Mayer Amschel (Muffy) de Rothschild (1818-1874)

Mayer Amschel de Rothchild, or 'Muffy' as he was known to his family, was born at New Court on 29 June 1818, the fourth son of Nathan Mayer Rothschild (1777–1836). Hannah Barent-Cohen) (1783-1850). He was named after his late grandfather, Mayer Amschel Rothschild of Frankfurt.

He was the first of his family to receive an education at an English university, spending time at both Magdalene and Trinity College Cambridge after a spell at both Leipzig and Heidelberg universities. He followed a traditional Rothschild apprenticeship in the various houses, but never really played much of a part in the business. He married his cousin Juliana Cohen (1831-1877) on 26 June 1850. Mayer became High Sheriff of Buckinghamshire in 1847, the same year  he served on the committee of the British Relief Association, which had been established at New Court by his brother Baron Lionel de Rothschild (1808-1879) to raise funds for distribution to parishes in Ireland and Scotland in response to the Great Famine in Ireland. Mayer dabbled in politics, and was elected Liberal MP for Hythe in 1859.  

Mentmore Towers

It was Mayer's mother, Hannah who first began the Rothschild acquisitions in Buckinghamshire. Thinking her sons unhealthy, she began to purchase parcels of land around Aylesbury in prime hunting country, where they could take outdoor exercise. By the middle of the 19th century, two of her four sons had large estates and mansions in the Vale of Aylesbury; Anthony Nathan de Rothschild (1810-1876) acquired Aston Clinton and Mayer built Mentmore Towers, the most sumptuous of the English Rothschild houses at the time. 

In 1850, Mayer bought the Manor of Mentmore for £12,400 and commissioned Sir Joseph Paxton and his son-in-law, George Henry Stokes, to design an elegant mansion in the 19th-century revival Jacobethan style as a country residence, and to display his collection of fine art. The builder was the London firm George Myers, frequently employed by members of the Rothschild family. The resulting mansion, which incorporated the most modern features, stands four-square on a slight rise with towers at each corner, and is the largest of the English Rothschild houses, with a huge central grand hall with glazed roof, designed to imitate the arcaded courtyard of a Renaissance palazzo. On 31 December 1851, aged just five months, Mayer’s daughter Hannah (1851-1890) helped lay the foundation stone for the great mansion, described as one of the greatest houses of the Victorian era, with the family taking up residence in 1855.

Mayer was a keen rider and hunter, in spite of his weight of 16 stone. He was an owner of racehorses and was dedicated to the sport of thoroughbred horse racing. He established a stud farm at Crafton, Buckinghamshire, owned stables at Palace House, Newmarket and was a member of the Jockey Club. In 1871, known as 'The Baron's Year' his horses won four of the five classic races: Favonius won The Derby and Hannah won The Oaks, the 1,000 Guineas and the St. Leger Stakes.

Legacy

Mayer and Juliana had one child, a daughter, Hannah. Mayer died in 1874 leaving Hannah as his sole beneficiary; she inherited the vast estate of Mentmore and 107, Piccadilly, and was said to be the wealthiest British heiress of her day. To his nephew Leopold, he left his considerable horseracing interests, including Palace House. Mayer was buried in the Willesden Jewish Cemetery in London. In her father's memory Hannah gave funds for a lifeboat at Hythe and produced a detailed catalogue of the collections at Mentmore.

In 1878, Hannah married the aristocrat and Liberal politician Archibald Philip Primrose, the 5th Earl of Rosebery (1847-1929) and the Roseberys divided their year among their various homes, London for the social season and parliament and Mentmore at weekends to entertain both political and shooting house-parties. Following Hannah’s death from Bright's disease in 1890 at age 39, the house became the home of her widower, who was to serve as Prime Minister for two years from 1894. The estate passed through the Rosebery family, and following the death of the 6th Earl of Rosebery in 1974, Mentmore and its contents became the subject of a sensational sale in 1977.

See also Juliana de Rothschild »