Church displays 180 years worth of memorabilia

Local people who got married in Holy Trinity Church have lent their photos to the exhibition

A historic church is displaying items from weddings, christenings and funerals that have taken place there since 1844.

Holy Trinity Church in Dilton Marsh, Wiltshire, is celebrating 180 years since it was consecrated by the Bishop of Salisbury - the year after it was built.

The Life Events exhibition from 25-26 May includes wedding dresses, photographs and memorabilia collected from local people.

"Seeing how the styles of wedding dress have changed over the years, that's quite intriguing, and also quite humorous," said co-organiser Sonja Harris.

The exhibition also features christening robes and parish records, which another church member has helped to research.

"There will be a lot of printouts of people's marriage information going back to 1844. And so you can look and see who some of the earliest people were to be married in the church," explained Ms Harris.

'An eye opener'

She said there were also "some quite incredible newspaper articles that list every single person who came to a wedding and the gifts that they gave".

"That that's really quite an eye opener," she added.

Tess Brocksopp, who also helped to organise the event, explained more than 100 photographs would be on display, as well as 13 wedding dresses from 1921 up until the present day.

There is also a handmade wedding dress from the 1950s.

A lot of the families who got married or baptised at the church are still living in the village

Ms Brocksopp said: "We'd just like people to come and have a look, have a wander around, see the exhibits, and there'll be an opportunity for them to write their memories down."

"Lots of families have had several generations of their family that have all got married in Holy Trinity. So it's a family affair, really," she added.

"Even if you don't go to church every Sunday, I think the people in the village are very thankful that our church is there and open to everyone," she said.

The foundation stone of Holy Trinity in Dilton Marsh was laid in 1843

Usual services will take place throughout the weekend, as the exhibition takes place.

"Not quite sure how that's going to work - we'll cross that bridge when we come to it," joked Ms Harris.