- Alfred de Rothschild
Alfred Charles de Rothschild (
20 July ,1842 -31 January ,1918 ) was the second son ofLionel de Rothschild and Baroness Charlotte von Rothschild of the prominent Rothschild family.As a young man, Alfred attended
King's College London , and subsequentlyTrinity College, Cambridge ,England , where he would study Mathematics for two terms. It was at Trinity College that Alfred formed a lasting friendship with the Prince of Wales, later King Edward VII. Alfred left Cambridge University without a degree.At the age of 21 Alfred took up employment at the N M Rothschild Bank at New Court in London. It was there that he learnt the business of banking from his father and made valuable contacts in European banking circles.
In 1869, at the age of 26, Alfred became a director of the
Bank of England , a post he held for 20 years. In 1892 he was one of those who represented the British Government at the International Monetary Conference inBrussels .Upon the death of his father in 1879, Alfred inherited a convert|1400|acre|km2|sing=on estate centered on Halton in
Buckinghamshire . As Alfred lacked a country retreat and the Halton estate did not provide one, Alfred set about building a house in the style of a French chateau. Work started around 1880 andHalton House was finished in July 1883. Alfred remained in residence at Seamore Place in London and only ever used Halton House for social purposes.Although Alfred never married, it is commonly acknowledged that he had a daughter born out of wedlock,
Almina Wombwell , 5th Countess of Carnarvon, byMarie Wombwell . In later life Alfred did not enjoy good health and he died after a short illness on 31 January 1918. He was interred in theWillesden Jewish Cemetery in the North London suburb of Willesden.He was awarded the
Legion of Honor by the government ofFrance .A patron of the arts, he also donated money to the
National Art Gallery for acquisitions.ee also
*
History of the Jews in England
*Halton House
*Rothschild banking family of England References
* [http://www.rothschildarchive.org/ib/articles/AR2006Alfred.pdf Butlers and boardrooms: Alfred de Rothschild as collector and connoisseur]
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