While searching the Newspaper Archives for interesting Billinghay weddings to share this Valentine’s Day, I discovered the wedding of Frederick and Lena. The report gives a detailed description of their ceremony at St Michael’s Church and includes lots of extra information and an extra surprise for me, as Lena turns out to be my 1×2 cousin.

I can’t recall ever seeing such a huge list of Wedding Gifts like this before. I have transcribed some of the newspaper report to make it easier to read.

Frederick was the organist of St Michael’s, Billinghay and Lena was in the Choir. Her father was the Parish Warden. Lena’s parents lived at Laburnham House, Billinghay.

The couple had their honeymoon in London.

So many guests attended, including my paternal grandmother, several great-aunts, great-uncles, and cousins; what a wedding it must have been!

The happy couple were the recipients of 188 useful and valuable Wedding Presents!’

Mr & Mrs Hickling, Billinghay, cheese dish; Miss Mary Carr, Billinghay, cake stand; Mr and Mrs Ed Hickling, Billinghay, photo frame; Misses W and K Hickling, Billinghay, fruit dish; Mrs and the Misses M and K Siddons, Billinghay, cheese dish; Master Y Carr, Billinghay, bread plate; Miss K Mastin, Billinghay, fruit spoon; Dr and Mrs Eardley, Toole, silver marmalade jar and spoon; Miss Turner, Surrey, silver-mounted inkstand and pen; Auntie, ornaments; Grandmother of bride, Billinghay, celery glass and jam dishes; Grandfather of bride, Billinghay, forks; a friend, Lincoln, dozen silver spoons; Mrs Jackson, Newark, brass coal hod; Mr H and Miss J Holmes, Spalding, jam dish; Mr F Dobson, Billinghay, flower vase; Mr F Palmer, Billinghay, quilt; Miss Hilda Taylor, North Kyme, breakfast dish; Miss Emily Clarke, Billinghay, d’oyleys;

Mr and Mrs Southern, Boston, case silver-mounted carvers; Misses M and H Holmes, Leeds, silver toast rack; Mr and Mrs Ellis, Newark, table centre; Misses Mary and Martha Wilson, Billinghay, crumb brush and tray; Mr J G Barton, Peterborough, silver teapot; Mr Taylor and Miss Richardson, Caistor ad Billinghay, silver sauce ladles; Miss Bones, Billinghay, china teapot; Miss Phyllis Knott, Billinghay, fruit plates; Mr and Mrs Tomlinson, Billinghay, copper kettle; Mrs Hewitt and Miss F Holmes, Boston, silver-mounted flower vase; Mrs McLennan, Sleaford, dining-room cloth; Mr and Mrs Knott, Billinghay, afternoon tea knives; Mr J Knott, Billinghay nut crackers; Mr and Mrs Kelly, Timberland, silver basket; Mr R Taylor and Miss E Palmer, Billinghay, silver peppers; a friend, custard glasses; Mr C J Willows and Miss Key, Billinghay, brass hot water jug; Rev J P Cheales, Friskney, volume of books; Mr and Mrs D W Jones, Lincoln, pair of sheets; Miss W Ellis, Manchester, honey jar; Rev W C and Mrs Ambrose, Billinghay, dozen dessert knives; Miss Dawson, Friskney, tray cloths; Mr D Blackburn, Billinghay, collar box; Mr Brant, Friskney, washstand; Mr and Mrs J Clarke, Billinghay, crumb brush and tray; Mrs Daisy Burbridge, Friskney, bamboo stand; Mrs White, Friskney, sugar tongs; Mr Jackson, Friskney, jam dish; Miss C Ellis, Billinghay, cushion; Mrs E Tyler, Billinghay, fruit dish;

