THE HOUSES OF THE ROTHSCHILDS - [3] - WADDESDON MANOR

Waddesdon Manor is a country house in the village of Waddesdon, in Buckinghamshire, England. The house was built in the Neo-Renaissance style of a French château between 1874 and 1889 for Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild (1839–1898). The last member of the Rothschild family to own Waddesdon was James de Rothschild. He bequeathed the house and its contents to the National Trust in 1957. Today, following an extensive restoration, it is administered by a Rothschild charitable trust that is overseen by Jacob Rothschild, 4th Baron Rothschild. The house was built on a barren hilltop overlooking Waddesdon village. In 2007–08 it was the National Trust's second most visited paid-entry property, with 386,544 visitors.

The structural design of Waddesdon was not at all retrospective. Hidden from view were the most modern innovations of the late 19th century including a steel frame, which took the strain of walls on the upper floors, which consequently permitted the layout of these floors to differ completely from the lower floors. The house also had hot and cold running water in its bathrooms, central heating, and an electric bell system to summon the numerous servants.

Several films have been shot at Waddesdon Manor, including the Carry On film Don't Lose Your Head, the Indian film Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham and in 2006 The Queen, in which interiors and the gardens doubled for Buckingham Palace.

Waddesdon Manor was also used as Snow White's and Prince Wendell's castle in the TV miniseries The Tenth Kingdom. Computer-generated imagery was used to make it look larger.
It was used as the O'Connell family's home in the film The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor.