Day 273/17. Waddesdon Manor

Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild wanted an estate where he could escape London in the summer months to entertain family and friends for weekend house parties. The Vale of Aylesbury was already known as ‘Rothschildshire’ for the number of the houses owned by the family in the area.
When he came into his inheritance in 1874 he purchased a bare agricultural estate with a misshapen cone at its centre. The foundation stone was laid in 1877 and six years later the land had been transformed into a beautiful landscape by planting mature trees, bringing in the water supply from Aylesbury and removing 30 feet of soil to create the impressive approach to the house.
Ferdinand wanted the exterior of the house to be in the style of the French Renaissance châteaux of the Loire valley and engaged a French architect, Gabriel-Hippolyte Destailleur. Loath to build on a palatial scale, Ferdinand, nevertheless, found that he needed to add a wing nearly half the length of the original house to the west end.
Very impressive house, very impressive interior and very impressive wine cellars !!!