Unidentified country house

[noytd]

Many kind thanks for the replies.

Bertrand Sargeaunt did indeed have a younger brother, his name was Alan but I have not been able to find a photo of him so far.

I have found an 1899 newspaper article about the wedding of Lillian Peck. The article stated that Robert Peck was not at the wedding due to ill health, which would explain the lack of father aged gentleman in the wedding photo.

My knowledge of wedding clothing/flowers s admittedly very poor. If this description matches then great, but if not back to the drawing board!

[Ruskie]

I think that description fits the photo, though it is not terribly clear. I am not sure I see orchids in the bouquet, but I see a flower that looks a bit like a lisianthus. Also unsure about orange blossom on the skirt. I think the aigrette and veil tally, also probably the description of yoke and sleeves.

I'll be interested to see what others think.

[groom]

I was about to say the same about the orchids - I can’t see any in the bouquet, look a bit like roses to me. I agree about the transparent lace on the yoke, but not sure about the sleeves whether they fit that description.

[Ruskie]

Her corsage looks interesting - lots of leaves .... which look like they could be orange leaves to accompany the orange blossom? Maybe the orchids are the long dangly blooms in the bouquet, perhaps mentioned because they were exotic? Orchids do come in various shapes and sizes. 

There look to be blooms in her hair as there are some lighter coloured "bits" which may be blossoms peeking up from her headpiece, so there is more on her head than just the aigrette I think. 

[Treetotal]

I think the wedding photo is Edwardian.
Carol

[noytd]

Many thanks for the replies.

Here is a much clearer zoom on the bride and the wedding photo. Of the mother's the article I found (Bedfordshire Mercury 04 August 1899) describes - "Mrs Robert Peck wore a very handsome gown of soft mauve moire and chiffon, and she wore a toque of the same colour. Mrs Sargeaunt, the bridegroom's mother, wore a silk dress with black lace over."





Going back to Woodcote, whilst going through the album I found the following two photographs. One a wedding photo, and one a family photo outside Woodcote. As you will see both couples appear in this photograph. As I have always thought, Woodcote once again appears to be a vital piece of the puzzle.





For the moment I have ruled out the Polhill-Turner family, as nobody on their family tree would seem to fit the people in the photographs and the time periods involved.

[noytd]

I feel like I am now making progress.

Robert Peck was married twice. His second wife seems to have something of a story! Annie Kentfield (nicknamed "Queenie" and from a family of famous billiard players) was married three times. Notably her grandfather, Edwin Kentfield (1802-1873), was regarded as being one of the greatest billiard players of his time.

Firstly in 1874 to William Wallace Rodger-Cunliffe of Hadlow Castle. The couple divorced in 1880 due to her affair with William Arthur Hoare-Smith. She married Mr Hoare-Smith straight after the divorce. Their daughter Mildred Queenie Amelia Hoare-Smith was born on the 15 November 1879 in Jersey - thereby illegitimate. His family lived in Whimpole House in Devon.

The Hoare-Smith marriage collapsed due to Annie's affair with James Peck and her second divorce came in 1887. She married Peck in 1888. The took up residence at Howbury Hall soon after. When James Peck died in 1899 he left his entire estate (including his business) to Annie. She would die in 1902 in Bedford.

On the 1901 Census Mildred is listed as being a nurse at St. Bartholomew's Hospital in London. The photo below is in the photo album, so either a coincidence or it is Mildred?



There were two children, a boy and a girl, from Annie's first marriage. However, the daughter was unmarried and died in the United States

Mildred married a doctor named Leonard Gray on the 29 April 1908 in Malvern. His father had at one point been a clergyman in Bedford.

If the nurse is indeed Mildred, is she also the mystery woman who compiled the photo album? If this is the case then it would identify the women in the photo as being the Peck sisters, Annie, and Mildred? But maybe a big leap on my part!

[jennifer c]

Have you checked out Woodcote Apsley Guise Bedfordshire?

Jennifer

[jennifer c]

A James Henry Renton lived there?

Jennifer