When the Aston Clinton estate came up for sale in July 1849 the Rothschild brothers discussed a possible investment purchase, agreeing to pay no more than £26,000, as ‘it is not like a fancy place’. Sir Anthony de Rothschild (1810-1876) finally bought the property in 1851 when its former owner Lord Lake died.
The Aston Clinton estate
The large mansion was situated to the south-east of the village of Aston Clinton, and from 1854, Anthony and hid wife Louise (1821-1910) began to make alterations to the house. The architect George Henry Stokes, assistant of Joseph Paxton (who had designed the great Rothschild house Mentmore Towers for Anthony’s brother Mayer Rothschild) and the builder George Myers produced a neo-Classical design at the foot of the Chilterns, with a park and gardens which Anthony greatly enhanced with conifers and shrubs.
The Rothschilds at Aston Clinton
The house and park were the setting for many entertainments, both formal and intimate. Anthony was a keen countryman and he became owner of a number of successful racehorses including Carnelion and Coomassie, and Aston Clinton hosted shooting parties at which the Prince of Wales was a frequent guest. Anthony and Louise were noted for their enlightened views of the responsibilities towards their employees and their tenants and they transformed the estate and village. The Rothschild family disposed of the estate in sales in 1923 and 1924.
See Aston Clinton House, Buckinghamshire in The Rothschild Archive Annual Review 2002-2003 and Mr Warren's photograph album: memories of a vanished Rothschild estate in The Rothschild Archive Annual Review 2012-2013 for more information about Aston Clinton.
