Halton House
Halton House is a country house in the Chiltern Hills above the village of Halton in the English county of Buckinghamshire . Alfred de Rothschild had it built between 1880 and 1883. Today it serves as the officers' mess for the RAF Halton , an important location for the Royal Air Force .
history
Halton has had a manor house since the Norman conquest of England , when the property was owned by the Archbishop of Canterbury . Thomas Cranmer sold the manor to Henry Bradshaw , Solicitor General in the mid-16th century. After remaining with the Bradshaw family for a considerable period, it was sold to Sir Francis Dashwood in 1720 and remained with the Dashwood family for nearly 150 years.
The old Halton House was west of the Halton village church. It had a large park that was later divided into two by the Grand Union Canal . In June 1849 Sir George Dashwood had the contents of the house auctioned and in 1853 he sold the property to Baron Lionel de Rothschild .
Lionel de Rothschild then bequeathed the property to his son Alfred in 1879 . At the time, this property was approximately 6 square kilometers and was shaped like a triangle between Wendover , Aston Clinton and Weston Turville .
construction
The architect is thought to be William R. Rodriguez (also known as Rogers ). He worked on the planning team at William Cubitt and Company , the company that was tasked with building and overseeing the project in 1880. Only three years later the house was ready.
The house has been largely criticized by members of the establishment. Architect Eustace Balfour , a nephew of the Marquess of Salisbury , described it as "a combination of French castle and casino " and one of Gladstone's private secretaries called it an "exaggerated nightmare".
Sold to the RAF
Alfred de Rothschild was an excellent host, and his greatest joy was bringing joy to other people, whether as a philanthropist of the slightest kitchen help or as the host of the emperor , tsar or shah . Everyone was entertained at Halton House. But the glittering life there didn't even last 30 years. The last party took place in 1914 when the First World War broke out. The cruel war destroyed Alfred's health and he died in 1918. He had no legitimate offspring, so he bequeathed the house to his nephew Lionel Nathan de Rothschild . He detested this place and had the contents of the house auctioned off in 1918. The Air Ministry bought the house itself and the then already reduced property for the Royal Air Force at a ridiculous price of £ 115,000.
Officers' mess
Shortly after purchasing the RAF Halton House built for the officers' mess of RAF Halton in order. On January 1, 1920, RAF Halton was promoted to command and the headquarters moved into Halton House. Even if the headquarters are no longer in the house today, it was still an officers' mess. The RAF received the structure of the house. As an officers' mess, it saw more entertainment and festivities than under Alfred de Rothschild. To everyone's regret, the winter garden and its huge dome were torn down and a new residential wing was built instead. However, since the appreciation for 19th century architecture is increasing, it is unlikely that something like this will happen again. In the 1960s a new dining room was added to the rear of the wing for the servants.
architecture
When designing the house, Alfred was probably inspired by the recently completed Waddesdon Manor , the seat of Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild , his brother-in-law. While Halton House is not that big, there are similarities. However, other influences from continental Europe also seem to have played a role: Classic ornamental gables protruding from mansard roofs , peaks and gables vying for attention and a lantern is placed on the whole . A porte-cochère is attached to the front of the house . A Rothschild cousin described the house as a "giant wedding cake".
If the outside of the house was extravagant, the inside wasn't exactly the opposite. The central hall, which was not unlike the two-story, gallery-reinforced hall of the Mentmore Towers , was set up as a "Grand Salon". Two other salons (east and west) continued this luxurious theme. Dining and billiard rooms were also fitted with wall paneling from the 18th century. The theme continued through the grand, stucco-decorated staircase to the bedroom. The whole was decorated in a style that was later called the "Rothschild style", i.e. H. So, French furniture made of ebony , partly gilded, complemented by old masters and fine porcelain .
A huge, domed greenhouse called the winter garden was attached to the house.
In film and television
Halton House is also widely used as a movie set and can often be seen in cinemas or on television around the world. It appears in the following films:
- Jeeves and Wooster - Lord and Master (Series 3, Episode 1: "Bertie Sets Sails" - 1992)
- Evita (1996 musical film about the life of Eva Perón )
- James Bond 007 - The World Is Not Enough (from 1999)
- A perfect husband (from 1999, based on a play by Oscar Wilde )
- What girls want (from 2003)
- Dear Indian (from 2004, Bollywood- style film based on a novel by Jane Austen from 1813)
- The Queen (from 2006)
- Flyboys - Heroes of the Skies (from 2006)
- Diana - The Last 24 Hours (from 2007)
- The King's Speech (from 2010)
- Downton Abbey (Series 2, Episode 6 - 2011). The interiors served only as "Haxby Park," the home of Sir Richard Carlisle, a suitor from Lady Mary Crawley in Series 2.
- Agatha Christie's Poirot (Series 13, Episode 4: The Labor of Hercules - 2013). The outdoor areas, main hall, dining room and terrace served as a Swiss hotel in the Alps.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Bradshaw . Retrieved November 6, 2015.
- ^ Halton House, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire . Country House Reader. Retrieved November 6, 2015.
- ↑ a b Halton House . Parks and Gardens. Retrieved November 6, 2015.
- ↑ Sir John Dashwood-King . Halton Village News. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved November 6, 2015.
- ↑ William Cubitt & Co . Scottish Architects. Retrieved November 6, 2015.
- ^ RAF Halton . Ministry of Defense. Retrieved November 6, 2015.
- ↑ John Fisher, Antony Best: On the Fringes of Diplomacy: Influences on British Foreign Policy, 1800-1945 . Ashgate Publishing. 2013. Retrieved November 6, 2015.
- ↑ Halton House stars in Queen movie . Bucks Herald. September 26, 2006. Retrieved November 6, 2015.
- ↑ a b c d Case Study: Belvedere Tower - Halton House . Meon Surveys. Archived from the original on July 5, 2015. Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved November 6, 2015.
- ^ Ministry of Defense film locations . Archived from the original on March 12, 2011. Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved November 6, 2015.
literature
- Beryl Escott: The Story of Halton House . ISBN 0-9540312-1-0 .
Web links
- Halton House website. RAF Halton's Officers' Mess Heritage Committee.
- Old Haltonians social network website. RAF Halton Aircraft Apprentices Association.
Coordinates: 51 ° 46 ′ 52.9 " N , 0 ° 43 ′ 35.1" W.