Miss C Ellis, Billinghay, cushion; Mrs E Tyler, Billinghay, fruit dish; Mr and Mrs Lovely, Billinghay, cake stand; a friend, sweeping brush; Mr and Mrs J Smith, North Kyme, tablespoons; Mr O Pick and Miss F Smith, North Kyme, copper plant pots; Mr and Mrs J Wise, Billinghay, Daleb., half dozen tea spoons; Mr H Hickling, Lincoln, silver inkstand; Mr J Harrod, Billinghay, fruit dish; Miss S Harrod, Billinghay, fruit dish; Mr and Mrs Anderson, Lincoln, half dozen glasses and jug; Master N and Ivy Farrow, Billinghay, salad bowl; Mr and Mrs G Holmes, Billinghay, copper kettle; Miss A Ingall, Leicester, hand-worked stand cloth; Mr Hall, Coningsby, cushion covers; Mr A Wells, Billinghay, hall brushes; Mr and Mrs Green, Billinghay, teapot; Mr Arnold Holmes, Billinghay, cucumber dish; Mr and Mrs F Martin and family, Friskney, mirror hall-stand and brushes; Miss E Parker, Friskney, sugar tongs;

Master W and Misses R and S Kelly, Timberland, glass dishes; Mr and Mrs Willows and family, Billinghay, sugar and cream; Miss Mary Ravell, Billinghay, coffee pot; Mr and Mrs Rippin and family, Billinghay, vases; Mr Wright, London, cheque; Mr W Wildmore, Worksop, volume of books; Mrs Jenkins, Nottingham, decanters and wine glasses; Rev and Mrs Walker, Barrowden, brass fireguard; Miss Mastin, Billinghay, butter dish; Mrs W Wildmore, Worksop, silver toast rack; Misses Olive and Elsie Wildmore, Worksop, china teapot; Miss Gladys Ellis, Worksop, china coffee pot; Mr and Mrs Holbrook, Nottingham, silver flower vase; Miss Chatburn, Worksop, gold pin; Miss DeCano, Billinghay, celery glass; Mr A Gresswell, Billinghay, silver inkstand; Mr Arthur Franklin, Billinghay, vases; choir and congregation of St. Michael’s Church, Billinghay, barometer and drawing-room clock; Miss Pryer, Swineshead, oak tray; Miss Holmes, Swineshead, stand cloth; Mr and Mrs Christian, Staythorpe, silver toast rack; Mr and Mrs A Benton, Billinghay.

What an excellent job the reporter did on this article.

Family Histories.

Lena Ann Cullen (1890–1985)

Lena Ann Cullen was born on 8 October 1890 in the village of Billinghay, Lincolnshire, a rural community shaped by agriculture and close family ties. She was the daughter of Richard John Cullen and Lucy Watson, and the fifth child in a long marriage and a large family. What makes this story especially meaningful to me is that Lucy Watson was my second great-aunt on my paternal side, making Lena part of my own extended family.

By the 1891 census, Lena was living with her parents and four older siblings, Richard, Ernest, Betsy and Elsie, in Billinghay, St Michael’s parish. Over the next decade, Lena’s childhood was filled with the arrival of more siblings, each adding to the busy Cullen home. Her brother John Foster Cullen was born in 1892, followed by James H Cullen in 1894, Edgar Cullen in 1895, and her sister Dorothy T Cullen in 1899.

By 1901, Lena was still living in Billinghay and was recorded again as a daughter in the household. That same year brought the birth of her brother Cecil Fred Cullen, followed by Phillip Arthur Cullen in 1902. With seven younger siblings in total, Lena grew up in a lively household during a period of social and economic change in rural England.

On 27 September 1910, she married Frederick Arthur Wildmore, a local man born in 1878. The marriage was formally recorded in Sleaford, Lincolnshire, and the couple were married in Lena’s hometown of Billinghay at St Michael’s Church. Lena was just 19 years old when she became a wife.

By the time of her marriage, Lena’s family lived at Laburnum House in the High Street, Billinghay. The family were still living here in 1921 and up to 29 September 1938 when Lena’s father, Richard John Cullen, died.

