Flint House

In the form of an elongated, stepped wedge, Flint House sits in the heart of the Waddesdon Estate, on a chalk seam that runs from Norfolk to Dover. It was exploring this geology which inspired the architect, Charlotte Skene Catling, to create a building clad in flint which seems to erupt from the surrounding earth. The flints, knapped by hand by Sussex flint-workers The Flintman Company, are graduated in colour, steely grey at ground level rising to smooth white chalk blocks at the top.  Facing the main building is a similarly stepped, smaller annex. The interiors of the house were designed by David Mlinaric.

The building was given to and is now run by the Rothschild Foundation alongside all the other publicly accessible buildings at Waddesdon, including the Manor itself and Windmill Hill, (another contemporary building which houses the Manor’s Archives). It is used as temporary accommodation for academics, artists and collaborators who are working on or with Waddesdon’s educational and artistic programme or on projects commissioned by the Foundation for Waddesdon. For example, it is used to house the Rothschild Getty Fellow during their placement at the Manor every year.