Valerie Susan, Lady Meux (pronounced "Mews"; ; 1852–1910), was a Devon-born socialite of the

Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the reign of Queen Victoria, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. Slightly different definitions are sometimes used. The era followed the ...

. She was the wife of Sir Henry Bruce Meux, 3rd Baronet (1856–1900), who came from one of Britain’s richest brewing dynasties, Meux’s Brewery, founded in 1764, which was a major brewer of porter ale in London in the 19th century.

Early life

Langdon was born in Crockernwell, Drewsteignton,

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

on 27 February 1852.

Married life

Langdon claimed to have been an actress, but was apparently on the stage for only a single season. She worked at the Surrey Music Hall in a pantomime. She is believed to have met Sir Henry Meux at the Casino de Venise in Holborn, where she worked as a banjo-playing barmaid and had a stage name Val Langdon. She married him in London on 27 October 1878. Never accepted by her husband's family or by polite society, Lady Meux was a flamboyant and controversial figure, given to driving herself around London in a high phaeton, drawn by a pair of zebras. Her husband had an estate of some on the Marlborough Downs in Wiltshire. They also had a house, Theobalds, in Hertfordshire, which was lavishly improved and enlarged; additions included a swimming pool and an indoor roller skating rink. In 1887, at Lady Meux's request, the dismantled Temple Bar Gate was purchased from the City of London Corporation, transported to Theobalds Park in Hertfordshire and carefully rebuilt as a new gateway to the estate. She often entertained in the upper chamber of the gateway. Guests included the

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales (, ; ) is a title traditionally given to the male heir apparent to the History of the English monarchy, English, and later, the British throne. The title originated with the Welsh rulers of Kingdom of Gwynedd, Gwynedd who, from ...

and

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...

. Sir Henry died in 1900, without issue, ten years before she did.

Whistler

James Abbott McNeill Whistler James Abbott McNeill Whistler (; July 10, 1834July 17, 1903) was an American painter in oils and watercolor, and printmaker, active during the American Gilded Age and based primarily in the United Kingdom. He eschewed sentimentality and moral a ...

painted three portraits of Lady Meux in 1881. The portraits were the first full-scale commissions to be given to Whistler following the notorious Ruskin trial, which had left him financially bankrupt. ''Harmony in Pink and Grey: Portrait of Lady Meux'' currently belongs to the

Frick Collection The Frick Collection (colloquially known as the Frick) is an art museum on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City. It was established in 1935 to preserve the collection of the industrialist Henry Clay Frick. The collection (museum) ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, ''Arrangement in Black: Lady Meux'' belongs to the

Honolulu Museum of Art The Honolulu Museum of Art (formerly the Honolulu Academy of Arts) is an art museum in Honolulu, Hawaii, Hawaii. The museum is the largest of its kind in the state, and was founded in 1922 by Anna Rice Cooke. It has one of the largest single co ...

while the third portrait, ''Portrait of Lady Meux in Furs'', is believed to have been destroyed by Whistler after he became outraged over a comment made to him by Lady Meux during a sitting.

Interests

Lady Meux also owned a string of race horses, racing them under the assumed name of Mr. Theobolds. As an owner she was not greatly successful, but she won the Sussex Stakes with ''Ardeshir'' in 1897. She was a noted collector of

ancient Egypt Ancient Egypt () was a cradle of civilization concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in Northeast Africa. It emerged from prehistoric Egypt around 3150BC (according to conventional Egyptian chronology), when Upper and Lower E ...

ian artefacts; the Egyptologist Wallis Budge published a catalogue of more than 1,700 of her items including 800 scarabs and

amulet An amulet, also known as a good luck charm or phylactery, is an object believed to confer protection upon its possessor. The word "amulet" comes from the Latin word , which Pliny's ''Natural History'' describes as "an object that protects a perso ...

s. He dedicated his publication, ''The Book of Paradise'', to her. She tried to leave the collection to the

British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...

, but the trustees snobbishly declined the bequest and it was sold. She also acquired five illustrated Ethiopic manuscripts, and Budge published a coloured facsimile of them. On finding that they were revered by the Ethiopians, she left them in her will to Emperor Menelik. The courts set aside this provision, ostensibly, to keep them in Britain — and they were sold to

William Randolph Hearst William Randolph Hearst (; April 29, 1863 – August 14, 1951) was an American newspaper publisher and politician who developed the nation's largest newspaper chain and media company, Hearst Communications. His extravagant methods of yellow jou ...

, of California.

The Boer War

During the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic and ...

, the early British reverses made headline news and the defence of Ladysmith made a particular impression on Lady Meux. On hearing of the landing of naval guns for the Battle of Ladysmith, she ordered, at her own expense, six naval 12-pounders on special field carriages made by Armstrong of Elswick. The guns were sent directly to Lord Roberts in South Africa, because they had been refused by the War Office. The unit which manned these guns were known as the " Elswick Battery". The battery was in action several times, including the Second Battle of Silkaatsnek.

Sir Hedworth Lambton

When Sir Hedworth Lambton, the commander of the Naval Brigade at Ladysmith, returned to England, he called on Lady Meux at Theobalds to thank her for her gift and recount his adventures. She was so taken with him that she made him the chief beneficiary of her will, on condition that he change his surname to Meux (she was without direct heirs). When she died on 20 December 1910, he willingly changed his name by Royal Warrant, and inherited the Hertfordshire estate and a substantial interest in the Meux Brewery.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Meux, Valerie Susan 1852 births 1910 deaths American artists' models English socialites Valerie Wives of baronets Women of the Victorian era