Two weddings in Marple -10 After the wedding and Epilogue

March 8

I can't believe that tomorrow is the wedding day. I think everything is in order, and the weather is for once being accommodating.

Thomas has spent the last few weeks worrying about the Parliamentary Mid Cheshire Elections, rather than his first child's wedding. The Conservative Candidate was of course the Hon Alan Do Taton Egerton, whose father died just a few weeks ago. Apparently a circular is making its way around with a copy of an address by Egerton, and asking for support. Also there is a problem with possibly undue pressure being put on individuals to reply quickly.

Mr. Egerton however has informed the Attorney General that he has never given any indication of how he would be voting. He was solicited to find out if he would give a written promise to vote in a particular way. However it was declared that this is different from asking an elector for his vote.

I must admit that I don't understand it, nor am I very interested.

March 15

The wedding is over, and Mr. and Mrs. Frank Barlow, the happy couple, are on their way to Shanghai. I will make this my last entry into this my wedding diary, and tell of what happened on last Thursday the 9th.

Everything went smoothly. The bride and her attendant looked lovely and they were both serene and confident. The service went without a hitch.

I must admit we were somewhat taken aback when an hour into our reception the other bride and her family appeared. What surprised us was that all three - bride, attendant and mother of the bride were attired in our old dresses, and in that, we could almost have been looking at another version of ourselves. (Her mother is much stouter than I am, but someone had altered my dress successfully). No doubt they got them from the clothing sale that we donated to - and once the shock was over, we were very pleased to think that we had contributed in yet another way to the making of their wedding.

Both brides were given Quarto bibles by the minister, but of course, it was we who funded and set up the tradition.

About 150 attended the reception in the end, with many who went to the church not making the trip to the Union Rooms. Afterwards the band marched smartly around town ending up at our house, and serenading us until we had to ask Thomas to stop and let them go home to their families.

But all in all, it was a wonderful day, one we will not soon forget.

Epilogue

This story is fiction, although it is based on fact whenever possible. These two weddings did take place on the day mentioned, and some of the details of the Carver wedding were recorded in the North Cheshire Herald. I tried to incorporate all the local news from Marple and the surrounding area in my book, to add local colour.

Subsequent History of the Carvers:

Mary and Frank Barlow continued to live at Woodville Hall. Frank was very involved with the Barlow Tea Estate in Ceylon. He was also into music and helped form the Marple Band.. They had one son, Harold Carver Barlow and five daughters. Their son died in the First World War. He would have been about 17.

Oswald Carver married Kate Armitage in 1884. He continued to work at Hollins Mill and to be involved in the Congregational Church They had three sons, Oswald Armitage in 1887, Guy Armitage, born in 1888, and Basil Armitage born in 1896 who died in the war, and two daughters. They lived at Beechwoods in Marple. Guy worked in Hollins Mill and married Honoria Rigby in 1914.

Ernest Carver married Alice Bagshaw in 1886. They had two sons and two daughters, Lillian Robertson born in 1887 and Dorothy Bagshaw also born in 1887. One son was killed in the war. Ernest was in charge of the weaving department at the Mill, and later took over control of the Wellington Mill in Hazel Grove, which had belonged to their grandfather Carver, at which time they moved to Poise House, Hazel Grove. When Alice's parents died, he changed his name to Bagshaw.

Jessie Carver married Dr. Peter Otho Watkins Browne of Glasgow, whom she met when she was visiting her aunt Miss Roberton. They also were married on a summer Thursday at the Marple Congregational Church, with festivities at the Coffee Tavern and Hollins House afterwards. He became a GP in Alderley Edge. They had three sons, including Otho who survived the war and came back to work at Hollins Mill for awhile, but wasn't to stay there long. He lived in Rose Hill House from 1891-1896, but in 1902 is listed as living at Grange House, Holmes Chapel.

Roberton Caarver went to Christ College, Cambridge, and then to St. Thomas' London where he became a doctor. He married Grace and they lived in the Macclesfield area. They had one son, Humphrey Roberton, born in 1903, and one daughter, Mrs. Joyce Roberton Donaldson born in 1899 (who contributed much of the material in this book).

Bessie Carver never married. She is described as having had delicate health.

Tom Carver  never married, and became a solicitor. He had a farm in Hinkley and when he retired he moved to Bitteswell House in Leicestershire. (Some of the Day family came from Bitteswell.)

Thomas and Hannah Carver retired from the mill in 1892. They continued to live in Marple until after their 50^th anniversary celebrations, and then moved to Southport. She died in 1908, and he in 1910.

In 1900, the Carvers bought Springfield House, which had been the headquarters of the cavalry during the Chartist uprisings, and turned it into a social centre. But because they wouldn't allow cards or billiards, it wasn't very popular until they added a gymnasium. In the 1930's it was bought by a dramatic society and became the Carver Theatre and they still put on excellent products four times a year.

In 1918 Hollins House was sold to Marple Council and became the Council Offices. After the First World War, the land was donated to the town as Marple Memorial Park, and a war memorial was erected with the names of the 141 Marple men who died in it. They included Basil A Carver, Oswald A Carver, and Harold C. Barlow.

The recreation ground in Marple was donated to the town by Walter Hodkinson and Oswald Carver. Oswald's sons stayed working in connection with Hollins Mill.

photo above:
taken in 1904 at the Elder Carver's 50^th Anniversary celebrations. Back
row (l-r): Kate, Oswald, Bessie, Thomas, Ernest, Frank Barlow (groom) .
Centre: Hannah (narrator of this story) . Front: Roberton, Grace, Jessie, Tom, Mary Barlow (our bride). All surnames are Carver unless noted otherwise.

The Cheetham and Lund families

I know nothing of them other than the facts that they lived in Marple in 1880, worked at a Mill (I'm not even sure it was Hollins Mill) and that Martha Cheetham and Joseph Lund married on 9^th March, 1883. Looking up possible matches on Ancestry, Martha Lund died in 1912, in Fylde, Lancashire. That might or might not be the same person. Fanny Cheetham died in 1888. This might be Martha's mother.