1 & 2, Silk Street

1 and 2 Silk Street are a pair of estate cottages built around 1880 to 1899 for Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild, likely designed by W. Taylor of Bierton. The cottages are constructed of red brick with a tile-hung first floor and feature a pitched tile roof with ridge tiles and wide brick corbelled chimneys that have short pilasters at the ridge. They are designed in the Arts and Crafts style.

The west elevation faces Silk Street and includes an advanced entrance porch to the left, which has a gabled semi-dormer supported by corbelled brackets. This semi-dormer features a central three-light oriel window with a tile roof. To the left is a ridge stack, and to the right is a small dormer on corbelled brackets with a two-light window. In the center of the tile-hung first floor, there is a plaque displaying the Rothschild badge, above which is a ridge chimney stack. The south elevation has a three-light dormer in a tile-hung gable, with roughcast and timber applied to its small gable. To the right, there is a two-light window, and there is a ground floor extension with a pitched tile roof. The ground floors feature two and three-light windows set under brick segmental arches. The entrance to one of the cottages is located at the rear.

The cottages are part of the entrance approach to Waddesdon Manor, which was built between 1874 and 1883 for Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild by H.A. Destailleur. Nos. 1 and 2 Silk Street, along with Princes Gate Lodge, contribute to the group value of the entrance to Waddesdon Manor and are associated with other listed buildings in the village, particularly the similarly designed Nos. 93 and 94 High Street. This pair of estate cottages is an important part of the estate of the Grade I listed Waddesdon Manor.