The Women as Guardians of the Messel Dress Collection

Whilst many objects are collected for their monetary and aesthetic values, clothes are often preserved and treasured for the personal memories they hold. Each garment in the Messel Dress Collection has been worn, sometimes through the generations. Many pieces are imprinted with wear, a few are virtually perished. All were considered worthy of preserving intact. The survival of these garments highlights the role of the Messel women as guardians of the memories and heritage of this famously creative and influential family. All the women were hoarders and collectors, storing away the clothing and personal ephemera of their lives.

Marion Sambourne

From 1881 until her death in 1914, Marion recorded her daily life in diaries and letters. These are now kept in the Sambourne Family Archive at Kensington Central Library. She also preserved souvenirs of special events and items of her own and her mother Mary Ann Herapath's clothing.

Maud Messel

From 1898 until the 1950s Maud retained photographs, letters and domestic scraps which held deeply personal family memories. She ensured the family home at 18 Stafford Terrace was preserved, along with many items of her own and her mothers clothing. Maud began the family's practice of writing notes, which were preserved along with the dresses. To the dress her mother Marion Sambourne wore at her wedding she pinned a note which reads:

'This dress was worn by my darling mother at my wedding April 28 1898. It was made by Mrs Sarah Fullerton Monteith Young who made my wedding dress. MFM. May 1948. MFM.'

Note written by Maud Messel and placed in the storage box containing her mother's dress.

Anne, Countess of Rosse

Anne recognised the significance of the family's clothes as a collection. She ensured its future survival by carefully packing items away, sometimes adding hand-written notes and inventories which add further personal meanings. Anne believed that the clothes in her care were special, she wrote 'All period dresses, if they have that meaning of being worn, if only once, become frail. Think what Mary Queen of Scots be-heading dress would be like - it would have meaning.' Consequently, she kept many deteriorating and fragile dresses. In 1981 she lent many pieces to Brighton Museum & Art Gallery. Anne also made sure that the family homes, interiors and gardens were renovated and maintained. In 1958 she helped establish The Victorian Society.

Emphemera relating to Anne, Countess of Rosse's marriage to Michael, Earl of Rosse, 1935, packed away in box by Anne


Note written by Anne, Countess of Rosse, attached to her Jacqmar dress in storage at Birr Castle.		Label written by Anne, Countess of Rosse and attached to the storage box of her Victor Stiebel outfit.

Alison, Countess of Rosse

Alison has continued to preserve the family's dress collection and has added her own notes and drawings to the dress boxes and items of her own clothing. These additions along with the notes and inventories written by Anne, Countess of Rosse, has enabled the identification of many unique unlabelled couture garments made specifically for her. The family's drive to collect, preserve and memorialise their past remains strong today.