Social Victorians/People/Tweedmouth

Also Known As

• Family name: Marjoribanks
• Baron Tweedmouth of Edington
  • Dudley Coutts Marjoribanks, 1st Baron Tweedmouth of Edington (12 October 1881 – 4 March 1894)
  • Edward Marjoribanks, 2nd Baron Tweedmouth (4 March 1894 – 15 September 1909)
• Baroness Tweedmouth
  • Isabella Hogg Marjoribanks (12 October 1881 – 4 March 1894, his death)
  • Lady Fanny Octavia Louise Spencer-Churchill Marjoribanks (4 March 1894 – 5 August 1904)

Timeline

1868, The first Baron Tweedmouth, Dudley Coutts Majoribanks, bred the first Golden Retriever.

1873 June 9, Lady Fanny Spencer-Churchill and Edward Majoribanks married.

1881, the title Baron of Tweedmouth was created in the Peerage of the United Kingdom.

1894 March 4, Edward Majoribank acceded to the title Baron Tweedmouth when his father died.

1897 July 1, Thursday, the Morning Post says,

Lord and Lady Tweedmouth entertained at Brook House last evening those who formed the Elizabethan procession at the Duchess of Devonshire's fancy-dress ball, viz.: Mr. E. Beckett, Mr. H. Warrender, Sir Charles Hall, Sir F. Jeune, the Earl of Sandwich, the Earl of Lonsdale, the Countess of Powis, the Duchess of Roxburghe and the Ladies Innes-Ker, the Earl and Countess of Essex, Earl and Countess Spencer, the Countess of Lonsdale, Mrs. A. James, Colonel Leslie, the Duke of Roxburghe, the Hon. Dudley Marjoribanks, M. Ephrussi, the French Ambassador, Captain Mann Thompson, Mr. Rose, Sir Archibald and Lady Edmonstone, Mr. E. Villiers, Mr. Harold Brassey, Mr. Holden, the Earl of Arran, Lord Rowton, the Hon. Mrs. Greville, the Duchess of Hamilton, Lord and Lady Battersea, Lord and Lady de Ramsey, Lord Glenesk, Mr. Godfrey Webb, the Hon. S. Lyttelton, Mr. R. Maguire, Lady Edith Villiers, and Miss Madeline Stanley.

1897 July 3, Saturday, Lady Tweedmouth and Baron Tweedmouth, as well as their son, Dudley Marjoribanks and his cousin Henry Duke of Roxburghe attended the Duchess of Devonshire's fancy-dress ball at Devonshire House. (Lady Tweedmouth is #85 on the list of people who attended; Baron Tweedmouth is #109; Dudley Marjoribanks is #319; Henry Duke of Roxburghe is #49.)

1901 November 30, Dudley Churchill Marjoribanks and Lady Muriel Brodrick married.

Costume at the Duchess of Devonshire's 2 July 1897 Fancy-dress Ball

Fanny, Lady Tweedmouth in costume as Queen Elizabeth I; Edward, 2nd Baron Tweedmouth in costume as the Earl of Leicester. ©National Portrait Gallery, London.

Queen Elizabeth I ("The Ditchley portrait") by Marcus Gheeraerts the Younger, c. 1592

Fanny, Baroness Tweedmouth

At the Duchess of Devonshire's fancy-dress ball, Fanny Marjoribanks, Baroness Tweedmouth was dressed as Queen Elizabeth.

Lafayette's portrait (right, above) of "Fanny Octavia Louisa (née Spencer-Churchill), Lady Tweedmouth as Queen Elizabeth I; Edward Marjoribanks, 2nd Baron Tweedmouth as the Earl of Leicester" in costume is photogravure #242 in the album presented to the Duchess of Devonshire and now in the National Portrait Gallery. The printing on the portrait says, "Lady Tweedmouth as Queen Elizabeth. Lord Tweedmouth as the Earl of Leicester."

The Lafayette Negative Archive has more photographs taken of this couple in their costumes. The negative numbers the Archive uses are included parenthetically.

• Both Lady and Lord Tweedmouth, her seated, him kneeling on left knee (Neg. No. 1444): http://lafayette.org.uk/twe1444.html
• Both Lady and Lord Tweedmouth, full-length, standing (Neg. No. 1445): http://lafayette.org.uk/twe1445.html

The original costumes of both Lord and Lady Tweedmouth's original costume appeared in the Drury Lane production of The White Heather. [say more here]

The Historical Queen Elizabeth I

Queen Elizabeth I (7 September 1533 – 24 March 1603) reigned from 17 November 1558 until her death. A portrait of her now in the National Portrait Gallery in London (right, below) may be the original for Lady Tweedmouth's costume.

