Lady Macbeth costumes worn by idol of Victorian theatre Ellen Terry go on display at her former home

Now, two of her famous costumes worn for her role as Lady Macbeth from the 1888 production of Macbeth at London’s Lyceum Theatre, go on display together following conservation at her former home, Smallhythe Place in Kent.

“It is impossible to overstate the immense adoration for Ellen Terry or the eagerness with which audiences awaited her shows, with her costumes as much a part of the production as she was,” explains Susannah Mayor, senior collections and house officer at Smallhythe Place, now cared for by the National Trust.

“You really can liken it to the media frenzy and attention that greets stars today turning up for film premieres or fashion events.

“Ellen worked closely with her costume designer Alice Comyns Carr to bring as much of the persona of a character as possible into the clothing she wore, with the costumes an extension of the part. Her role as Lady Macbeth was no exception and she was thrilled by the designs, as she wrote in a letter to her daughter, ‘I wish you could see my dresses. They are superb.’”

An iridescent green dress for the role, decorated in over 1,000 beetle wings, was immortalised in a painting of Terry wearing it, by John Singer Sargent, and is an iconic part of theatre costume history. Shimmering, as Terry emerged onto the stage, it was intended to evoke fear, and the effect of a serpent’s scales.

In contrast to the Beetle wing dress, the gown worn for the banqueting scene, where Macbeth sees the ghost of Banquo, is ethereal and light, created in muslin and shot through with gold thread. It is on display for the first time since extensive conservation to address the damage caused by repeated use on stage and the alterations and repairs since.

The glamorous costumes worn by Terry in comparison to other cast members was noted by playwright Oscar Wilde, ‘… Lady Macbeth seems an economical housekeeper, and evidently patronizes local industries for her husband’s clothes and the servants’ liveries; but she takes great care to do all her own shopping in Byzantium.’

The costume designer Alice Comyns Carr worked closely with Terry for two decades, but perhaps Alice’s greatest triumph were the costumes she designed for Lady Macbeth. The Banqueting dress and the Beetle wing dress caused a sensation amongst the audiences at the Lyceum and inspired popular fashion.

“Costumes like these, lavishly decorated and with crochet and embroidery, are fragile and in the decades that have passed they need meticulous conservation,” continues Susannah. “The Banqueting dress is the latest in the Smallhythe collection to undergo work to conserve it and we are thrilled it can now be seen alongside the Beetle wing dress and a selection of accessories from the production in a new display.”

Among the accessories on show are the bejewelled crown worn by Terry in the Banqueting scene, along with photographs of her in costume. “However, the limits of black and white photography were not lost on Ellen, she knew they did not do justice to her costumes,” adds Susannah.

“She wrote of her Beetle wing dress, for example, ‘The photographs give no idea of it at all, for it is in colour that it is so splendid.’ So, we are delighted that visitors will be able to enjoy the colour and richness of these costumes and experience some of the awe felt by the Victorian public when they first saw Terry wearing them.”

The conservation of the Banqueting dress was undertaken by experts at the National Trust’s Blickling Textile Conservation Studio with funding from the Royal Oak Foundation.

Dressing Lady Macbeth: An Exhibition runs from 21 August until 3 November.