Waddesdon is a village in

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-e ...

, England, west-north-west of

Aylesbury Aylesbury ( ) is the county town of Buckinghamshire, South East England. It is home to the Roald Dahl Children's Gallery, David Tugwell`s house on Watermead and the Waterside Theatre. It is in central Buckinghamshire, midway between High Wy ...

on the

A41 road The A41 is a trunk road between London and Birkenhead, England. Now in parts replaced by motorways, it passes through or near Watford, Kings Langley, Hemel Hempstead, Aylesbury, Bicester, Solihull, Birmingham, West Bromwich, Wolverhampton, ...

. The village also includes the

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

s of

Eythrope Eythrope (previously Ethorp) is a hamlet and country house in the parish of Waddesdon, in Buckinghamshire, England. It is located to the south east of the main village of Waddesdon. It was bought in the 1870s by a branch of the Rothschild fa ...

and Wormstone, Waddesdon was an agricultural settlement with

mill Mill may refer to: Science and technology * * Mill (grinding) * Milling (machining) * Millwork * Textile mill * Steel mill, a factory for the manufacture of steel * List of types of mill * Mill, the arithmetic unit of the Analytical Engine early ...

ing,

silk Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoons. The best-known silk is obtained from th ...

weaving Weaving is a method of textile production in which two distinct sets of yarns or threads are interlaced at right angles to form a fabric or cloth. Other methods are knitting, crocheting, felting, and braiding or plaiting. The longitudinal ...

and

lace Lace is a delicate fabric made of yarn or thread in an open weblike pattern, made by machine or by hand. Generally, lace is divided into two main categories, needlelace and bobbin lace, although there are other types of lace, such as knitted o ...

making enterprises.

History

The name 'Waddesdon' means 'hill of a man named Wott'. The parish church of St Michael and All Angels dates from 1190 with

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

and Victorian additions. Waddesdon was involved in the marriage of Maud Holland in the 1360s.

Edward the Black Prince Edward of Woodstock, known to history as the Black Prince (15 June 1330 – 8 June 1376), was the eldest son of King Edward III of England, and the heir apparent to the English throne. He died before his father and so his son, Richard II, suc ...

agreed with

Hugh de Courtenay, 2nd/10th Earl of Devon Sir Hugh de Courtenay, 2nd/10th Earl of Devon (12 July 1303 – 2 May 1377), 2nd Baron Courtenay, feudal baron of Okehampton and feudal baron of Plympton, played an important role in the Hundred Years War in the service of King Edward III. Hi ...

that Maud would marry Devon's grandson Hugh Courtenay. Devon promised to award Maud an annuity of 200

marks Marks may refer to: Business * Mark's, a Canadian retail chain * Marks & Spencer, a British retail chain * Collective trade marks, trademarks owned by an organisation for the benefit of its members * Marks & Co, the inspiration for the novel ...

and the manors of

Sutton Courtenay Sutton Courtenay is a village and civil parish on the River Thames south of Abingdon-on-Thames and northwest of Didcot. Historically part of Berkshire, it has been administered as part of Oxfordshire since the 1974 boundary changes. The ...

and in Buckinghamshire. The arrangements were approved by

Pope Urban V Pope Urban V ( la, Urbanus V; 1310 – 19 December 1370), born Guillaume de Grimoard, was the head of the Catholic Church from 28 September 1362 until his death in December 1370 and was also a member of the Order of Saint Benedict. He was the ...

and

Edward III Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377), also known as Edward of Windsor before his accession, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring r ...

. The wedding had taken place by February 1365, when the manors were granted to Maud. Between 1897 and 1936, Waddesdon had train services on the

Aylesbury and Buckingham Railway The Aylesbury and Buckingham Railway (A&BR) was an English railway located in Buckinghamshire, England operating between Aylesbury and Verney Junction. History The Aylesbury and Buckingham Railway Company was incorporated on 6 August 1860, a ...

(later part of the

Metropolitan Metropolitan may refer to: * Metropolitan area, a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories * Metropolitan borough, a form of local government district in England * Metropolitan county, a typ ...

) at Waddesdon railway station, two miles from the village. There was also a halt on the

Brill Tramway The Brill Tramway, also known as the Quainton Tramway, Wotton Tramway, Oxford & Aylesbury Tramroad and Metropolitan Railway Brill Branch, was a six-mile (10 km) rail line in the Aylesbury Vale, Buckinghamshire, England. It was privately b ...

. In 1874,

Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild (17 December 1839 – 17 December 1898), also known as Ferdinand James Anselm Freiherr von Rothschild, was a British Jewish banker, art collector and politician who was a member of the prominent Rothschild family ...

bought a large estate in the area and built the mansion of

Waddesdon Manor Waddesdon Manor is a English country house, country house in the village of Waddesdon, in Buckinghamshire, England. Owned by National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, National Trust and managed by the Rothschild Foundation ...

on a hill-top above the village. He transformed Waddesdon into an estate village, with new houses for employees and tenants, a

school A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes co ...

, a

public house A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and wa ...

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by st ...

pavilion and village hall.

and grounds are now the property of the

National Trust The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...

, and

Jacob Rothschild, 4th Baron Rothschild Nathaniel Charles Jacob Rothschild, 4th Baron Rothschild, (born 29 April 1936) is a British peer, investment banker and a member of the Rothschild banking family. Now mostly retired, he has held many important roles in business, finance ...

retains the estate and a house at nearby

. On 17 November 2017, near Waddesdon, there was a mid-air collision between an aeroplane and a helicopter, with four fatalities.

Education

Waddesdon Village Primary School is a mixed,

community A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, t ...

primary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary e ...

, which has approximately 200 pupils from the age of four through to the age of eleven. The village is also home to

Waddesdon Church of England School Waddesdon Church of England School is a mixed secondary school in the village of Waddesdon, in Buckinghamshire. In September 2011 the school became an Academy. It takes children from the age of 11 through to the age of 18 and has approximately ...

, a secondary school which holds over 1000 students and staff. It has over 600 students.

Notable residents

* Peter Palmer (died 1621), justice of the

Court of Common Pleas (Ireland) The Court of Common Pleas was one of the principal courts of common law in Ireland. It was a mirror image of the equivalent court in England. Common Pleas was one of the four courts of justice which gave the Four Courts in Dublin, which is sti ...

, was born in Waddesdon, where his family leased the main mansion house. * Alice Shalvi

Gallery

File:St Michael and All Angels Church, Waddesdon.jpg, St Michael and All Angels Church File:Waddesdon - Main road.jpg, Waddesdon

References

External links