The builders
Sylvia Waddilove
Sylvia H. Waddilove (1911-2001), born in Yorkshire into the British aristocracy, was a music lover who spent many years at Villeneuve, on the Vaud Riviera. On her death she left her lakeside property, the Clos du Verger, to music: her house is today a music centre made available to the Conservatoire de Montreux.
Sylvia Waddilove: a Lake Geneva house left to music
An English aristocrat in Villeneuve
The daughter of Lady Alice Waddilove, O.B.E., devoted to charitable causes including the British Red Cross, Sylvia Waddilove was born in 1911 in Yorkshire. A music lover rather than a musician, and unmarried, she settled for many years at Villeneuve, at the eastern end of Lake Geneva, where she owned a lakeside property, the Clos du Verger.
A legacy for young musicians
On her death, in 2001, her will devoted part of her estate to music. It gave rise to two distinct structures: the Fondation Sylvia Waddilove, in Villeneuve (registered in Vaud in 2006), which makes her property available to the Conservatoire de Montreux; and the Sylvia Waddilove Foundation UK, which supports organic farming, the arts, medical research and the training of young people worldwide.
In 2011, a hundred years after her birth, the conversion of her house into a music centre paid tribute to her generosity.