Between 1897 and 1936 Waddesdon had train services on the Aylesbury and Buckingham Railway at Waddesdon Manor Station, two miles from the village.
In 1874 Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild bought a large estate in the area and built the mansion of Waddesdon Manor on a hill-top above the village. He transformed Waddesdon into an estate village, with new houses for employees and tenants, a school, a public house, cricket pavilion and village hall.
Waddesdon Manor and grounds are now the property of the National Trust, and Jacob, 4th Lord Rothschild retains the estate and a house at nearby Eythrope.