Joan McGreevy's wedding dress

Mrs. Anne Cecilia Heaton – a.k.a. Poppy Hinds – dressed brides in Bolton over a career that spanned five decades. Working for her had a major perk; she would make your wedding dress for you.

Mrs. Heaton ran her dressmaking business from her home at 44 Bark Street from the mid-1920s until the property was demolished, making way for the building that is now the department store Debenhams.

On her letterhead she described herself as a ‘Dressmaker and Costumier’.

In the pre-war period Heaton specialised in gowns, coats, costume, evening wear and bridal attire.

Her daughter Yvonne Bryce recalls her as having 16 employees – as many as she could squeeze into the Victorian terrace property.

Just prior to the war Heaton had considered expanding into larger premises, however, with uncertain times ahead she was advised to wait.

The advice was good. When the war came it took her staff for war work and rationing affected the supply of fabric (and demand for clothes). Yvonne recalled Heaton making coats out of blankets and wedding dresses out of parachute silk.

After the war Heaton streamlined her business, describing herself as a specialist in ‘bridal attire and evening wear’ only. She worked with a staff of just two.

Joan McGreevy and Margaret Park

The last two women to work for Heaton were Joan McGreevy, née Morris, and Margaret Park, née Corbridge. Entering the workroom involved certain responsibilities:

We were sworn to secrecy when we first went.  And we weren’t allowed to tell anyone what was going on in the work room, who’s wedding it was…. It was more than our life was worth

One of the advantages of working for Heaton was that, as staff, she would always make the wedding dress for you. Margaret was married on 19th August 1961. Mrs. Heaton chose her dress material, as Margaret explains:

Another girl had brought it …it was Lord Mountbatten’s daughter, Lady Pamela Hicks, and Mrs Heaton threw it across the workroom table and said “how about that for your wedding dress?”. I just looked up and said, “If you’ll make it, I’ll have it”, and that was it.

In 1964 the Bark Street property was demolished and Heaton moved to Harwood.

She had intended to retire, but could not give her dressmaking up, although the volume of her work decreased now that she worked alone. She died in 1971, aged 71.

Joan McGreevy was married on 23rd March 1968. Even though Heaton was officially retired she honoured her custom and made the wedding dress for the last woman to work for her.

Joan wanted a simple dress, and Mrs. Heaton did not want to make anything too involved at this stage in her career, and fashions had changed.  The result was a dress based on a caftan, very 1968!

The prolific career of Poppy Hinds

During a career spanning five decades Heaton dressed hundreds of Bolton brides, and their bridesmaids.  She made dresses for the rich and famous of Bolton as well as the ordinary working girl.

She became a sort of hub for weddings beyond the making of wedding dresses. She advised on hairdressers, florists, photographers, as well as designing wedding and bridesmaids’ dresses with flair. To have a wedding dress made by Mrs. Heaton earned a bride extra kudos and made getting an appointment with her much sought after.

Her commitment to quality of finish and attention to detail did not stop at creating breathtaking dresses.  She also went to her brides weddings and arranged their dresses for the photographs.  For some she went to their houses in the morning and dressed them as well, and she was often a guest at the reception.  In many respects her work was her life.

None of Heaton’s business records are known to survive. However, in 2004 her daughter Yvonne Bryce donated around 400 photographs of brides and bridesmaids that Heaton had dressed during her career to Bolton Museum.

This is not a complete record but shows the consistent high quality of her design, and it is an excellent record of bridal fashion and of Bolton women.