Waddesdon Manor

Waddesdon Manor
The north-facing entrance facade
General information
Architectural style	Neo-Renaissance
Classification	Museum
Address	Waddesdon, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, HP18 0JH
Country	United Kingdom
Coordinates	51°50′32″N 0°56′16″W / 51.84222°N 0.93778°W / 51.84222; -0.93778
Groundbreaking	1874 (est.)
Construction started	18 August 1877
Completed	1883
Renovated	1990–1997
Client	Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild
Landlord	National Trust
Design and construction
Architect(s)	Hippolyte Destailleur
Website
Official website
Listed Building – Grade I
Reference no.	11117804

Waddesdon Manor is a country house in the village of Waddesdon, in Buckinghamshire, England. Owned by the National Trust and managed by the Rothschild Foundation, it is one of the National Trust's most visited properties, with over 463,000 visitors in 2019.^[1]

The Grade I listed house was built in a mostly Neo-Renaissance style, copying individual features of several French châteaux, between 1874 and 1889 for Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild (1839–1898) as a weekend residence for entertaining and to house his collection of arts and antiquities. As the manor and estate have passed through three generations of the Rothschild family, the contents of the house have expanded to become one of the most rare and valuable collections in the world.^[2] In 1957, James de Rothschild bequeathed the house and its contents to the National Trust, opening the house and gardens for the benefit of the general public. Unusually for a National Trust property, the family of James Rothschild, the donor, manage the house. The Rothschild Foundation, chaired by Jacob Rothschild, 4th Baron Rothschild until his death in February 2024, acts as custodian and continues to invest in the property.^[3]