Celebrating love, life and legacy together
From baptisms and birthdays to weddings and royal milestones, summer has long been a season of celebration – a time when families come together to mark life’s most cherished moments.
This month, our archives open a window into some of those occasions, preserved across centuries in our collections.
The earliest glimpse comes from the Wensley parish register, where in 1561 baptisms were faithfully recorded – heralding the start of many life stories. In Ingleton, the baptism register captures not only new life but national change, with handwritten notes from 1901 marking the death of Queen Victoria and the proclamation of Edward VII – major public events woven into parish records.
Weddings feature prominently as timeless symbols of unity. Highlights include the 1802 marriage of poet William Wordsworth to Mary Hutchinson in Brompton, and the 1885 wedding of Sherlock Holmes creator Sir Arthur Conan Doyle to Louisa Hawkins in Thornton-in-Lonsdale – their signatures still visible in our ledgers.
Photographs from the Louisa Kruckenberg collection bring 1920s weddings vividly to life. The Wildon–Routledge wedding in Dunsforth and the Hamper–Daniel wedding in Whixley are among those captured with proud brides and grooms, guests in their finest, and towering cakes ready to be cut. Other images remain unnamed but are no less joyful, preserving the spirit of celebration across generations.
Two delicate birthday cards from a mid-Victorian scrapbook, thought to belong to Adeline Bruce – a relative of the Coore family of Scruton Hall – show how birthdays, too, were treasured occasions for sharing love and memories.
Not all summer gatherings were joyous. The Order of Procession for the funeral of Sir Charles Slingsby in 1869 offers a glimpse of a community united in mourning – a reminder that even in sorrow, there is connection and tradition.
Across centuries, these records show that while styles and customs may change, the reasons we gather – for love, life and legacy – remain the same.
Baptism entries on the first page of Wensley parish register from 1561.
A wedding party in the 1920s. From the Louisa Kruckenberg photographic collection.
A wedding party in the 1920s. From the Louisa Kruckenberg.
A bride and a groom pictured on their big day in the 1920s. From the Louisa Kruckenberg photographic collection.
A birthday greeting card from a mid-Victorian scrapbook thought to belong to Adeline Bruce, a relative of the Coore family of Scruton Hall.
A birthday greeting card from a mid-Victorian scrapbook thought to belong to Adeline Bruce, a relative of the Coore family of Scruton Hall.
An entry in Thornton-in-Lonsdale marriage register for Sherlock Holmes author Arthur Conan Doyle and Louisa Hawkins on 6 August 1885.
An entry in Brompton marriage register for poet William Wordsworth of Grasmere and Mary Hutchinson of Brompton on 4 October 1802.
A wedding cake is pictured in a photo taken during the 1920s. From the Louisa Kruckenberg photographic collection.
A bride and a groom are pictured on their wedding day in the 1920s. From the Louisa Kruckenberg photographic collection.
A wedding party at Lower Dunsforth in the 1920s. From the Louisa Kruckenberg photographic collection.
A bride and a groom pictured in the 1920s. From the Louisa Kruckenberg photographic collection.
A wedding cake is pictured in a photo taken during the 1920s. From the Louisa Kruckenberg photographic collection.
Notes in Ingleton baptism register marking the death of Queen Victoria in January 1901 and the proclamation of King Edward VII in Ingleton Square in February 1901.
A copy of the order of procession for the funeral of Sir Charles Slingsby, 10th Baronet at Scriven Park, Knaresborough in 1869.