A reporter from The Onlooker in 1910 gushingly described Maggie Greville, who was now widowed and known to her friends as ‘Mrs Ronnie’, as ‘one of the leading and most successful London hostesses’. Polesden Lacey, they said, reflected ‘her own striking personality’. By 1910 Mrs Greville had transformed the interior of the house and extensively remodelled the gardens. Her apartment was one of the few which also had a physical extension. Throughout the first floor rooms, Mewès and Davis had used their considerable skill and experience to bring Ritz style to the country. In her own apartment Maggie Greville chose a fusion of styles from Mewès and Davis’s repertoire. The bedroom took inspiration from the 18th century designs of Robert Adam, but was furnished in the chinoiserie style. The boudoir was Jacobean in style, and the bathroom was decadent, marble-clad Edwardian elegance. Mrs Greville was pleased and used the firm again when redecorating her London town house. She wrote to Davis in 1915: ‘I do not think it would be possible to find an architect more courteous, more obliging and clever than you.’ She also apologised for being late with her bills, so may have felt a bit of flattery was in order. When Mrs Greville died in 1942 one of the greatest bequests was all her major jewels to Queen Elizabeth, who we know today as the Queen Mother. This included an incredible Boucheron tiara and Marie Antoinette necklace. Today they are in the royal collection and on state occasions can be seen worn by Camilla Parker Bowles or the Queen. At the time of the announcement, James Lees-Milne, secretary of the National Trust is noted to have said: ‘Everyone in London is agog to learn the terms of Mrs G’s will’. James Lees-Milne was one of the first to hear that Mrs Greville had left Polesden Lacey and her valuable collection to the nation. Around the same time the news was broken to the royal family. In 1914 Mrs Greville had promised to leave Polesden Lacey to Prince Albert, now King George VI, and the royal family were still expecting the legacy. Queen Elizabeth, said in 1942: ‘I’m not sure that this isn’t a very good idea because it is a very difficult place to keep up.’ In the midst of war the relatively young National Trust needed to make decisions about how to use this generous bequest. This Spring, visitors are invited to see Mrs Greville’s private apartment for themselves. It is a fascinating Edwardian interior and includes a rare surviving marble bathroom. Thanks to a two year research project, the unfurnished March 2014
apartment can be seen, along with personal items that have been tracked down. There will be digital graphics and an interactive display showing how the apartment used to look, based on inventories and photographs in the archive. “The funds for this project were raised by our visitors, and we hope our work casts new light on the private world of Mrs Greville,” says Vicky Bevan, House and Collections Manager. FIND OUT MORE
These and many more surprising facts about Mrs Greville are revealed in a new book by Sian Evans called: Mrs Ronnie: The society hostess who collected kings, published by Anova and available from the gift shop at Polesden Lacey. Mrs Greville’s apartment at Polesden Lacey is open from 1 March 2014, seven days a week. Open 12.30pm to 5pm Monday to Friday and 11am to 5pm weekends. Normal house admission fees apply.
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