Waddesdon Manor (Wikimedia Commons, National Trust, Waddesdon Manor / John Bigelow Taylor)
Everything about Waddesdon Manor, the Rothschild family’s nineteenth century mansion in the English countryside, is on a grand scale. Before you get anywhere near the house, the car parks seem to stretch for acres, there is a rank of ticket booths and an army of polite, logo-wearing meet-and-greeters. There is also a rather grand entrance fee (£25.50). In the light of this is, seems slightly mean-spirited of them to charge extra for the shuttle bus which takes you from car park to house: the alternative is a twenty-five-minute walk through what is admittedly lovely, but rather hilly, parkland. All this prepares you for grandeur, but even so, when the house comes into view it is spectacular, sprawling and not a little ridiculous. Because Waddesdon Manor is effectively a French chateau in the middle of England, a nineteenth century version of a Renaissance palace which should be over-looking the Loire, complete with round turrets, mansard roofs, and staircase towers, all built from scratch from 1874.
You approach the house from the south, seeing it first against the formality of a parterre garden, restored in 1994, and huge, multi-figure ornamental fountain. When I went, summer bedding plants - apparently 110,000 of them - were being arranged with military precision. It’s the sort of impressive statistic which sums Waddesdon up: whilst many country houses are trying to make their gardens low-maintenance and have a general air of needing a bit of TLC, everything about the Rothschild’s Manor is immaculate, well-tended and high-spec. Having said that, I found the gardens disappointing, despite that initial wow-factor of the parterre. Unlike other big estates (Chatsworth, Castle Howard) there is no large walled garden, no impressive herbaceous borders, no glasshouses (which were demolished in the 1970s). There is a large ornamental aviary which provided a slightly frustrating ‘hunt the bird’ experience, but the Rose Garden was disappointingly small and north façade looks out onto long, immaculate, but dull, stretches of lawn. You can enjoy pleasant walks amongst beautiful mature trees and children will go wild for the woodland play area but you are likely to spend most time inside the house.
And, boy, is the house worth spending time in. The entrance hall takes you straight into the East Gallery dominated by two huge Guardi paintings of Venice which deserve a fanfare of their own but which are here just a passing distraction. The dining room is an orgy of damask, marble, gilt, porcelain and polish – textures and patterns fighting each other for your attention. This year Waddesdon’s theme is ‘Flights of Fancy’ and the table is laid with beautiful turquoise and gold, bird decorated, Sèvres porcelain. From there the sensory overload continues. The Rothschilds collected everything French from intricately carved and inlaid wood panelling to wildly over-the-top rococo furniture. You can pick out the star pieces with the help of a free guidebook, and well-versed room stewards, or, if you’re more tech-inclined, with the Bloomsbury Connects app.
The rooms can become quite congested but resist the urge to get carried along in the tide of visitors because there is so much to see. Highlights range from the fantastical (an ornate elephant musical automaton) , to the elegant (some of the most beautiful marquetry and lacquered furniture I’ve ever seen) and the unexpected (a little red boudoir decorated with fairytale murals commissioned from Leon Baskt in 1913). By far the best things, for me at any rate, are the paintings. The collection is skewed heavily towards eighteenth century British art with some spectacular portraits, but there are also fine French rococo fetes and seventeenth century Dutch interiors. Unlike most country houses, the paintings here all have frame labels, and all are sparklingly cleaned and lit - you will not see them displayed better in major museums. In the Red Drawing Room, Thomas Gainsborough and Joshua Reynolds have a show-down with four outstanding, full length swagger portraits, but you can easily walk past George Romney’s fabulous Lady Hamilton as Circe in the Bedroom Corridor.
The house has plenty of other surprises. Descend to the basement and envy the wine cellars housing 15,000 bottles. Climb up to the attic Treasury where three hundred or so bejewelled trinkets glitter in gleamingly lit vitrines. The first-floor houses displays on the Rothschild family history and building of the house: wealth and power which could bring down governments, start wars and own over forty palaces across Europe and America. This is also where they have temporary displays, at present showing Louis-Denis Armand’s porcelain designs and Guercino paintings. One of the Guercinos is a recent purchase by the Rothschild Foundation – another example of their impressive ongoing stewardship. Just when you think it’s all over, you head to the Bachelor Wing, added from 1885 and feeling more like a Scottish shooting lodge - lower ceilings, weapons on the walls, Arts and Craft styling. The Billiards Room with its low vaulted ceiling and panelled walls of embossed leather, and grand Renaissance style fireplace is all weight and masculinity – you can imagine cigar smoke hanging in the air.
It is impossible not to be impressed by Waddesdon. Even if the opulence isn’t always to your taste, even if you find all that wealth just a bit obscene, it is difficult not to succumb to the wow factor. It is also a very slick operation. I have a quibble with the catering - a fine dining restaurant or a very limited cafe - but otherwise you feel well looked after. You should be, given the entrance fee. England is full of country houses: many are worth a visit, some of them are standouts (Blenheim Palace is only about 30 miles down the road), but Waddesdon Manor is unique.
The house is open Wed-Sun, 11-4.30, with the grounds open slightly longer hours. There’s timed entry to the house, which they’re quite strict about. Definitely give yourself a whole day for the visit.
£25.50 admission (which drops to £13.50 if you don’t go inside) although there are plenty of concessions, including free entry for National Trust members.
You can get there by public transport, but it is much easier by car.
Finally, if you can’t get there in person, there are virtual room tours.
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Catriona Miller is an independent art historian and writer on art based in the UK. She has taught and lectured on all aspects of art history and is currently researching women artists in British collections and issues of nationalism and identity in nineteenth-century landscape painting.
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