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Ten couples with a total of 387 years of marriage between them came together to help launch a £20,000 fundraising appeal for the restoration of a Longridge church lychgate.
The couples congregated at St. Lawrence’s Church, Lower Lane, on Saturday, June 15, to mark the start of fundraising to restore the 85-year-old lychgate.
The lychgate was installed in 1939 and was given by Agnes Ellen Smith in memory of her husband, Thomas Charles Smith, who wrote the first comprehensive history of Longridge, and her brother William Thomas Tullis.
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Ellen and her brother were the children of James Tullis, a Preston stonemason and master builder responsible for such buildings as Preston town hall, Preston railway station and the Harris Library and Museum.
With fungal rot and wood boring beetles eating away at the woodwork, as well as water damage, a total restoration of the lychgate is needed.
As part of the restoration appeal there will be a flower festival at St. Lawrence’s on the weekend of July 13-14, with other events planned to take place.
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While one of the couples only got married last year and one will celebrate their golden wedding in September, Bill and Adrienne Atkinson have clocked up an amazing 65 years of marriage.
And since they tied the knot in 1959, there have been six vicars and six curates at St Lawrence’s.
Those wishing to support the appeal can go to the Justgiving page.
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