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, typically a woman from a wealthy or 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 ...
and one of the founders of
The Victorian Society. 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. He is best known internationally for his portraits of world notables, many of them published in '' Vogue'', '' Vanity Fa ...
and
Brendan Parsons, 7th Earl of Rosse.
Early life
Anne Messel was born 8 February 1902, at 27,
Gloucester Terrace,
Paddington
Paddington is an area in the City of Westminster, in central London, England. A medieval parish then a metropolitan borough of the County of London, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965. Paddington station, designed b ...
,
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
, England,
the second child and only daughter of
Leonard Charles Rudolph Messel (1872-1953),
OBE,
TD, a stockbroker and Lieutenant Colonel of the
Royal East Kent Regiment, and
Maud Messel, daughter of
Edward Linley Sambourne.
The Messel family was of
German-Jewish
The history of the Jews in Germany goes back at least to the year 321 CE, and continued through the Early Middle Ages (5th to 10th centuries CE) and High Middle Ages (c. 1000–1299 CE) when Jewish immigrants founded the Ashkenazi Jewish commu ...
background; Leonard Messel's father, Ludwig, who had established a successful stockbroking business, had purchased the
Nymans estate in West Sussex in the late nineteenth century. Messel was the sister of Linley Messel (1899–1971) and the stage set designer
Oliver Messel (1904–1978). She was raised in
Sussex
Sussex (Help:IPA/English, /ˈsʌsɪks/; from the Old English ''Sūþseaxe''; lit. 'South Saxons'; 'Sussex') is an area within South East England that was historically a kingdom of Sussex, kingdom and, later, a Historic counties of England, ...
, close to her paternal grandparents, who lived at Nymans, and was 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 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 (newspaper format), tabloid format. Published in London, it is the flagship of Express Newspapers, owned by publisher Reach plc. It was first ...
'' and ''
Evening News''. Her friends included
Edward James and
Tilly Losch,
Zita Jungman, 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 costume designer and set designer for stage and screen. His accolades ...
.
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 educate ...
night party in 1957, inspired by her house at
18 Stafford Terrace and the reaction of its 32 visitors, Anne, Countess of Rosse proposed founding a
Victorian Society
The Victorian Society is a UK charity and amenity society that campaigns to preserve and promote interest in Victorian and Edwardian architecture and heritage built between 1837 and 1914 in England and Wales. As a statutory consultee, by l ...
to encourage the preservation and appreciation of what was then unfashionable art and architecture. A handful of enthusiasts, including
Sir John Betjeman and
Sir Nikolaus Pevsner, 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 usually refers to a Baroque Revival architecture, Neo-Baroque architectural style that was popular for public buildings in the British Empire during the Edwardian era (1901–1910). Architecture up to 1914 is commonly inclu ...
and encouraging research into the art and history of the period.
Personal life
She married
Ronald Armstrong-Jones 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 in 1950.
*
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. He is best known internationally for his portraits of world notables, many of them published in '' Vogue'', '' Vanity Fa ...
(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. She was the younger sister and only sibling of Queen Elizabeth II.
...
in 1960.
Anne married
Michael Parsons, 6th Earl of Rosse, 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:
*
Brendan Parsons, 7th Earl of Rosse (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 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...
.
Nymans
In 1947, the house at
Nymans 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
British debutantes
English people of German-Jewish descent
Armstrong-Jones family
Irish countesses
Wives of knights
People from Paddington
Socialites from London