Wedding dress handed down through three generations

Sarah’s French lace gown was first worn by her grandmother, Dorothy Newsome, when wed Peter Sampson on June 9, 1959.

It was then worn by Sarah’s mother, Catherine Sampson, when she married Anthony Clark exactly 25 years later on June 9, 1984.

Catherine, who grew up in Halifax Road, had always admired her mother’s wedding pictures and was delighted when she found the dress she had worn in her mother’s loft.

“I tried it on and it fitted. It was still in good condition and it was so beautiful, so I wanted to wear it,” Catherine said.

After Catherine got married she moved to Middlestown and history started to repeat itself when her daughter, Sarah, got engaged to Jonathan in 2010.

“Mum got the dress down about 18 months ago to see whether it was still a dress,” Sarah, 25, of Cawood, said.

“We were a bit dubious as to whether it would be in one piece. I looked at it and I wasn’t sure whether I wanted to wear it, but I put it on and it fit perfectly. It just felt right.”

Dorothy, who now lives in Liversedge, said she was delighted to see her dress come out of storage for a second time.

“I only found out last week that this was the dress she was going to be wearing,” she said.

As June 9 fell on a Saturday this year, Sarah could have a weekend wedding and share her anniversary with mother and grandmother.

The wedding last Saturday was held at St Michael and All Angels Church in Thornhill, Dewsbury, which, in another link with the past, is the church where Jonathan’s father’s parents also got married.