Lady Marjorie Hervey, later Lady Erskine (1898-1967)

William Edwards Miller (fl.1873 – after 1929). Oil painting on canvas, Lady Marjorie Hervey, later Lady Erskine (1898-1967) by William Edwards Miller (fl.1873 – after 1929), signed and dated bottom left: W.E.Miller / 1908. A full-length portrait of a young girl, facing, head and gaze turned to the right, wearing a short white dress and turquoise sash. Brown shoes, coral necklace; light brown wavy hair with a fringe and falling on both shoulders. She stands before a panelled background with her left arm resting on the back of a red chair. Lady Marjorie Hervey (1898-1967) was the daughter of Frederick William Fane Hervey, 4th Marquess of Bristol (1863-1951) and Alice Frances Theodora Wythes (1875-1957) and born 16th October 1898. She married at Ickworth Church in December 1919, Lord John Francis Ashley Erskine M.P. He was the eldest son of the Earl of Mar & Kellie. On his mother's side, he was the great grandson of Lord Shaftesbury. This Hervey wedding was only the 7th of the family weddings to have been held in Ickworth church since the 15th century. Lord Erskine had been a major in the Scots Guards and MP for Weston-Super-Mare. From 1920-21 he was secretary to the First Lord of the Admiralty, Walter Long. From 1934-40 Lady Majorie and Lord Erskine lived in India as he was appointed the Governor of Madras. On his return he was MP for Brighton from 1940-41. He also served as a West Suffolk county councillor. On his death in 1953 his ashes were buried in the Erskine family vault at Alloa in Scotland. Lady Majorie lived at Ickworth Lodge until she died in 1967. She became a county councillor after her husband's death. Earlier she took an active part in the Red Cross, being a V.A.D. in the First World War and Assistant Commandant of the Rushbrooke Hall Red Cross Hospital in the Second World War. She was a Commander of the Order of St John of Jerusalem and in 1939 was awarded the Kaiser-I-Hind medal. Her portrait as a child hangs in the Ickworth dining room alongside those of her mother and sister. Three of her four sons survived the war: The Earl of Mar & Kellie, David and Robert Erskine. In 1978 they sold to a pension fund their part of the Ickworth inheritance, 113 acres of land at Chedburgh & Chevington. Ickworth, Suffolk (Accredited Museum)