"A Very Pretty Wedding"
"A very Pretty Wedding" proclaimed the Millom Gazette of 24th April 1914. The wedding of Tom Critchley from London and Annie Louise Darvell, daughter of Mr William Darvell of Millom was celebrated on 23rd April 1914.
The ceremony took place in St George's church Millom. It was conducted by the Reverend E F Stoney from St Luke's Church, the Critchley parish church, St Helens, Lancashire.
Seated at the front are two bridesmaids, Mary Critchley, one of Tom's sisters, and Bessie Mandall, the bride's cousin. The bridesmaids are carrying baskets of primroses. The little boy next to Bessie is Seth Critchley, Tom Critchley's youngest brother. To Seth's right is James Critchley, Tom's father, baker of St Helens with his wife Mary Ellen sitting next to him.
William Darvell, Annie Louise's father sits with his arms folded. He gave his daughter away. Annie Louise is standing. Her dress was cream, trimmed with white satin and pearls, her outfit was topped with a white straw hat, her bouquet included lilies of the valley.
Tom Critchley, next to her, was living and working as a chemist in London for Johnson Matthey, which specialised in metals. He had gifted the bridesmaids gold brooches.
Seated next to Tom is his sister Phoebe Critchley, the chief bridesmaid. Beside Phoebe is her brother Jim Critchley, who was Tom's best man. The young boy is Arthur Mandall, above him may be George Darvell, the bride's uncle from Seascale, with some of the bride's cousins. The Reverend E F Stoney is beside him. Standing to the right of the bride is Thomas Mandall. The man at the end could be James Smith of Critchley and Smith, bakers. On the top row, above the Rev. E.F.Stoney is Jim Matthews, who was to marry Phoebe Critchley (Mollie's Auntie "Pe" in "Those Critchley's of St Helens"). He stands next to Alice Gertrude Mandall, the bride's sister. Alice and Thomas Mandell hosted the wedding breakfast at their home in Queen Street. According to the report the catering was done by Mrs Danson. Beside Alice is the bride's nephew, Fred William Darvell. He is next to his dad, the bride's brother Arthur Hamer Darvell. The celebrations ended when the married couple left for a honeymoon at Port Erin on the Isle of Man. Annie Louise wore a tweed costume to embark on her new life as Mrs Critchley.
The presence of the Reverend Edwin Fazakerley Stoney in so many of the Critchley family photographs has been a source of great interest to us. His role here was to conduct the wedding ceremony. There are more details about the lives of some of the wedding party below.
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