The Manor
With most of us working from home and spending our days on video calls – Waddesdon Manor is giving people the chance to add a touch of glamour to their online meetings, by offering free downloads of lavish interiors, amazing artwork and spectacular gardens to dazzle colleagues on Zoom and Teams.
Waddesdon was made for meetings – it was built in the 1870s to host gatherings of the great and good at Baron Ferdinand’s house parties. So, if you’re working from home or just staying in touch with loved ones, why not jazz up your next call with one of our favourite views or rooms – or some of the most popular paintings in the collection – to give you a background fit for royalty. Here’s some of what is on offer…
The Manor
Sometimes more is more. Bring a touch of France to your screens with this incredible aerial shot of the Manor. Waddesdon was created for Baron Ferdinand and designed by French architect Gabriel-Hippolyte Destailleur, in the style of a French Renaissance châteaux like those in the Loire valley. The foundation stone was laid in 1877 and the house slept in for the first time in 1880. Ferdinand created an instant garden around it, importing mature trees which still line its sweeping lawns.
Windmill Hill
If 18th-century interiors aren’t your cup of tea, what about something more contemporary. This striking building was designed in 2011 by Stephen Marshall Architects of London and houses the archives of the Waddesdon Rothschilds. With spectacular views, this former dairy farm is a place to enjoy contemporary art and architecture and research Waddesdon’s history, as well as providing spaces for gatherings and performance.
Barons Room
Baron’s Room
Settle into Baron Ferdinand’s inner sanctum – his private sitting room. His bedroom was immediately above, connected by a small service staircase, and the two spaces formed a kind of apartment within the house. Here, where he would sit to read the newspapers (accompanied by his poodle, Poupon) he gathered his favourite works of art, from a portrait of the notorious Emma Hamilton to a desk made for King Louis XVI’s private study, to a bust of Queen Victoria, given to him following her visit to Waddesdon in 1890.
Smoking-Room
Smoking Room
This richly decorated room was where house party guests could smoke after dinner – and perhaps have a game of billiards next door. Baron Ferdinand also designed this room to display his “Renaissance Museum”, an exceptional collection of medieval and Renaissance works of art, inspired by the tradition of the Schatzkammer, or treasure room. It now contains objects collected by other members of the family – Ferdinand’s collection was bequeathed to the British Museum on his death, where it can still be seen.
The Parterre
Bring the outdoors in with the impressive Parterre, a French-inspired formal garden. It is a symmetrical pattern of densely-planted beds, ornamented with sculpture and set off by mown grass, neat paths and low clipped hedges. It is usually designed to be seen from above, in our case from the raised terrace and the main reception rooms and bedrooms on the south side of the Manor.
Here are instructions on how to change the background image on Zoom and Microsoft Teams.
These and many more backdrops can be downloaded for free, HERE
Waddesdon Manor was built at the end of the 19th century by Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild in the style of a French early 16th-century château. Baron Ferdinand was an inspired collector and the house was designed to showcase his exceptional collection of French 18th-century furniture, Sèvres porcelain, English portraits and other decorative arts. When Ferdinand died in 1898, he left Waddesdon to his sister, Alice. Upon her death, the house passed to her great-nephew, James de Rothschild, who inherited a substantial part of his father Baron Edmond’s great collection. In 1957, in order to ensure its future in perpetuity, Waddesdon was bequeathed to the National Trust. The Rothschild family continues to run Waddesdon through a family charitable trust under the chairmanship of Lord Rothschild.
