100 years after Brinkley Hall's last wedding ceremony, a son looks back

This week 100 years ago, the Brinkley Hall was filled with anticipation for the wedding ceremony of Malcolm Richards and Jessie White.

Pews lined the hall and a double archway covered in flowers sat at the end of the small stretch of space.

Two small horseshoes hung from the flowers between the bell, gifting luck to the soon-to-be newlyweds.

Although there seemed to be one problem.

Malcolm – or Mal as he was commonly known – was nowhere to be found, leaving the soon-to-be Mrs Richards waiting on the roadside out of sight, in a buggy with her father.

It turns out the best man, Gerald Marson, was to blame after having some trouble with his collar stud – in the way of not being able to find the dang thing.

Luckily all went smoothly after that, or so said John Richards, Jessie and Mal's son, born 14 months after the big day and now aged 98.

"It was straight back to work for (Mum and Dad), no honeymoon," he said.

"It was a funny time of the year to get married because they would've been in the middle of harvest and had Christmas coming up."

Thanks to Mr Richards, there was a home waiting for them to go back to, as he had a house built for his wife in 1925, even doing all the carpentry himself.

The Brinkley Hall has had many changes since the third – and last – wedding was held in the old stone building on December 19, 1925.

The hall now has a new overlay flooring, extended stage and kitchen, and even the front of the hall has a newish extension.

"They built (the extension) as I was leaving school," Mr Richards said.

He went to Brinkley Primary School, which was in the building adjacent to the hall.

Each morning at just six years of age, he'd make the two-mile walk from his house, until his dad bought him a bike.

He did this until about year seven, after which he chose to decline his scholarship to high school and help his dad on the family farm.

Although he was a bit too young to start work with his dad, so he stayed at the primary school to complete year eight with Mr Fitzgerald.

Another fond memory John has of the hall is the dances held every third Saturday, enjoying the music and laughter from locals.

"I learned to dance right here on these floors," Mr Richards recalled.

"There used to be many dances at the hall, I'd often look forward to them ... my dad would never join in, he used to be the door man."

There were only ever two other weddings held in the stone walls of the Brinkley Hall on Brinkley Road.

The couples who had their beautiful day at the hall were Alf and Ruby Martin and Elsie and Hugo Borchardt.

The hall may be used a little less frequently than it was back in the day, but the love and memories it holds from the community are still commonly shared.