Mentmore Towers was built between 1852 and 1854 for Baron Mayer Amschel de Rothschild (1818 - 1874). Sir Joseph Paxton and his son-in-law, George Henry Stokes, designed the building in the 19th-century revival of late 16th and early 17th-century Elizabethan and Jacobean styles, a prime example of Jacobethan architecture. The magnificent stately home was inherited by his daughter Hannah, who married the Earl of Rosebery. On the death of the 6th Earl of Rosebery, discussions were held with the government attempting to sell the house and contents to the nation in lieu of inheritance tax whilst simultaneously trying to preserve Mentmore as a heritage property. This and a subsequent attempt to sell the property and its contents to the nation for £2million was refused. Sotheby’s was then instructed by the executors to sell the contents. The legendary landmark auction ran for ten days in 1977 and realised more than £6million pounds.