Although the Rothschilds were one of the foremost Jewish families in the country, there is no surviving evidence of these being Kosher kitchens.

The Main Kitchen

The walls are lined with ceramic-edged bricks. The fitted shelves and dresser would have held an impressive batterie de cuisine of copper pans and jelly-moulds. Central to the work of the kitchen is the large wooden table, which was in use here when the Rothschilds left in 1925. Next to it is a metal warming cupboard which is heated by hot water pipes which come under the floor from the boiler behind the range. This cupboard would have been essential for keeping dishes of food warm until they were carried down the draughty passages to the Dining Room.

The bar-grate roasting range would have been used just for roasting meat and heating water. When the fire was lit the hot air rising up the chimney turned a fan called a smoke-jack. This was linked to a complicated system of cogs which rotated the spits. The built-in oven next to the range was for fine pastries rather than bread. (In a relatively suburban house like this bread would have been delivered from a local commercial bakery.)

At the end of the kitchen is a rare early gas stove. It would have been used for large pans of stock and for delicate sauces created by the chef.

The Scullery

This was used for preparing vegetables, cooking soups, stocks and boiled puddings and for washing up. The sinks under the windows were originally lead-lined, but for health reasons, when these had to be replaced in 1992, copies of one of the other ceramic sinks were used instead. The large closed “Leamington” range was the most popular type of its day.

The Butchery

This room was added around 1900, to store and prepare carcases of meat. The large window-opening was originally a grill to keep the room cool.

The late nineteenth century cold-cupboard came from another Rothschild house at Tring. Blocks of ice would have been put into the top and drained down behind the tiled walls and insulated door.

The Pastry Room

(Now displaying local laundry equipment ) This room has its original wall and floor tiles, grained cupboards and shelving, a marble work-top and a wall-mounted bracket to hold a very large pestle. It was here that the French chefs produced ornamental raised pies and magnificent iced cakes.

The Chef’s Office

This room was added around 1900. The fireplace, built-in grained cupboard and ceiling mouldings are original, but it is now missing the corner sink. The wallpaper is not original. In a large and sophisticated kitchen, catering for a well-to-do family and many guests, the chef needed an office in which to plan his menus and order his ingredients.