We develop a molecular model of non-uniform deformations within the framework of liquid crystal rubber elasticity. The result of this work is the general expression for the free energy of deformations which combines the effects of large non-symmetric affine strains in the rubbery network and gradients of curvature deformations of the director field, $Fsim lambda^{
m T}{
abla{f n}}^2lambda$. We derive the molecular expressions for the elastic constants governing non-uniform directors in the presence of elastic strains. These constants depend on the polymer step length anisotropy ℓ||/ℓ⊥ and - most strikingly - have an overall negative sense. We therefore predict that in some circumstances, especially at large elastic deformations λ, these new terms may overpower the usual, positive Frank elastic moduli of the underlying nematic structure, and also in some cases the coupling of uniform relative rotations of the director to the elastic matrix. In this event highly distorted polydomain textures n(r) would be favoured