Waddesdon Manor's Wedding Cake Pavilion Set for Dismantling

The Wedding Cake, a 12-metre-high pavilion in the grounds of Waddesdon Manor in Buckinghamshire, England, is set to be taken apart. Dezeen reported the plan on 12 November 2026, after the structure was closed over safety concerns.

The pavilion was designed by the Portuguese artist Joana Vasconcelos as a permanent garden structure for the estate. It was installed in 2023. Its three tiers are wrapped in glazed, pastel-toned ceramic tiles made by Viúva Lamego. Faults in those tiles led to the closure.

Buckinghamshire Council has approved a change to the listed building consent, the official permission needed to alter a protected historic building or its setting. The change allows the Wedding Cake sculpture to be removed. The structure must be taken down no later than January 2036.

The approval also sets a deadline for the ground. The landscape around the pavilion must be returned to grass within six months of its removal. The pavilion has an 11-metre diameter.

Waddesdon Manor is run by the Rothschild Foundation, which manages the estate in partnership with the National Trust, the UK charity that cares for historic places. Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild began creating the house and its grounds in 1874. The estate sits on the edge of the Chiltern Hills, about an hour from Oxford and London.

Other work is under way across the estate. Christmas at Waddesdon will pause in 2026 while Conservation in Action projects take place. Workers are also installing ground source heat pumps, which draw warmth from the earth to heat buildings, and conserving the stone façade of the House.

The estate has one more date to watch. Waddesdon Manor plans to open a new contemporary sculpture trail in its grounds in July 2027.