The Painting That Vanished
Do the archives of the Hertfordshire Mercury newspaper hold a clue to the last known whereabouts of a lost painting of the 1901 Epsom Derby winner Volodyovski and his eccentric owner, the Victorian socialite Lady Valerie Susie Meux, who lived at Theobald’s Park, Waltham Cross, until her death in 1910?
To celebrate her Derby victory, on Wednesday 5 June 1901, Lady Meux commissioned a painting of herself holding the reins of Volodyovski at Theobald’s Park. The artwork — apparently dating to 1905— was a collaboration between father‑and‑son artists Charles and Frederick Lutyens, both respected equestrian painters. Their joint works are exceptionally rare: only one other is known, the 1904 portrait of Iron Duke, King Edward VII’s shooting pony, now held by the Royal Collection Trust.
A photograph of the Meux painting was reproduced in Virginia Surtees’ 1997 book The Actress and the Brewer’s Wife: Two Victorian Vignettes. Surtees dated the image to 1901 but did not provide a source. In fact, I was initially unsure if this was actually a painting or a photograph which had been overpainted or retouched.
By chance, while browsing the British Newspaper Archive, I discovered a full‑page feature on the history of Theobald’s Park in the Hertfordshire Mercury dated Friday 30 April 1982 (p.75). At that time, Theobald’s Park served as a residential and conference college and a centre for Enfield’s fifth‑ and sixth‑form students.
Included in the article is a photograph of the painting of Lady Meux and Volodyovski. Writer Oliver Beckett noted that, at the time of publication, the painting was “still hanging in the house.”
So where is this painting now? Nobody seems to know.
Volodyovski became the first Derby winner bred by a woman. Race‑goers found his name so unpronounceable that he was often nicknamed “Bottle o’ Whisky.” To Lady Meux, he was simply “Zee Pet,” her most successful horse. The two‑year‑old bay was by King Edward VII’s colt Florizel II out of Lady Meux’s mare La Reine.
His form after the Derby win was disappointing, and he was retired to stud—first in Waltham Abbey, Essex, and later at Lady Meux’s stud at Theobald’s Park. Between 1900 and 1902 he ran twenty‑six times and won seven races.
When Lady Meux's will stipulated that Volodyovski should be shot when he “ceased to be of service,” to prevent his suffering at the hands of new owners or through old age. This did not happen. Zee Pet was exported to France in 1911 and died in 1917.
Following the death of her husband Sir Henry Meux in 1900, Valerie became one of the richest women in England, her fortune built on the success of the Meux Brewery.
But the Derby glory did not go to her. Because she raced under the pseudonym “Mr Theobalds” (her colours were red with a green sash), and had leased Volodyovski to American millionaire William C. Whitney, the victory — and the prize money of £5,670 (about £662,600 today) — was officially his.
Volodyovski won at odds of 5/2 by three‑quarters of a length in a record 2 minutes 40⅘ seconds.
Theobald’s Park has had many lives: a hotel, a hospital, a Royal Artillery base, the Metropolitan Police Riding School, a secondary school (from 1955), and an adult education centre (from 1969). In the 1990s it became a commercial conference centre, and in 2015 it reopened as Theobald's Park Hotel under De Vere Venues. After a two‑year restoration, it became Birch in 2020, but closed in 2023 with debts of around £5 million and was put up for sale.
In January 2025, Surya Hotels acquired Theobald’s Park Estate for £12.5 million. Part of the buildings are now open as The Ridings Restaurant & Rooms. The main house will undergo extensive renovation.
From her humble beginnings as a butcher’s daughter to her ascent as a wealthy socialite and owner of a major brewery, Lady Meux’s life was a whirlwind of reinvention and audacious behaviour. she rose from obscurity to immense wealth; her tempestuous marriage to a brewing heir; her extravagant lifestyle and collection of unique treasures; and the rumours that followed her throughout her life.
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