Back in 2014, Victoria and I stayed in Windsor for a few days after the Duke of Wellington Tour had ended. One of the things we did was to take a leisurely stroll across the River and walk the length of Eton’s perfectly preserved, and rather deserted, High Street!
Through the gate, a statue of College founder, King Henry VI (1421-1471)
Along the way, we stopped at my favourite fudge shop and at a truly quirky print and booksellers before we stopped for dinner at a riverside restaurant. If you’d like to join me on my next Eton walk, consider coming along on Number One London’s Town & Country House tour in May, 2024. Complete itinerary and details can be found here.
I recently visited Waddesdon Manor with a mind to adding it to the itinerary of Number One London’s upcoming Town & Country House Tour. The French Renaissance château was built in the 19th century by Baron Ferdinand Rothschild and I’m pleased to report that it did not disappoint. The house, the collections, the gardens and outbuildings combined to serve as a most unique whole. In fact, Waddesdon is now right up there beside Chatsworth House as my personal favourite country houses in England.
Baron Rothschild, a dedicated Francophile, employed a French architect who created rooms using wall panels taken from Parisian houses of the 1700s. He then filled the house with treasures that once belonged to French royalty. Rothschild lavished Waddesdon’s rooms with paintings, carpets and porcelain to rival any museum on either side of the Channel. All of which was only seen on summer weekends by a few of the Baron’s close circle. Waddesdon was never a family home, it was only ever meant to be an occasional country retreat.
On the approach to the Manor, it would be difficult not to be awed by the fabulous grounds, gardens and architectural details. Or by the attention to the smallest detail that is regularly given to the Manor, evident at every turn.
Waddesdon Manor is unique in that The Rothschild Foundation continues to manage the property on behalf of the National Trust, as well as providing the majority of the funding for its upkeep.
The interiors are likewise impressive, beginning with the dining room, which resembles Versailles in miniature.
The dinner service below is comprised of over 400 pieces of porcelain as service for twenty-four people. Although it was a gift from King Louis XV to an Austrian prince in 1766, it was used by the family until the 1980s.
With more than 15,000 works of art and objects, the collection ranges widely in date, materials and techniques, and places of production. Each of the rooms at Waddesdon serve as backdrops for the priceless pieces on display.
Something that becomes immediately apparent to visitors is that Waddesdon’s staff truly care about the guest experience. There’s at least one docent in every room . . . and they know their stuff. They are genuinely friendly and engaged. Waddesdon Manor even encourages visitors to touch, with “touch boards” dotted along the route, each focused on a different architectural component of the Manor.
As one would expect, conservation is constantly being undertaken at Waddesdon.
One of the final areas on the tour are the ornate Bachelors Quarters, where single men visitors were housed at weekends. Any gentleman who arrived alone, whether actually married or not, was assigned a room in this wing of the Manor. Very Victorian, indeed.
The present Baron Rothschild continues to collect art and porcelain, mostly contemporary. This chandelier was specially commissioned in 2003 by Lord Rothschild for the Blue Dining Room and looks surprisingly at home against the walls of 18th-century carved panelling.
I’m pleased to add Waddesdon Manor to our roster of historic stately homes and I look forward to introducing our group to Waddesdon during Number One London’s upcoming Town & Country House tour, May 2024. Complete tour itinerary and further details can be found here.
Please watch the videos below to learn more about Waddesdon Manor’s art collection and aviary.
The highlight of every Number One London Tours adventure in Scotland is always the Highland Safari and we’ll be embarking on another during our Scottish Retreat in September. We’ll be returning to the Blair Athol Estates for a half day Land Rover tour with our ghillie guides behind the wheel to show us over the vast landscape that includes rugged terrain, rushing streams, breathtaking views and the native wildlife, including wild deer, horses and sheep. We’ll also be visiting Blair Castle, ancestral home of the clan Murray.
I could continue to wax lyrical about the Highland Safari experience, but instead I’ll just show you the pictures I’ve taken on past tours.
During the Scottish Retreat in September, we’ll be staying at Gargunnock House, a classic example of the gentleman’s shooting box, complete with open fires, flagstone floors, period details, spiraling staircases and Georgian furnishings.
