RAWLINS, MR & MRS, WEDDING GROUP

Neg. No: 2843 A

Neg. Size: 10"x12" Neg.

Date: 29-04-1903

Subject: The Wedding of Miss Evelyn Smijth-Windham to Major Francis Hooper Rawlins.

Sitters (left to right) standing:

(Bridesmaid) Hon. Dorothy Beatrix Wynn, (1877- ); 2nd daughter of Hon. Thomas John Wynn; m. (1905) Rear-Admiral Cuthbert (Bertie) Godfrey Chapman.

(Bridegroom) Major Francis Hooper Rawlins (1861-1925) Captain and Hon. Major, Royal Anglesey Engineer Militia, later painter, poet and musician in Paris.

(Groomsman, brother of the bride) Lt. later Sir Walter George Windham, (1868-1942) motoring & aviation pioneer.

(Best man, brother of the groom) Major Edward Brinsley Rawlins (1862-1936) (?) Captain & Hon. Major, Somerset Light Infantry.

(Groomsman, brother of the bride) Claude Seymour Windham (1869-1934) British Intelligence Officer, Boer War.

(Bridesmaid, 1st cousin of the bride) Miss (Harriet) Kathleen Hamilton-Grace, later Lady Thompson (d. 1969); daughter of Colonel Sheffield Hamilton-Grace; m. (1909) Sir Mathew Thompson, 3rd Bt. of Guisley.

(Groomsman) Marshall Bassett.

Seated:

(Train-bearer, nephew of the bride) Ashe Wadham George Windham (1894-1922) soldier, M.C. 1918.

(Train-bearer) Miss B. Neville-Peel.

(Bride) Mrs Francis Hooper Rawlins, née Evelyn Smijth-Windham (1866-1945); daughter of Major George Smijth-Windham; m. (1903) Major Francis Hooper Rawlins (judicial separation 1908).

(Bridesmaid, sister of the groom) Miss Harriet (Hetty) Jane Rawlins, later Mrs Alex Barnes (1871-1941); m. (1915) Rev Alex Barnes.

(Groomsman, brother of the bride) (Henry) Steuart Windham (1873-1958) soldier.

Date: 29 April 1903.

Location: The Empress Club, Dover Street, London (where the wedding reception was held) or the Lafayette Studio, 179, New Bond Street, London. (See additional information)

Descr: FL

Costume: (bride) wedding dress of ivory satin mousseline with yoke and sleeves of chiffon and old lace; (adult bridesmaids) cream voile and lace dresses with 'sun-ray' pleated skirts and capes of Mechlin lace, tulle veils with wreaths of apple blossom; (train-bearers) white Charles I costumes.

Costume Supplier: -

Jewellery: (bride) 'Diamond pendant' (gift of bridegroom).

Furniture & Props: Painted backdrop;

Photographer: Lafayette Ltd., 179 New Bond Street, London.

Evidence of photographer at work: -

No of poses: 1.

Copyright: V&A

All images on this site are copyright V&A. For further information on using or requesting copies of any images
please contact the V&A Picture Library: vaimages@vam.ac.uk including the URL of the relevant page

References:

Biog: (Mrs Bertie Chapman, née Wynn) Burke's Landed Gentry (see Chapman, formerly of Crooksbury); Burke's Peerage (see Newborough, Baron). (Major Francis Hooper Rawlins) Burke's Landed Gentry (see Rawlins of Stoke Courcy); Cosmo W. H. Rawlins, Family Quartette, privately printed, 1962. (Sir Walter George Windham) Burke's Peerage (see Bowyer-Smijth Bt.); The Times, 7 July 1942, p 6. (See also Walter Windham, Waves, Wheels and Wings, London?, 1942 CK REF). (Major Edward Brinsley Rawlins) Burke's Landed Gentry; Cosmo W. H. Rawlins, op. cit. (Claude Seymour Windham) Burke's Peerage. (Lady Thompson, née Hamilton-Grace) Burke's Peerage. (Ashe Wadham George Windham) Burke's Peerage; (Mrs Francis Hooper Rawlins, née Smijth-Windham) Burke's Peerage. (Mrs Alex Barnes, née Rawlins) Burke's Landed Gentry; Cosmo W. H. Rawlins, op. cit. (Henry Steuart Windham) Burke's Peerage.

Occasion: The Gentlewoman, 16 May 1903 p 682c; The Lady's Pictorial, 23 May 1903, p 1165a

Costume: The Gentlewoman, ibid; The Lady's Pictorial, ibid.

Costume Supplier: -

Reproduced: -

Additional Information: "...after the ceremony the bridal party went off to be photo'ed, only five minutes Lafayette said, but it was nearer fifty before they returned, and meanwhile the guests all looked at the presents and enjoyed the cakes." Letter from Rosie Eastwood to Clara Windham, quoted in Cosmo W.H. Rawlins, Family Quartette, privately printed, 1962, pp. 174-5.

Acknowledgements: (Research) Julia Craig-Harvey. (Biog.) Mrs Cosmo Rawlins; Lady Windham, William Windham.