Lionel Nathan de Rothschild,

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(25 January 1882 – 28 January 1942), also Major Lionel de Rothschild, was a British banker and Conservative politician best remembered as the creator of Exbury Gardens by the New Forest in

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

. He was the eldest son of Leopold de Rothschild (1845–1917) and a part of the prominent Rothschild banking family of England. In 1910, he was elected to the House of Commons. In 1917, he co-founded the anti-Zionist

League of British Jews The League of British Jews was an Anglo-Jewish anti-Zionist organization that opposed the Balfour Declaration giving British support for the establishment of a Jewish homeland in Palestine. The League was founded in November 1917 by a group of p ...

Early life and family

Lionel Nathan de Rothschild was the eldest of the three sons of Leopold de Rothschild (1845–1917) and Marie Perugia (1862–1937). He was born in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

and educated at

Harrow School (The Faithful Dispensation of the Gifts of God) , established = (Royal Charter) , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent schoolBoarding school , religion = Church of E ...

and

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by Henry VIII, King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge ...

, where he graduated BA in 1903 and MA in 1908. On 25 January 1910 he was elected to the House of Commons for the constituency of

Aylesbury Aylesbury ( ) is the county town of Buckinghamshire, South East England. It is home to the Roald Dahl Children's Gallery, David Tugwell`s house on Watermead and the Waterside Theatre. It is in central Buckinghamshire, midway between High Wy ...

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-ea ...

and was a Member of Parliament until 1923. In 1912 he married Marie Louise Eugénie Beer (1892–1975). They had the following children: * Rosemary Leonora Ruth (1913–2013), the first wife of Major Hon Denis Gomer Berry * Edmund Leopold (1916–2009) * Naomi Luisa Nina (1920-2007) * Leopold David (1927–2012)

World War I

At the outbreak of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, Lionel's younger brothers

Evelyn Evelyn may refer to: Places * Evelyn, London *Evelyn Gardens, a garden square in London * Evelyn, Ontario, Canada * Evelyn, Michigan, United States * Evelyn, Texas, United States * Evelyn, Wirt County, West Virginia, United States * Evelyn ...

and Anthony both joined the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

. However, as the eldest son he was needed as the heir to take over the family's

N M Rothschild & Sons Rothschild & Co is a multinational Investment banking, investment bank and financial services company, and the flagship of the Rothschild banking group controlled by the French and British branches of the Rothschild family. The banking business o ...

banking house. Much to his frustration, Lionel had no choice but to remain at home. When Britain entered the War in August 1914, Lionel had already been promoted from captain to major in the Royal Buckinghamshire Yeomanry. As the Government recognized that many Jews yet had not been enlisted in military service, a ''Central Jewish Recruiting Committee'' was established in December 1915. Its office was located at the Rothschild's ''New Court'', which was colloquially known as "Rothschild’s Recruiting Office", while Lionel was appointed vice-chairman. Chairman was

Edmund Sebag-Montefiore Edmund is a masculine given name or surname in the English language. The name is derived from the Old English elements ''ēad'', meaning "prosperity" or "riches", and ''mund'', meaning "protector". Persons named Edmund include: People Kings and ...

. In 1917 he co-founded and headed the anti-Zionist

. Lionel was made

in the Military Division in 1917. He was retired from the regiment in 1921.''‘There are three types of men’: Lionel de Rothschild and The Jewish War Services Committee, 1915–1919''
pp. 37-39. Justin Cavernelis-Frost, The Rothschild Archive. Both of his brothers were wounded in battle, and brother

died of combat injuries suffered at the 1917 Battle of Mughar Ridge.

