José Gauche

José Gauche became Jose Browne, 10th Marchioness of Sligo (1908–2004) was an Irish artist who was the 10th Marchioness of Sligo and the châtelain and the designer of the interiors of Westport House.

Life Gauche's early life is not detailed. Her father, William, was a businessman and her ancestors included Huguenots. She was born in June 1908 and she was brought up in London. This was not expected as his elder brother inherited the family fortune and he had four sons. However the four sons died and the Browne family's finances were substantially reduced because of death duties which were paid twice on the fortune. First Gauche had to go through each room discarding the detritus gathered over centuries. She and her husband were both artists and the Connauult area was not known for its tourism in the 1950s. She was able to design and make furnishing fabrics to suit the Westport House rooms as she had always made her own clothes and her own accessories. She crocheted bedspreads to decorate the beds and she is credited with being the house's châtelain and its interior designer.

Westport house was opened to the public in 1961 and it had 2,600 visitors. The expansion of the house as a business is credited to her son.

The family moved from Westport House into a house on the estate in 1969 and in 1975 they moved back to Surrey. She became a widow in 1991.

Death and legacy Gauche died in 2004 when the annual visitor numbers to the house she created was 50,000 per annum. Her heir was her son Jeremy. She had no other children.