Dudmaston Hall - Notable Residents - George and Rachel Labouchere

George and Rachel Labouchere

Rachel Hamilton-Russell (1908–1996) was the daughter of Olive, who was herself the daughter of Francis Wolryche-Whitmore and Alice Darby of Coalbrookdale. She was bequeathed the estate by her uncle, Geoffrey, on condition that it should pass to the National Trust. She met George Labouchère (1905–1999), scion of a Huguenot family, while working at the Admiralty in 1942 and was to marry him the following year. They agreed that she would accompany him to his diplomatic postings and that he would then retire to Dudmaston with her.

George's first posting was as ambassador to Sweden, and Rachel had to fly over the North Sea to marry him there, forced to turn back once when the cloud cleared and left the aeroplane exposed to German attack. Subsequent postings were in China, from 1946 to 1948, and then in Argentina, Austria, Hungary and Belgium. George was knighted in 1955 and appointed ambassador to Francoist Spain in 1960. It was there that the Lachoucheres acquired an important group of artworks, produced by artists of the left-wing opposition to the regime - a significant component of the collection they would install at Dudmaston.

Uncle Geoffrey moved out in 1966, allowing Rachel and George to retire to Dudmaston. The process of transferring it to the National Trust was completed in 1978, although they continued to reside in the house and to improve both it and the grounds. They established a sizeable collection of modern art, alongside a collection of material inherited from the Wolryche-Whitmores and the Darbys. Following a strong interest in the economic and social history of the region, Rachel campaigned for the preservation and enhancement of the industrial heritage of the Severn Valley. She served for fourteen years as president of the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust, which was established in 1967. Rachel had trained as a botanical artist at the Flatford Field Studies Centre and established an important collection of paintings and drawings of plants at Dudmaston. Almost until her death she was active at Dudmaston, frequently engaging visitors in discussion.

The couple had no children and Rachel died in 1996. George outlived her by three years.

Rachel Labouchere left the house to a close family relative, the Hamilton-Russells.