Dress
Alice Frances Theodora Wythes, Marchioness of Bristol (1875 - 1957)
Category
Costume
Date
1905 - 1906
Materials
Textile
Measurements
71.5 cm (Width); 77.7 cm (Length)
Order this imageCollection
Ickworth, Suffolk
NT 852627
Caption
The 1906 General Election saw a divided and unpopular Conservative Party lose hundreds of seats across Britain to the Liberal Party. The Liberals embarked on a series of reforms designed to tackle poverty, inequality and injustice, aiming to improve the quality of life from cradle to grave. In Bury St Edmunds the victory of the Conservative candidate, Frederick Hervey (1863–1951), was widely celebrated. For almost a century, the Hervey family of Ickworth had represented the constituency in the House of Commons. During his campaign, Hervey’s daughters, Marjorie and Phyllis, wore distinctive party dresses decorated with symbols representing the policies and ideologies that Hervey was championing to his constituents. Painted by their mother, the dresses represent the colonies of the British Empire and the strength of British industries. The symbolism deployed tells us much about Hervey’s political views, showing his support for tariff reform that favoured trade with British colonies, as championed by Joseph Chamberlain (1836–1914). Both Chamberlain and leader of the party Arthur Balfour (1848–1930) are represented on the sash of Phyllis’s dress, their images cut out from paper. Helen Antrobus
Summary
Fancy dress in white silk taffeta with painted panels representing the British Empire. With chiffon frill at neck and cuffs, metal and glass decoration on front, taffeta sash, lined with cream light weight silk, fastens at centre back. Worn by Lady Marjorie Erskine during her father's election campaign between 1905 - 1906.
Full description
The 1906 General Election, known as the ‘Liberal Landslide’ saw the Liberal Party gain a victory over the Conservative-Unionist coalition, which had governed since 1895. The election had been called in 1905, after the decade-long reign of the Coalition came to an end with the resignation of Prime Minister Arthur Balfour. This resignation came due to a split in the party over issues of free trade and tariff reform, with Colonial Secretary Joseph Chamberlain resigning from government and leading the campaign for stricter tariffs and a Protectionist policy, and an end to Free Trade. Amidst this political chaos, Captain Frederick William Fane Hervey (1863 – 1951) of Ickworth, succeeded in winning the Bury-St-Edmunds seat for the Conservative-Unionists. Hervey’s time in the House of Commons was short-lived. In May 1907, the 3rd Marquess of Bristol died, and Hervey resigned from parliament to take up the peerage. Marjorie Hervey (1898-1967) wore this dress, probably a remodelled and altered party dress, during her father’s election campaign. Like her sister Phyllis’ dress (852628), the imagery on the dress represents key policies that Hervey vowed to support during his campaign. Throughout his campaign he championed tariff reform, supporting Joseph Chamberlain’s stance against free trade. The dresses of Marjorie and Phyllis are meant to be seen together. Whilst Phyllis' dress represents the strength of British industry and produce, Marjorie's dress is designed to show the power of British colonies through tariff reform. The central image of the bodice is that of two painted flags – the Union Jack and the Royal Standard – crossed in harmony. The flags, like many of the features of the two dresses, appear to have been painted separately to the gown, and have been hand-stitched onto the bodice. Each panel of the skirt features a different country of the Empire, the name unfurling on a blue banner, and decorated with some form of plant life or animal, in some cases both, synonymous with that state; South Africa is paired with a running ostrich, whilst India is represented by an elephant; Australia, a kangaroo. Marjorie’s dress is embellished with small, diamante gems, that cascade down the skirt. Part of Chamberlain’s vision of Tariff Reform was the policy of ‘imperial preference’, which gave some colonies – particularly ‘settler’ colonies such as Australia, Canada and South Africa – preference in trade. Tariff reformers saw this as a way to compete with growing international powers such as the USA. The countries depicted on Marjorie’s dress align with those favoured for imperial preference, indicating Hervey’s support. The painted elements of the dress are believed to have been carried out by Alice Theodora Hervey (1875 – 1957), the wife of Frederick Hervey and the mother of Phyllis and Marjorie. Helen Antrobus
Provenance
Part of the Bristol Collection. Acquired by the National Trust in 1956 under the auspices of the National Land Fund, later the National Heritage Memorial Fund.
Makers and roles
Alice Frances Theodora Wythes, Marchioness of Bristol (1875 - 1957), sewer
References
Antrobus and Slocombe 2025: Helen Antrobus and Emma Slocombe, 100 Things to Wear: Fashion from the collections of the National Trust, National Trust 2025, pp. 156-157.