20th May 2021 7.30pm. £7.00 (£5.00 Members)
The creation & role of the Waddesdon Gardens
A Talk by Catherine Taylor Head Archivist at Waddesdon
Hear the incredible story of how Ferdinand Rothschild in 1874 started to create the ‘big house’ and gardens at Waddesdon out of 3000 acres of farmland; how six years later he welcomed his first guests, and in just over a decade had created the masterpiece that is the house and gardens we can see today.
Waddesdon Manor was created as a place to entertain and the gardens, aviary, stables and pleasure grounds were very much part of the experience. The scale and cost were immense, and the results created one of the very best gardens of its time.
Catherine Taylor joined Waddesdon in February 2012, to head up the team running their newly established archive at Windmill Hill, a purpose-built site with 3km of storage. Since then, having successfully brought the archives and records management functions together, she and her team care for current and historic records for Waddesdon Manor, the Waddesdon Estate, the Rothschild Foundation and the family interests at Waddesdon.