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| Waddesdon Manor |
Let’s call this the Christmas edition shall we as it is going
to be Christmas themed!
A few weeks ago I paid a trip to Waddesdon Manor, together
with the WI (I’m not a member, but it’s a rather long story!) in part because
of its Christmas attractions but also because I hoped to learn a little about
the wider Rothschild family and their home at Waddesdon Manor. However, there
was a slight flaw in this plan, as Christmas was very much at the centre of
everything and history seems to have been somewhat side lined.
It would appear that the draw for Waddesdon Manor at this
time of year is Christmas and it becomes more of a place of entertainment than
a typical National Trust property. It has a Christmas market, Christmas themed
rooms with large decorated Christmas trees and a wonderful Christmas light
show. But it completely takes over. It doesn’t sit alongside everything else
and in some ways that was a bit of a shame. For example the Billiard room was
turned into the three wise men’s camp with boxes of frankincense, myrrh and
gold placed on the chaise-longue. It was cool, but at the same time gimmicky –
I’d sort of expected the rooms of the Manor to be done as they would have been
by the family at Christmas, rather than with this thematic spin.
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| Northern Lights inspired tree |
Don’t get me wrong, it was great and it definitely put me in
the mood for Christmas but the thing I struggled with was the lack of history
on offer to read and learn from. Unless you knew that Waddesdon Manor was the
home of Baron Ferdinand Rothschild you’d have been unlikely to pick that up
anywhere and given that I’d hoped to find out more about them and their history
this was slightly disappointing. I think I’ll have to revisit the house
re-opens in the spring for a more typical visit.
However, in addition to the Christmassy bits, the Aviary was
probably my favourite part. The Rothschild’s are known for being collectors and
Ferdinand was fond of birds. There’s an information panel that informs visitors
about the history of the Aviary - its establishment by Baron Ferdinand and the
contributions of his sister, Alice, its decline during WW2 and finally it’s
rejuvenation in the 1970s. It now houses several stud book managed species with
a focus on preservation against extinction.
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| The Aviary |
This includes the Rothschild’s Mynah and again an
information panel explains how the bird was named after Walter Rothschild
shortly after its discovery in 1910. Walter of course, having his own natural
history collection not too far away at Tring. The same panel also describes how
the Aviary team have been working with the Begawan Foundation and European zoos
in an effort to save this critically endangered bird from extinction and I
thought this was quite interesting as a reflection of how our attitudes and the
priorities in managing the aviary have changed.
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| The Rothschild Mynah |
The Rothschild’s Mynah is endemic to Bali – but because of
its beauty it was illegally poached from the wild for the globe pet trade,
prices peaking in 1990s at £1000 per bird!!! By 2001 the wild population was
believed to be as low as 6 individuals and efforts since to reintroduce captive
bred birds have had limited success. A more recent survey in 2012 counted 40
individuals and in order to promote genetic diversity Waddesdon’s Aviary have
been involved in a cooperative breeding programme, with some of their birds being
reintroduced to the wild and becoming parents themselves.
I have to admit I geeked out at this – the day offered
history, Christmas and natural history. What more could this girl ask for? It wasn’t
what I’d expected, but I think it’s definitely worth another visit when it
reopens in the spring, with the hope that it will be more ‘typically’ National
Trust and have some of the information I’m looking for!
