Susan Firth's wedding dress

Church groups and other organisations were much more important to people’s social lives in the 1950s and 1960s. But although people from different classes from time to time socialised together, the constrictions of class were not easily overcome.

Susan Haslam and Jim Firth met when she was 14 and he was 17, and they eventually married on 21st April 1962 at Holy Trinity church, Horwich.  The couple had met through their church. Susan recalls:

"Well we were both very involved with the church. Life was like that for a lot of people then, it was our main social life…. So it was seven years that we were together before we were married."

"And most of our time was around the church – we ran a youth club at the church, and we were Sunday school teaching and bell ringers and all our friends were involved in the church life, and we’re still friends with most of them now…. Lots of couples came about from youth club and they’re still together."

The couple were from different classes. Susan’s father was the manager of a quarry while Jim’s father worked on the factory floor, as Jim did, at the Horwich locomotive works. This created some initial opposition:

"I don’t mean to sound snobbish, but my parent’s owned their own house, Jim’s parents didn’t, and that was a big thing at the time. Jim’s older brothers and sisters had had moved in with in-laws or rented when got married."

"When we decided to buy a semi-detached house that was £2000, you know, everybody thought we’d gone mad. Jim’s parent’s were worried it was a millstone around our neck, whereas my parents thought that was the right thing to do."

Against expectation the couple stayed together, and their parents came round to realise that they were in fact a good match.

However, Susan’s father still wanted his daughter to have a lavish wedding. The couple were married at their parish church, The Holy Trinity, in Horwich, and the reception was at Haigh Hall with 100 guests in the afternoon, swelling to 200 in the evening, with a free bar!

But the biggest statement was made by the dress with its large integral train, and Susan’s attendance by 6 bridesmaids, all dressed by Mrs Heaton.

The dress shows some of the ‘signature’ features of Heaton’s work at that time. Heaton liked to incorporate a large train into the skirt of the dress and she was also known for her roses which are placed at intervals around the edge of the train.

Susan recalls:
"it was a buffet, which was a new thing out then. …and I can remember …getting my buffet and then the photographer asking me to go and stand on the steps for those photographs, and when I went back, my meal had disappeared… so I didn’t even get me wedding breakfast."



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