Dress
Alice Frances Theodora Wythes, Marchioness of Bristol (1875 - 1957)
Category
Costume
Date
1905 - 1906
Materials
Silk, metal threads, paint, paper and plastic
Order this imageCollection
Ickworth, Suffolk
NT 852628
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
A child's party dress made of pink silk taffeta and painted panels, representing tariff reform and the protection of British industries. With chiffon frills at the collar, cuffs and hem, a centre back fastening, a gilt braid frame around painted panels, metal decoration, lined with cream light-weight silk. A separate sash of wide satin ribbon with two portraits of Conservative-Unionist politicians, Arthur Balfour and Joseph Chamberlain. Worn by Lady Phyllis MacRae (1899 - 1989) 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. Phyllis Hervey (1899 – 1989) wore this dress, probably a remodelled and altered party dress, during her father’s election campaign. The painted panels on the dress represent the protectionist policies that are seemingly in support of Chamberlain’s Tariff Reform League. Amongst the painted panels, a weaver, a blacksmith and metal workers feature, showcasing the British industries believed to have been threatened by free trade. The wheatsheaf design on the bodice of the dress most likely represents the British agricultural industry. The Liberal campaign used the imagery of the ‘small loaf, big loaf’, arguing that bread would be more expensive under tariff reform, whilst the Tariff Reform League argued they would protect British agriculturalists and domestic produce. The wheat sheaf used here perhaps symbolises that commitment. Hervey’s allegiance with tariff reform is further supported by the oval paper portrait of Joseph Chamberlain stitched onto the sash of the dress. Accompanying this is a portrait of Arthur Balfour, the once Prime Minister, who tried to bridge the gap between Chamberlain’s supporters and those for free trade. Both portraits appear to have been cut from popular postcards of the two politicians at the time. 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. The panels were possibly influenced by the powerful painted trade union banners at the time, representing industry, skilled workers, and labour.
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.