Anne Parsons, Countess of Rosse (''née'' Messel, previously Armstrong-Jones; 8 February 1902 – 3 July 1992), was an English

socialite A socialite is a person from a wealthy and (possibly) aristocratic background, who is prominent in high society. A socialite generally spends a significant amount of time attending various fashionable social gatherings, instead of having traditio ...

and one of the founders of

The Victorian Society The Victorian Society is a UK amenity society and membership organisation that campaigns to preserve and promote interest in Victorian and Edwardian architecture and heritage built between 1837 and 1914 in England and Wales. It is a registered ...

. She was the mother of

Antony Armstrong-Jones, 1st Earl of Snowdon Antony Charles Robert Armstrong-Jones, 1st Earl of Snowdon, (7 March 1930 – 13 January 2017), was a British photographer and filmmaker. He is best known for his portraits of world notables, many of them published in ''Vogue'', '' Vanity Fa ...

and

Brendan Parsons, 7th Earl of Rosse William Clere Leonard Brendan Parsons, 7th Earl of Rosse (often known simply as Brendan Rosse; born 21 October 1936), is an Anglo-Irish peer. He is also 10th Baronet Parsons, of Birr Castle. Biography Lord Rosse was the eldest son of Laure ...

Early life

Anne Messel was born 8 February 1902, in London, the second child and only daughter of Maud (daughter of

Edward Linley Sambourne Edward Linley Sambourne (4 January 18443 August 1910) was an English cartoonist and illustrator most famous for being a draughtsman for the satirical magazine ''Punch'' for more than forty years and rising to the position of "First Cartoonist" i ...

) and Lieutenant-Colonel Leonard Messel. Her family was of

German-Jewish The history of the Jews in Germany goes back at least to the year 321, and continued through the Early Middle Ages (5th to 10th centuries CE) and High Middle Ages (''circa'' 1000–1299 CE) when Jewish immigrants founded the Ashkenazi Jewish ...

background. Messel was the sister of Linley Messel (1899–1971) and the stage set designer

Oliver Messel Oliver Hilary Sambourne Messel (13 January 1904 – 13 July 1978) was an English artist and one of the foremost stage designers of the 20th century. Early life Messel was born in London, the second son of Lieutenant-Colonel Leonard Messel an ...

(1904–1978). She was raised in

Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...

, close to the home of her grandparents at

Nymans Nymans is an English garden to the east of the village of Handcross, and in the civil parish of Slaugham in West Sussex, England. The garden was developed, starting in the late 19th century, by three generations of the Messel family, and was br ...

and educated at home. Needlework and gardening were among her early interests. The presence of illustrations in surviving family letters and diaries reveals that she also had some artistic talent.

Career

Anne made her

debut Debut or début (the first public appearance of a person or thing) may refer to: * Debut (society), the formal introduction of young upper-class women to society * Debut novel, an author's first published novel Film and television * ''The Debu ...

in society in 1922. Her poise and fashion sense were praised by society columnists in newspapers such as the ''

Daily Express The ''Daily Express'' is a national daily United Kingdom middle-market newspaper printed in tabloid format. Published in London, it is the flagship of Express Newspapers, owned by publisher Reach plc. It was first published as a broadsheet i ...

'' and ''

Evening News Evening News may refer to: Television news *''CBS Evening News'', an American news broadcast *''ITV Evening News'', a UK news broadcast *'' JNN Evening News'', a Japanese news broadcast *''Evening News'', an alternate name for '' News Hour'' in so ...

''. Her friends included

Edward James Edward Frank Willis James (16 August 1907 – 2 December 1984) was a British poet known for his patronage of the surrealist art movement. Early life and marriage James was born on 16 August 1907, the only son of William James (who had inherite ...

and

Tilly Losch Ottilie Ethel Leopoldine Herbert, Countess of Carnarvon (''née'' Losch; November 15, 1903 – December 24, 1975), known professionally as Tilly Losch, was an Austrian dancer, choreographer, actress, and painter who lived and worked for most of ...

Zita Jungman Zita Jungman, later Zita James (13 September 1903 – 18 February 2006), was one of the Bright Young Things. Life Jungman was born on 13 September 1903. Her father, Dutch-born artist Nico Wilhelm Jungmann, was a naturalized British subject who ...