Newspaper Descriptions of Lady Tweedmouth's Costume

• According to the "London Correspondent" of the Dundee Evening Telegraph, reporting the day before the ball, "Lord and Lady Tweedmouth have had a very happy thought; she is going as Queen Elizabeth, he in attendance as the Earl of Leicester. Lady Tweedmouth’s costume, copied from a well-known portrait of Queen Elizabeth, cost, I am told, £400."
• At the ball Lady Tweedmouth wore "White and gold brocade with insertion cloth of gold, richly embroidered in pearls and diamonds. Front of corsage was encrusted Cinque Cento jewels, crown of pearls, diamonds, and cabuchon emeralds."
• "Lady Tweedmouth headed her Elizabethan quadrille as the Queen, in white-and-gold brocade, worn with very big hoop and fine old-gold tissue in the front of the skirt worked with fine pearls, and having a high collar."
• "Lady Tweedmouth, as Queen Elizabeth, had on a gown of old brocade in white and gold, the skirt being in the shape of a large hoop; the front of the skirt trimmed with very fine old gold tissue with crevés satin blanc certis pearls. The bodice was of brocade, pointed with large sleeves, and the stomacher of old gold tissue with crevés of white satin certis pearls. The vertugadin was of brocade, the cherusque and cuffs of old lace and gold, and the coiffure all in pearls. The front of the bodice was ornamented with rows of pearls, and a pearl necklace was worn."
• "Lady Tweedmouth [was dressed] as Queen Elizabeth, in a magnificent dress of white and gold brocade, with pearls and cloth of gold."
• "LADY TWEEDMOUTH [was dressed] as Queen Elizabeth. — Gown of old brocaded white and gold, the skirt in the shape of large hoop; front of skirt with very fine old gold tissue with crevés satin blanc certis fine pearls. Bodice of brocade pointed with large sleeves and stomacher of old gold tissue with crevés of white satin certis pearls. Vertugadin of brocade. Cherusque and cuffs of old lace and gold. Coiffure all in pearls. Front of bodice ornamented with rows of pearls. Pearl necklace."
• "Lady Tweedmouth made a magnificent representative of that sovereign [Queen Elizabeth] in glistening cloth and white satin, richly embroidered in gold, and wearing superb jewels."
• Lady Tweedmouth was dressed "as Queen Elizabeth in a £400 frock."
• "Lady Tweedmouth took the part of Her Majesty, and her costume was an exact reproduction of Queen Elizabeth's portrait in the National Portrait Gallery. Her skirt of rich old white and gold brocade was held in place by the old-fashioned hoops, the bodice and front of gold tissue embroidered in old jewels were finished by stiffened cuffs and large wired collar of old lace wrought with gold."
• This description accompanies a flattering line drawing of Lady Tweedmouth in costume (numeral 3 below the drawing, top right, facing slightly to her right, the drawing captures the pattern on the underskirt and sleeves, peplum, stand-up lace collar emphasized): "Made by Alias, 36, Soho Square. ... No. 3. LADY TWEEDMOUTH, Queen Elizabeth. — Gold of old white and gold brocade. Hoop skirt. Front of fine old gold tissue. Brocade bodice. Sleeves and stomachers of old gold tissue. Pearl coiffure and necklace."
• From "Notes — Mainly Personal" from the Dundee Evening Telegraph: "Lady Tweedmouth — although from her appearance no one would suspect her of it — has a son in his 24th year. He is an only child, and, with his cousin, the young Duke of Boxburghe [sic], and two of his brother officers in the Royal Horse Guards, carried the canopy over his mother when, as Queen Elizabeth, she attended in full state the Duchess of Devonshire's Ball."

Observations on Lady Tweedmouth's Costume

• Marcus Gheeraerts the Younger's "Queen Elizabeth I" 1592 Ditchley Portrait — National Portrait Gallery
• The Gheeraerts portrait was painted around 1592, when Elizabeth was around 60 years old; Lady Tweedmouth was 44 at the time of the ball. It is unlikely that Elizabeth sat for this portrait, or any part of it except perhaps her face. This portrait is not a very realistic portrayal of a body.
• If it is based on the Gheeraerts the Younger portrait of Elizabeth in the NPG, Lady Tweedmouth's costume is not, as The Gentlewoman claims, "an exact reproduction of Queen Elizabeth's portrait in the National Portrait Gallery." In her portrait Lady Tweedmouth is wearing a Spanish farthingale with motifs from a French farthingale worn by Elizabeth in the 1592 portrait. The garment is not "an exact reproduction" but uses the motif in the fabric and trim of the Elizabethan dress.
• In the 1592 portrait, Elizabeth is wearing a farthingale, part of the framework that held the skirt away from her hips; it would have been flatter in the front and back than the sides.
• In the 1897 portrait, Lady Tweedmouth is wearing a strange ruffle attached to the bodice at her waist. In the 1592 portrait, Elizabeth has a kind of overskirt marking the edge of the farthingale.
• The collar
• The pearls
• The pattern is a complex geometric motif of petals and jeweled centers. The motif is repeated on the sleeves, the cape and the bodice.

Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester. ©National Portrait Gallery, London.

Edward Baron Marjoribanks

Edward Marjoribanks, Baron Tweedmouth was at Table 11 in the first supper seating; Lady Tweedmouth is not listed as having been seated at supper. He was dressed

• "([as a] gentleman of the Court of Queen Elizabeth), in ruby velvet embroidered in gold; collar of the Order of the Garter."
• as the "Earl of Leicester of the Court of Queen Elizabeth, in ruby velvet, embroidered with gold, and wearing a magnificent Holbein chain and pendant."
• in "ruby velvet and gold, and wearing the Collar of the Order of the Garter."

Besides the portrait (above, right) of the Tweedmouths in costume, the Lafayette Negative Archive has more photographs taken of him alone, also in costume. The negative numbers the Archive uses are included parenthetically.

• Lord Tweedmouth, full-length, standing, looking at the viewer (1446): http://lafayette.org.uk/twe1446.html
• Lord Tweedmouth, full-length, standing, slightly lighter photograph, looking off left (1446-320, marked as rejected): http://lafayette.org.uk/twe1446-320.html

The portrait (right) of Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester (24 June 1532 – 4 September 1588) was acquired for the National Portrait Gallery, London, in 1877, and so could easily have been the original for Henry, Baron Tweedmouth's costume. It is the only portrait the NPG has of the Earl of Leicester dressed in red velvet and satin, although, of course, Lord Tweedmouth could have seen other portraits in places other than the NPG.

Hon. Dudley Marjoribanks

The Field of the Cloth of Gold

Detail of the Field of the Cloth of Gold, focusing on Henry VIII and showing soldiers' uniforms

The "Hon. D. Majoribanks" is the son Dudley Marjoribanks of Lord and Lady Tweedmouth. He was dressed as a Yeoman in the Queen Elizabeth procession.

• "Four yeomen held a canopy over Her Majesty's head. Their uniforms were exactly copied from the picture of the Field of the Cloth of Gold at Hampton Court. These were the Duke of Roxburghe, the Hon. Dudley Marjoribanks, Captain Maunde Thompson, and Mr. Rose attired in scarlet and black."
• He was one of the six halberdiers attending on the Queen, their costumes copied "from Holbein's picture at Hampton Court."

And Henry, "the young Duke of [R]oxburghe," their nephew and Dudley's cousin, was also present; two "brother officers in the Royal Horse Guards" are #637 and #638 in the list of people who attended, possibly the Captain Maunde Thompson, and Mr. Rose" mentioned in The Gentlewoman report.

Demographics

• Nationality: British

Residences

• Guisachan House (1856–1909), near Tomich, north of Glasgow and near Inverness
• Brook House, 28–29 Park Lane, Mayfair, London (property purchased 1854; house 1869–1904)

Family

• Dudley Coutts Marjoribanks, 1st Baron Tweedmouth of Edington (29 December 1820 – 4 March 1894)
• Isabella Hogg (– 20 March 1908)
  1. Edward Marjoribanks, 2nd Baron Tweedmouth of Edington (8 Jul 1849 – 15 September 1909)
  2. Hon. Mary Georgiana Marjoribanks (1850 – 14 March 1909)
  3. Stewart Marjoribanks (23 July 1852 – 22 January 1864)
  4. Hon. Annie Grizel Marjoribanks (c. 1855 – 20 August 1856)
  5. Dame Isabel Maria Marjoribanks (14 March 1857 – 18 April 1939)
  6. Hon. Coutts Marjoribanks (6 December 1860 – 1 November 1924)
  7. Hon. Archibald John Marjoribanks (25 November 1861 – 4 September 1900)

• Edward Marjoribanks, 2nd Baron Tweedmouth (8 July 1849 – 15 September 1909)
• Lady Fanny Octavia Louise Spencer-Churchill Marjoribanks (29 January 1853 – 5 August 1904)

1. Dudley Churchill Marjoribanks, 3rd Baron Tweedmouth of Edlington (2 March 1874 – 23 April 1935)

Relations

• Lady Fanny Octavia Louise Spencer-Churchill Marjoribanks was a daughter of the 7th Duke of Marlborough and aunt of Winston Churchill.

Archives and Memoirs

Memoirs

• Edward Marjoribanks, Baron Tweedmouth. Notes and Recollections.

Notes and Questions

1. The mouth of the Tweed river is an estuary, or firth, on the border between Scotland and England. Tweedmouth is on the English side, part of the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, Northumberland.
2. The first Baron Tweedmouth, Dudley Coutts Majoribanks, bred the first Golden Retriever, in 1868.
3. Tomich is a Victorian model village associated with Guisachan House in Scotland and designed by architect Alexander Reid, who designed a number of buildings on the Guisachan estate for the first Baron Tweedmouth.