Maud Frances Sambourne

Biography

Maud Frances Sambourne was born on 5 August 1875 in Kensington, the daughter of Punch cartoonist Edward Linley Sambourne and Marion Herapath Sambourne. She grew up in Sambourne House.

Samboure had lessons from artist Blanche Vicat-Cole and published her first drawing in Punch in 1892, followed by drawings in Pall Mall Magazine in 1894. She also provided illustrations for a pair of books of fantastic stories: Fantasies (1896) by Mabel Nembhard and Cherriwink: a fairy story (1897) by Rachel Penn.

During World War I, Maud Messel was commandant of the Knowle Auxiliary Hospital, a 20-bed military hospital, in Balcombe, West Sussex near the Mussel's country home Balcombe House. Hundreds of wounded soldiers were treated at the Knowle hospital.

Messel died on 8 March 1960.

Marriage and issue

She married German stockbroker Leonard Charles Rudolph Messel (1872–1953) on 20 April 1898.

Maud and Leonard Messel had three children:

Linley Francis Messel (1899–1971), British Army officer

Anne Parsons, Countess of Rosse (1902–1992), mother of Antony Armstrong-Jones, 1st Earl of Snowdon and Brendan Parsons, 7th Earl of Rosse.

Oliver Hilary Sambourne Messel (1904–1974), artist and stage designer

Residences

Following their marriage, Leonard and Maud Messell purchased No. 27 Gloucester Terrace as their London home, and Balcombe House in Sussex. As their family grew, they later took a larger town residence at No. 104 Lancaster Gate, Bayswater, where Maud hosted the wedding reception of her daughter Anne Messel to Ronald Armstrong-Jones in 1925, and later the wedding reception of her granddaughter Susan Armstrong-Jones to John Vesey (later 6th Viscount de Vesci) in 1950.

Following the death of Maud's father-in-law Ludwig Messell in 1915, Leonard inherited the family's Sussex estate Nymans, where Maud built a widely praised garden featuring old garden roses.