Those Were The Days !

Arthur Alison Barnard's wedding to Hilda Stopford

Arthur was a barrister at law, a cricket blue at Cambridge and a well known amateur boxer.   There is a quotation from an autobiography, below, which mentions him.

His marriage to Hilda was featured in a society magazine called "Madame", dated August 11, 1900 under the title "Fashionable Weddings".  (The advertisements in the magazine are amazing:   Landaus and other carriages, belted corsets, "a natty frock of foulard").   

The first wedding featured on that same page was of Lady Randolph Churchill, the widow of Winston Churchill to her second husband, Mr. George Cornwallis West, only son of Colonel. W. Cornwallis West of  Ruthin Castle.  Even though there is no connection, I will quote the details of their wedding, just for historical interest:   "The church was beautifully decorated with palms and crimson gladioli and there was a beautiful musical service....   The bride, who was given away by the Duke of Marlborough, looked exceedingly well in her wedding gown of pale blue chiffon over blue glace silk.   The skirt was ornamented with innumerable tucks and insertions of string coloured Cluny lace and round the hem there was a deep flounce of the same lace headed by a band of insertion.   The bodice was of tucked blue chiffon with a bolero of Cluny lace and a vest of white chiffon crossed by draperies of pale blue silk, fastened with a handsome turquoise and diamond ornament.   With this charming gown the bride wore a toque of tucked blue chiffon, the brim veiled with ecru Brussels point applique lace and finished on the left side with a cluster of white roses.   A soft plume of blue and white marabout completed the trimming of this pretty toque.  Lady Randolph Churchill carried a prayer book bound in white vellum and a loose bunch of white roses.  ... After the ceremony a wedding breakfast was served at the residence of the bride's sister...the bride and bridegroom leaving early in the afternoon for Broughton Castle lent for the occasion by Lord and Lady Algernon Gordon-Lennox.   The bride's travelling dress was of blue French silk canvas, the skirt ornamented with long lines of hem stitching and the front of the bodice arranged with a very beautiful piece of antique rose point lace, which was included among her wedding presents.   With this she wore a toque of blue chiffon, trimmed with mauve and blue shaded convolvulus...."

 

Hilda and Arthur's wedding was celebrated at St. Andrew’s Church, West Kensington on August 2, 1900.   The bride was living at 38 Castletown Road at the time.   "The church was prettily decorated with palms and white flowers and the service was fully choral.   The Rev. John Colyer, assisted by the Rev. William Bate, officiated.   The bride was given away by her cousin, Capt. Walter J. Stopford, C.F.  She wore a dress of ivory duchesse satin, draped with some beautiful old lace.  The bodice was arranged with a picturesque fiche of mousseline de soie, whilst the sleeves and yoke were of chiffon, embroidered in silver.   Mr. H. W. Barnard (Walter), brother of the bridegroom was best man, and the bridesmaids were Miss Hendy (Nellie-half sister), sister of the bride, Miss Barnard (Lillian), sister of the bridegroom, Miss. F. W. Hendy (Florence Winifred who later married George Barnard), cousin of the bride, and two little girls, Miss Honor and Miss Irene Rawlinson.  The elder bridesmaids had dresses of white satin voile over silk, trimmed with duchesse lace insertion and chiffon.  They had black chiffon picture hats trimmed with roses.   The little girls were dressed in white muslin and lace over pale blue silk, blue sashes and white picture hats.   There was no reception after the ceremony and the bride and bridegroom left early in the afternoon for Sussex.  The bride's going away dress was of pale blue cashmere, trimmed with white silk and ecru lace and worn with a watteau coat to correspond.   Her toque of black chiffon was trimmed with sequia net and pale pink roses."

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From the autobiography "Leaves From My Unwritten Diary" of Sir Harry Preston.

"I remember Count Vivian Hollander, the well known boxing and wrestling referee had a bull terrier called "Standish Hero", which he left behind when he went off to the war.   One evening there was an air raid and the family ran down to the billiard room. But not so the dog; he stopped behind to fetch the dressing gown belonging to his absent master.  "Standish Hero" died during the war.   He was left behind at Farnborough, and one day he fell ill.  He dragged his master's tunic from his room, lay down on the tunic and simply passed away.  Hollander wrote to tell his friend, Mr. A.A. Barnard, who was then in the West Indies, the sad story.  Barnard, a barrister, and a well known amateur boxer, replied telling Hollander a story about the dog, which was new to its owner.  Barnard had met a reformed criminal, who had told him of the various burglaries he had committed, and how he was one of the gang who had robbed Sir Claude Champion De Crespigny outside the National Sporting Club. 

"We was going to burgle Hollander's house after that", said the crook, "But we didn't - we had been watching the house and found he was away every Monday night." (Hollander was on the Committee of the National Sporting Club then, and Monday night was our fight night).  "One day outside we saw that ruddy big white dawg of his 'ave a scrap, and after that we didn't fancy the job"

(Sir Harry Preston was proprietor of the Royal Albion Hotel in Brighton, England and owned the Royal York, which is the original of "The Royal Sussex" in Arnold Bennett's novel "Clayhanger".  The housekeeper in that book is Miss Beatrice Collins, Preston's sister in law and the pageboy, Preston's valet.)
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The above is taken from a letter written to me by Pamela Barnard, daughter of Arthur and Hilda Barnard.