Halton House

In June 1849 Sir George Dashwood auctioned the contents and, in 1853, the estate was sold to Lionel Freiherr de Rothschild.

[4] At this time the estate covered an approximately 1,500-acre (610-hectare) triangle between Wendover, Aston Clinton, and Weston Turville.

The architect Eustace Balfour, a nephew of the Marquess of Salisbury, described it as a "combination of French Chateau and gambling house", and one of Gladstone's private secretaries called it an "exaggerated nightmare".

Alfred had no legitimate children, so the house was bequeathed to his nephew Lionel Nathan de Rothschild.

[11] For the style of the house Alfred was probably influenced by that of plans for the nearly completed Waddesdon Manor, the home of Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild, his brother-in law.

While not so large there is a resemblance, but other continental influences appear to have crept in: classical pediments jut from mansard roofs, spires and gables jostle for attention, and the whole is surmounted by a cupola.

The whole was furnished in what became known as "Le Style Rothschild", that is, 18th-century French furniture, boulle, ebony, and ormolu, complemented by Old Masters and fine porcelain.