42 |OxfordshireLimitedEdition|August 2019cousinfromtheFrencharmofthefamous
bankingfamily.Jamesinheritedasubstantial
partofhisfatherBaronEdmond’sgreat
collectionand,in 1957 ,tosafeguardthe
house’sfuture,bequeathedittotheNational
Trust.Hiswidow,Dolly,managedituntil
herdeathin 1988 ,whenJacob,thecurrent
incumbent,tookover.Thefamilymaintains
anactiveinterestinWaddesdon’srunning
throughacharitabletrust,TheRothschild
Foundation,andRachelsaysLordRothschild
isafrequentvisitor.
“We’resustainedbyTheRothschild
Foundationandthatmeansthatwe’reable
toputonexhibitionsanddisplayspacesand
wehavealargerteamonhand,”sheexplains.
“LordRothschildisheremostweeks,soit’sa
greatthingtohavethatsupport.TheTreasury
camefromhim–itwassomethinghewanted.”T
hedisplay,whichopens
onSeptember 7 ,spanstwo
millennia,from 100 ADtothe
20 thcentury.Amongtheitems
onshowwillbeafirstcentury
cameoofAugustusCaesar’sgrandson,
jewellerygivenaspresentsfromQueen
VictoriaandobjectsbearingNaziinventory
numbers.
Rachelsaysvisitorswillgetastrong
senseofthefamily’shistoryandinterests.
“There’sdifferentlayerstoit.You’llbeable
tojustappreciatethesheerqualityofthe
craftsmanshipandbeautyoftheobjects
themselves,rangingfromantiquetomodern
jewellerytowonderful,precious 17 thcentury
ambercaskets.It’sthingsyouwouldhave
foundintheprince’streasure,butthere’salso
thelayerofitallcomingfromonefamily’s
collection,soit’sarealinsightintowhatthe
Rothschildswerecollectingatthetime.
“Therearecommemorativethingsrelating
tothewarandverypersonalitemsthat
werecommissionedby,orbelongedto,the
Rothschildsinthe 19 thcentury–theantique
jewellery,forexample,andtheantiquecoins
relatingtotheirinterestinarchaeology.”