The house from a circa 1910 postcard
Earlier Houses: There was an earlier house (the first house) on the site, parts of which were incorporated into the 19th century house (the second house).
Built / Designed For: Sir Anthony de Rothschild, 1st Bt.
House & Family History: In 1851 Anthony Nathan de Rothschild bought the Aston Clinton Estate from the 2nd Duke of Buckingham and Chandos and began an extensive program of modernization and improvement, rebuilding the house in a neo-Georgian-Italianate style with verandahs and a large porte-cochere. After the Rothschilds decamped in the early 20th century Aston Clinton became a boys' prep school (where Evelyn Waugh began his teaching career as a junior master), after which it served for a brief time as a hotel. The house was demolished in 1958.
Garden & Outbuildings: In the 19th century Anthony Nathan de Rothschild built a large number of worker's cottages, two schools, and a village hall on the estate. After the demolition of the house in 1958 Buckinghamshire County Council acquired the estate with the proviso that it be used for educational purposes. Today the Aston Clinton Estate is used as a residential training center for young people. Many of the original ornamental features of the garden still remain, incorporated into the site, now called Green Park. The remaining estate buildings—the Stables and a lodge on Stablebridge Road—are used as part of the training center. In 2001, at Waddesdon Manor, a woodland path to the parterre was laid out as the Baron's Walk; this path features two sandstone statues (Venus and Adonis) carved in the 1730s by Jan van Logteren and formerly in the garden of Aston Clinton.
Architect: George Devey
Date: 1850s
Title: Waddesdon Manor: The Heritage of a Rothschild House
Author: Hall, Michael (Text); Taylor, John Bigelow (Photographs)
Year Published: 2002
Reference: pg. 36
Publisher: New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc.
ISBN: 0810932393
Book Type: Hardback
Title: Apollo (magazine)
Author: NA
Year Published: NA
Reference: Jul/Aug 2007, pg. 49
Publisher: London: Apollo Magazine Ltd.
ISBN: NA
Book Type: Magazine
House Listed: Demolished
Park Listed: Not Listed
Past Seat / Home of: SEATED AT FIRST HOUSE: Richard Temple-Nugent-Brydges-Chandos-Grenville, 2nd Duke of Buckingham and Chandos, until 1851. SEATED AT SECOND HOUSE: Sir Anthony de Rothschild, 1st Bt., 1851-76.
Current Ownership Type: Government
Primary Current Ownership Use: Demolished
Ownership Details: Though the House is gone, the Aston Clinton Estate is owned by Buckinghamshire County Council and used by them as a residential training center for young people.
House Open to Public: No
Historic Houses Member: No