The Villages of Quainton and Waddesdon

Quainton and Waddesdon are villages situated in the Aylesbury Vale, roughly three miles north of Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire. Both are steeped in history; Quainton meaning ‘Queen’s Manor’ was given by Edward the Confessor to his wife Edith, whilst Waddesdon is inextricably linked to the Rothschild family who built Waddesdon Manor in 1880 in the style of a 16th century French Renaissance Chateau. Many of the houses in the village were designed and built by the Rothschild’s for their staff, identifiable by the ‘five arrows’ family crest.

Waddesdon Manor is a popular location for filming. It is currently a location for Warner Brother’s Sherlock Holmes 2, and has also been used for the feature films, The Queen, James Bond ‘Never Say Never Again’, and Bollywood film Khabi Khushi Khabi Gham. For more information about Waddesdon Manor, see http://www.waddesdon.org.uk/.

Quainton and Waddesdon both lie within a specially demarcated quiet zone, recognised under European law, which is meant to preserve the area from developments that might adversely alter its special quiet status.