and carpet bedding. At its heart lies the Aviary, stocked with species that were once part of Baron Ferdinand's collection and other birds that are depicted on Waddesdon's famous Sèvres porcelain collection.

One of the most unusual features of the garden is the Aviary. Completed in 1889 by an unknown architect, it was built for Baron Ferdinand as a reminder of one he had grown up with in his childhood home, the Villa Gruneburg outside Frankfurt. It is made of cast-iron in the style of a rococo trelliswork pavilion, such as those erected at Versailles and Chantilly in the early eighteenth-century.




Aviary

Among the species that bred successfully in 2005 were the Pekin Robin, Silver-Eared Mesia, Grosbeak Starling, Snowy-Crowned Robin Chat and Bearded Barbet. In addition the White Bellied Go-Away bird and Sumatran White Crested Laughing Thrush are thought to be the first breedings in the UK. New arrivals in the aviary include White Crested and Fischer's Touraco from Africa, Yellow Throated Laughing Thrush from China (critically endangered), Chestnut Backed Thrush from Indonesia, White Collared Yuhina from China and Fairy Bluebird from South East Asia.


Aviary - Bird Sculpture

Situated at the Dairy the Water Garden was rediscovered in 1989, approximately one hundred years after its making, having been abandoned and fallen into disrepair during the last war. Designed as a series of small lakes interconnected by rock arches, waterfalls, cascades, bridges and paths, the structure of the garden remains the same today, with much of the original planting still surviving; as can be seen in the huge plants of Philadelphus and many broadleaf trees. This collection has been enriched with Ferns, Hellebores and many wild looking herbaceous plants including Gunnera (Giant Rhubarb) and Clematis (C.Cirrhosa, Balaerica and C. Armandii). Behind the Dairy a collection of water fowl can be seen populating the beautiful lake.



No mansion was complete without an extensive range of glasshouses and Waddesdon was no exception. In 1882 a contract was signed between Ferdinand and George William Watkins Berry for ‘the erection of glass houses & other work at Lodge Hill’. From 1885 onwards there are also huge payments to the firm of glasshouse suppliers, R. Halliday & Co, from Middleton near Manchester. Earlier payments (1883-1885), similarly huge, are listed under the name of ‘Holliday’ but this is almost certainly a misspelling of Halliday, as actual designs for the glasshouse range by Halliday date from 1884 and possibly earlier. The 2nd edition OS map of 1898 gives some idea of the glasshouse range, which included a large palm house. Situated between the stables and the dairy, on the lower slope to the north east of the manor, the glasshouse complex, known as ‘Top Glass’, adjoined a layout of formal flowerbeds. It survived until the 1970s when it became structurally unsound and was pulled down.

Waddesdon Manor, Dairy and Estate are in the village of Waddesdon located on the A41 between Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire and Bicester in Oxfordshire. It is 45 miles from London, 20 from Oxford and 70 from Birmingham, and easily accessible by road with the M40 only ten miles away. Aylesbury, Oxford and Birmingham provide frequent train services to London and other destinations.

It is worth visiting all year round and has won many awards including Museum of the Year. Whilst a National Trust property it derives its splendour and uniqueness from the generosity of the Rothschild family and the personal interest of Jacob Rothschild in ensuring it is maintained and presented as the finest example of a Victorian House and garden with incomparable contents.



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