, and society photographer

Cecil Beaton Sir Cecil Walter Hardy Beaton, (14 January 1904 – 18 January 1980) was a British fashion, portrait and war photographer, diarist, painter, and interior designer, as well as an Oscar–winning stage and costume designer for films and the theat ...

. At a

Guy Fawkes Guy Fawkes (; 13 April 1570 – 31 January 1606), also known as Guido Fawkes while fighting for the Spanish, was a member of a group of provincial English Catholics involved in the failed Gunpowder Plot of 1605. He was born and educated ...

night party in 1957, inspired by her house at

18 Stafford Terrace 18 Stafford Terrace, formerly known as Linley Sambourne House, now renamed to Sambourne House, was the home of the ''Punch'' illustrator Edward Linley Sambourne (1844–1910) in Kensington, London. The house, now Grade II* listed, is currently ...

and the reaction of its 32 visitors, Anne, Countess of Rosse proposed founding a

Victorian Society The Victorian Society is a UK amenity society and membership organisation that campaigns to preserve and promote interest in Victorian and Edwardian architecture and heritage built between 1837 and 1914 in England and Wales. It is a registered ...

to encourage the preservation and appreciation of what was then unfashionable art and architecture. A handful of enthusiasts, including

Sir John Betjeman Sir John Betjeman (; 28 August 190619 May 1984) was an English poet, writer, and broadcaster. He was Poet Laureate from 1972 until his death. He was a founding member of The Victorian Society and a passionate defender of Victorian architecture, ...

and

Sir Nikolaus Pevsner Sir Nikolaus Bernhard Leon Pevsner (30 January 1902 – 18 August 1983) was a German-British art historian and architectural historian best known for his monumental 46-volume series of county-by-county guides, ''The Buildings of England'' (19 ...

, agreed to support the cause. The Victorian Society was founded at 18 Stafford Terrace in February 1958 with the aim of preserving Victorian and

Edwardian architecture Edwardian architecture is a Neo-Baroque architectural style that was popular in the British Empire during the Edwardian era (1901–1910). Architecture up to the year 1914 may also be included in this style. Description Edwardian architecture is ...

and encouraging research into the art and history of the period.

Personal life

She married

Ronald Armstrong-Jones Major Ronald Owen Lloyd Armstrong-Jones, (''né'' Jones; 18 May 1899 – 27 January 1966) was a British barrister and soldier. He was the father of Antony Armstrong-Jones, 1st Earl of Snowdon, and father-in-law of Princess Margaret, younger da ...

on 22 July 1925 and they were divorced in early 1935. They had two children: *Susan Anne Armstrong-Jones (12 February 1927 – 9 May 1986), who married John Vesey, 6th Viscount de Vesci *

(7 March 1930 – 13 January 2017), who married

Princess Margaret Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon, (Margaret Rose; 21 August 1930 – 9 February 2002) was the younger daughter of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, and the younger sister and only sibling of Queen Elizabeth ...

Anne married

Michael Parsons, 6th Earl of Rosse Laurence Michael Harvey Parsons, 6th Earl of Rosse, KBE (28 September 1906 – 5 July 1979) was an Anglo-Irish peer. Early life and education Parsons was the son of William Edward Parsons, 5th Earl of Rosse, whom he succeeded in 1918, and ...

, on 19 September 1935. Rosse had extensive estates in Ireland and was nicknamed "The Adonis of the Peerage". They had two sons and five grandchildren: *

(born 21 October 1936), who married Alison Cooke-Hurle on 15 October 1966 *Hon. Desmond Oliver ''Martin'' Parsons (23 December 1938 – 16 July 2010), who married Aline Edwina Macdonald The couple travelled extensively, and Anne was present at the coronations of both King

George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until Death and state funeral of George VI, his death in 1952. ...

and Queen

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

Nymans

In 1947, the house at

was badly damaged by fire, and the countess travelled to Staplefield to help. Her parents vacated the house and bought Holmsted Manor nearby as their new home. The earl and countess continued to use the house, following repairs, and it passed to the National Trust on her father's death in 1953. After the Earl's death in 1979, the countess returned to live at Nymans and retained some responsibility for the appearance of the gardens.

References

Sources

* *
Anne Parsons (née Messel), Countess of Rosse
National Portrait Gallery.org.uk. Accessed 9 December 2022. {{DEFAULTSORT:Rosse, Anne Parsons, Countess of 1902 births 1992 deaths English people of German-Jewish descent English socialites Armstrong-Jones family Irish countesses Wives of knights