Eythrope Park and the River Thame

Sun was shining first thing but we had to wait until after we hand rung for Sunday service before we could get out for a walk so we missed it, however it wasn't raining so that was a plus!

We drove to the nearby village of Stone to walk from through Eythrope Park and the chance of a less muddy walk! The river Thame is in flood as can be seen here at the Weir near Eythrope Lodge. The roads through the park lead to Waddesdon Manor and it is a popular route for cyclist and runners.

The manor at Eythrope was bought by Alice de Rothschild for £180,000 in 1875. Alice had made her home with her widowed brother Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild and when he built his country house Waddesdon Manor, she moved in with him.

Alice was persuaded by her brother to purchase Eythrope (The Waddesdon and Eythrope estates merge!) She build a new house there and as it was considerably smaller than Waddesdon it was given the name of The Pavilion or Water Pavilion.

In late 1898, following the death of Baron Ferdinand, Alice inherited Waddesdon Manor, the conservation of which became her passion. The Pavilion was still maintained but now as even more of an occasional retreat.
In 1922 following the death of Alice de Rothschild, The Pavilion was enlarged by her heirs, Dorothy and James A. de Rothschild (they added a large wing with bedrooms and bathrooms) and then let it to Syrie Maugham, an interior decorator who was the former wife of the novelist Somerset Maugham.
In the 1950s the Rothschilds decided to give Waddesdon Manor, which they also had inherited, to the National Trust and move to the smaller pavilion themselves. The house was then again improved and modernised.

James de Rothschild died in 1957, before the house was ready. Following the transfer of Waddesdon, his widow Dorothy moved to Eythrope — taking with her some of the more comfortable furniture and a few favourite things from Waddesdon. It was to be her country home for nearly forty years.

Dorothy de Rothschild died in 1988 aged nearly 100. She left the estate and Pavilion to her husband's great nephew Jacob Rothschild, 4th Baron Rothschild. The house is the last of the Buckinghamshire Rothschild houses to remain in Rothschild hands. It remains very much a private home.

Back to work tomorrow, if only money did grow on trees :)