Being a period property, Gargunnock House has a limited number of bedrooms and there are only 5 spaces left on the tour.
We’re looking forward to our Scottish Retreat in September and thinking about our upcoming visit to Glamis Castle, a site that is steeped in history. Glamis (above) has been the ancestral seat to the Earls of Strathmore and Kinghorne since 1372, the inspiration for Shakespeare’s Macbeth, the childhood home of HM Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, and birthplace of HRH The Princess Margaret.
While the Castle has been used in the past as a stronghold, a barrack and a hospital, Glamis is first and foremost a beloved family home, as these pictures of the interiors attest, many of which we’ll be seeing during our guided tour of the Castle –
Unsurprisingly, many legends surround the Castle, most notably that of the “Monster of Glamis,” a hideously deformed heir who was hidden away in a secret room for life. Then there’s the stubborn bloodstain that cannot be removed from the floorboards in one of the castle rooms, said to be the blood of King Malcolm II, who was cut down by the Claymore swords of his rebellious subjects in the castle in 1084, and the tale of the Ogilvies, neighboring aristocrats who came to Glamis and begged for protection from their sworn enemies, the Lindsay family. The Ogilvies were escorted to a chamber under the castle and left there without food or water for over a month. When the chamber was opened, only one of the Ogilvies was barely alive. Rumour goes that their skulls are still kept in yet another secret chamber within the Castle.
While every Castle needs a good legend, or three, I prefer the real life story of the bravery of Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, who visited Glamis often throughout her lifetime.
From the Castle website – “During the First World War Glamis Castle became a convalescent hospital. Lady Elizabeth’s kindness won her the hearts of many of the soldiers who passed through Glamis. On 16th September 1916 two soldiers discovered a fire in a room under the castle roof. As they ran to raise the alarm, the first person they came across was Lady Elizabeth who showed great presence of mind and immediately telephoned both the local and Dundee fire brigades. She then marshalled everyone to fight the fire, organising a chain to convey buckets of water from the river. Later, with the fire raging above them, she organised the removal of the valuables out onto the Lawn. In 1918 the armistice signalled the end of the war and the end of an era. Once the last soldier had left Glamis in 1919 Lady Elizabeth was launched into the high society of the day at her coming out party.”
Outside, you’ll find the walled and the Italian gardens.
During the Scottish Retreat in September, we’ll be staying at Gargunnock House, a classic example of the gentleman’s shooting box, complete with open fires, flagstone floors, period details, spiraling staircases and Georgian furnishings.
Being a period property, Gargunnock House has a limited number of bedrooms and there are only 5 spaces left on the tour.
Following the Number One London Georgian Tour, Vicky flew in and met me in London for a night before we headed off on our epic research journey, visiting three Archives that hold documents related to the Duke of Wellington. Our first stop was the Museum of English Rural Life in Reading. We had booked a hotel in nearby Caversham and our good friend, author Beth Elliott was kind enough to pick us up at the station.
You’ve heard me speak of Beth here on the blog before. She’s the sort of friend who is a comfort, a joy and who also happens to be very funny. In an understated English way. So, Beth collected us at the train station and drove Vicky and me to our riverside hotel, where we met a gaggle of other local residents.
Later that evening, we all went out to the nearby carvery and indulged in that most comforting of British food, the Sunday Roast, even though it was actually a Wednesday.
Next day, Vicky and I headed off to the Museum of English Rural Life.
We had ordered the documents we wished to see in advance, one of which was the Marriage Settlement between Richard, Marquis Wellesley and Maryanne Patterson, below. You’ll see that the Duke of Wellington was one of the executors of the Settlement. Between his brother and his former mistress. Yes, you read that correctly.
We spent the entire day reading historic documents and attempting to read Wellington’s handwriting. Boxes and boxes of letters and documents. Naturally, by the end of the day, Vicky and I were ready for a drink. And when we met up with Beth later that evening, we told her we’d love to have a plate of roast beef for dinner. Again. So we did.
Afterwards, we strolled through historic Caversham, which, as Cavesham, was mentioned in the Domesday Book and which sits on the north bank of the Thames.
Good friends, good food and good Wellington documents. As you can imagine, it was a wonderfully satisfying day. And one I’ll always remember. More to come . . . .
