American Viscountess Visits Waddesdon Manor

Julie Montagu hosts the wonderful series American Viscountess, where she visits the owners of castles, manor houses and stately homes, and discover how they have adapted to the 21st century. Over the summer, Julie visited Waddesdon Manor to learn more about their collection and the important conservation work that they do.

Waddesdon Manor

Waddesdon Manor was built from 1874 by Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild of the Vienna branch of the Rothschild family, to entertain the fashionable world and display his magnificent collection. Particular strengths are 18th-century British painting and French decorative arts, including Sevres porcelain and inlaid marquetry furniture, Savonnerie carpets, tapestries, books and bindings, gold boxes and metalwork. He also collected French 18th-century genre paintings and created a "Renaissance Museum" of 16th and 17th-century works of art. On his death in 1898, the Manor was inherited by his sister Alice, also a discerning collector who added to the collections, including Meissen porcelain and arms and armour. Waddesdon then passed to her great-nephew James de Rothschild from the French branch of the family who in turn bequeathed the Manor to the National Trust in 1957, since when it has been open to the public. Today, it is managed by the Rothschild Foundation on behalf of the National Trust.

The Collection

Thanks to the influence of Lord Rothschild and the Rothschild Family, Waddesdon is still a living house and collection. Significant acquisitions are made, complementing the existing collections and history of the house and family, and there is a lively exhibitions programme which throws different light on the place, for a range of audiences. They collaborate with contemporary artists responding to their history in inventive ways. They use a range of interpretative methods, to appeal to different audiences, including digital resources, from in-depth academic cataloguing to accessible tours and on-line talks. They are also focussing on EDI work, for example introducing "relaxed openings" and handling collections for those with special needs.

They are also developing integrated exhibitions programming, and this year curated an exhibition, Flights of Fancy, which explores birds at Waddesdon, and the Rothschild family's interest in birds and the natural world. This springs from the collection of 18th-century porcelain painted with birds, to the history of Rothschild bird collections, to the work today of the Aviary in the grounds, one of Europe's smallest registered zoos, with an active conservation breeding programme for rare and endangered species. The exhibition also looks at how the gardens are managed to support wildlife and birds, and the wider agricultural estate around the Manor, and how it is encouraging biodiversity and reversing habitat loss. 

They are also building on their track record of working with contemporary artists. The Aviary will host an installation by environmental artist Jenny Kendler, Tell it to the Birds, which encourages family engagement with birds by inviting visitors to whisper a secret into a large dish, so that software can translate the words into bird song and play it back. This work is being made relevant to Waddesdon by using bird song from the inhabitants of the Aviary. In the Manor, a paper artist, Andy Singleton, is making Escape from the Aviary, a series of sculptures of birds, some exotic, some from the Estate, forming a trail to lead visitors through the house and encourage looking and engagement with the collections.

This holistic approach is new for their programming and allows them to reach a range of different audiences, and draw in new visitors, with displays designed to appeal to different age groups and interests through a range of media. It also emphasises the vital need to preserve the natural world.

The winner of this year's award will be announced this November. Stay tuned as we announce other shortlist contenders over the next few weeks.