10 remarkable facts about Waddesdon you didn't know

1. When Winston Churchill came to stay, he liked to stay in the Portico Bedroom so he could go out onto the roof to smoke a cigar. Miss Alice didn’t permit smoking anywhere other than in the Smoking Room.

2. King Edward VII was told not to touch the furniture during one of his visits, and Miss Alice refused to raise the blinds to allow him better light to see the paintings. It is, however, thanks to her protective attitude to the collections that they are so remarkably well-preserved today, and her methods form the basis of the National Trust’s own conservation policies.

3. It’s often said that Ferdinand installed a passenger lift for Queen Victoria’s visit in 1890, but she declined to ride in it, not trusting in the magic of electricity. In fact, the lift was installed after her visit, perhaps prompted by the Prince of Wales falling down the stairs.

4. Baron Ferdinand’s nephew, Walter Rothschild, was a naturalist famed for his eccentricity. He trained three zebras to pull a carriage.

5. Ferdinand’s guests were taken on a tour of the ornamental working Dairy, where they could taste the milk, cream and butter. It is now restored as a venue for weddings and events.

6. Despite his love of entertaining, Ferdinand de Rothschild is reported to have dined on cold toast and water, while his guests were served the most sumptuous food.

7. Following Ferdinand’s death, Miss Alice de Rothschild added a small golf course to the Waddesdon grounds. This was extended by James and Dorothy de Rothschild after World War II (although it no longer exists today).

8. To aid the construction of Waddesdon, a single-track tramway was laid especially from Westcott up the hill, so building materials could be brought to the site by steam train.

9. Gardening and horticulture were one of Miss Alice’s main passions, so much so that she had a phone socket set into one of the trees!

10. Like other members of his family, Baron Ferdinand instructed that all of his personal papers were destroyed on his death, so we have less information than you might imagine about his time at Waddesdon.

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

In order for us to continue to provide high quality and trusted local news on this free-to-read site, I am asking you to also please purchase a copy of our newspaper when you do your weekly shop.

Our journalists are highly trained and our content is independently regulated by IPSO to some of the most rigorous standards in the world. But being your eyes and ears comes at a price. So we need your support more than ever to buy our newspapers during this crisis.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our local valued advertisers - and consequently the advertising that we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you helping us to provide you with news and information by buying a copy of our newspaper.

Thank you