Engagement in plants

His father, Leopold, died in early 1917 and Lionel and brother Anthony became the managing partners of N M Rothschild & Sons bank. However, Lionel de Rothschild had developed an interest in

horticulture Horticulture is the branch of agriculture that deals with the art, science, technology, and business of plant cultivation. It includes the cultivation of fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, herbs, sprouts, mushrooms, algae, flowers, seaweeds and no ...

at a very young age and is said to have planted his first garden at the age of five. In 1919, he purchased the Mitford estate at

Exbury Exbury is a village in Hampshire, England. It is in the civil parish of Exbury and Lepe. It lies just in the New Forest, near the Beaulieu River and about a mile from the Solent coast. It is best known as the location of Exbury House, built by ...

, where he devoted a great deal of time and money to transform it into one of the finest gardens in all of England, with more than one million plants. In the 1920s, he built Exbury House around an existing structure in a neo-Georgian style. He constructed a private

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

to transport rocks to build the largest

rock garden A rock garden, also known as a rockery and formerly as a rockwork, is a garden, or more often a part of a garden, with a landscaping framework of rocks, stones, and gravel, with planting appropriate to this setting. Usually these are small A ...

in the country. Lionel de Rothschild also co-sponsored plant-hunting expeditions to places as isolated as the

Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 100 ...

to collect seed for plant growth and experimentation. In all, he developed 1,204 new hybrids of

rhododendron ''Rhododendron'' (; from Ancient Greek ''rhódon'' "rose" and ''déndron'' "tree") is a very large genus of about 1,024 species of woody plants in the heath family (Ericaceae). They can be either evergreen or deciduous. Most species are nati ...

and

azalea Azaleas are flowering shrubs in the genus ''Rhododendron'', particularly the former sections ''Tsutsusi'' (evergreen) and '' Pentanthera'' (deciduous). Azaleas bloom in the spring (April and May in the temperate Northern Hemisphere, and Octob ...

that were recognized and sold around the world. Although he continued to work at the family bank, he is quoted as describing himself as "a banker by hobby — a gardener by profession".

Death

Lionel Nathan de Rothschild died in London, aged sixty, in 1942 and was buried in the

Willesden Jewish Cemetery The Willesden United Synagogue Cemetery, usually known as Willesden Jewish Cemetery, is a Jewish cemetery at Beaconsfield Road, Willesden, in the London Borough of Brent, England. It opened in 1873 on a site. It has been described as the "R ...

. His son Edmund took over management of the Exbury Gardens and would eventually create a charitable trust to manage the property. In 2001, the American Rhododendron Society recognised Lionel Nathan de Rothschild's significant contribution, posthumously bestowing on him a Pioneer Achievement Award.

References

* See the list of references at: Rothschild banking family of England

External links

*
''Letter from Major Lionel de Rothschild to Lord Curzon concerning: Draft mandate for the administration of Palestine: requests copies to be sent to the Executives of the League of British Jews.''
(catalogue only). The National Archives, UK
''Typed letter from Major Lionel de Rothschild to Wollaston of 7 April 1921 asking for share of every rhododendron seed and plant and magnolia seeds in return for subscription of £100 towards Expedition funds.''
5 July 1920 (catalogue only). The National Archives, UK {{DEFAULTSORT:Rothschild, Lionel Nathan 1882 births 1942 deaths People educated at Harrow School Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge English bankers English gardeners English people of German-Jewish descent

Lionel Nathan de Rothschild Lionel Nathan de Rothschild, OBE (25 January 1882 – 28 January 1942), also Major Lionel de Rothschild, was a British banker and Conservative politician best remembered as the creator of Exbury Gardens by the New Forest in Hampshire. He was ...

English Jews Liberal Unionist Party MPs for English constituencies Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1910 UK MPs 1910–1918 UK MPs 1918–1922 UK MPs 1922–1923 Burials at Willesden Jewish Cemetery Officers of the Order of the British Empire Royal Buckinghamshire Yeomanry officers Politicians from London Jewish British politicians Victoria Medal of Honour (Horticulture) recipients N M Rothschild & Sons people 20th-century English businesspeople British Army personnel of World War I Anti-Zionist Jews