From Billinghay Heritage & Character Assessment, Feb 2017:

“Laburnum House, High Street. This property is 300 years old, one of the oldest in the village. It is currently owned by the Twells family, who have been trading in the village for 95 years“.

By 1911, Lena and Frederick were living in Friskney, Lincolnshire, at the School House, where Lena was listed as married and recorded as the wife of the head of household.

The early years of their marriage coincided with the upheaval of the First World War, although their personal records reflect a steady domestic life.

On 2 August 1919, Lena gave birth to their only child, Neville Arthur Wildmore, at the School House in Friskney. Becoming a mother in her late twenties, Lena devoted herself to home and family life.

Her father, Richard John Cullen, died on 29 September 1938 in Sleaford, Lincolnshire, at the age of 77.

Another significant loss followed when Lena’s mother, Lucy Watson, died in September 1943, aged 80. Just three years later, Lena was widowed. Her husband, Frederick Arthur Wildmore, died on 1 November 1946 in Spilsby, Lincolnshire, at the age of 68. Lena and Frederick had been married for 36 years, sharing most of their adult lives together.

After Frederick’s death, Lena lived on for nearly four more decades, witnessing enormous changes, from the Victorian world of her birth through two world wars and into the modern age. She outlived many of her contemporaries and saw her son Neville reach adulthood and later old age.

Lena Ann Cullen died in January 1985 in Sleaford, Lincolnshire, at the remarkable age of 94. Her life spanned nearly a century and reflected the experience of many women of her generation: rooted in family, shaped by responsibility, and marked by resilience.

I was really pleased to find two articles in the Newspaper Archives, the first one with a little more information about Lena and the second, further on in the blog, with a picture of Frederick!

Frederick Arthur Wildmore (1878–1946)

Frederick Arthur Wildmore was born on 10 July 1878, also in the village of Billinghay, like Lena. He was the eldest child of Christopher Dickinson Wildmore Jnr, who had a Grocer’s and Draper’s shop in Billinghay. His mother was Mary Wilson Taylor. His Grandfather, also Christopher Dickinson Wilmore Snr (1807-1892), was a Watchmaker in Billinghay during his working life.

Frederick grew up in a household shaped by steady family roots in the area, with both parents living well into his adult life. By 1881, when Frederick was just three years old, he was living with his family in Billinghay. Ten years later, in 1891, he was still in Billinghay with his family.

By 1901, at the age of 23, Frederick’s life had begun to change. He had moved to Friskney, Lincolnshire, where he was living in Church Lane, a Boarder and his occupation was an Assistant School Master. This move likely marked the beginning of his independent adult life and the development of his professional career. In later records, Frederick is consistently described as a schoolmaster, indicating that education became his lifelong vocation.

Frederick had one sister, Lucy Wildmore (1866-1933), who married a Schoolmaster and a brother, Walter Wilson Wildmore (1870-1948), who became a Schoolmaster.

By the 1911 census, Frederick and Lena were living together in Friskney, where Frederick was recorded as Head of the Household and employed as a Schoolmaster (Head). This suggests he had already achieved a position of responsibility and respect within the local education system.

Frederick’s father, Christopher Dickinson Wildmore, died on 23 February 1912 at his home on Victoria Street, Billinghay, aged 77. Frederick was 33 at the time, already established in his career and married, but still closely connected to his parents.

Frederick was 41 years old when he became a father in 1919, and his son Neville would go on to live until 2008. The family remained in Friskney throughout Neville’s early years.

The 1921 census shows Frederick still living in the School House in Friskney with Lena and their son. Once again, he is listed as Head of the Household, married, and working as a Schoolmaster, confirming the continuity of both his family life and profession.

Frederick’s mother, Mary Wilson Taylor, died on 12 January 1926 in Horncastle, Lincolnshire, at the age of 82.

By 1939, Frederick and Lena were still living in the School House at Friskney, Lincolnshire. Frederick, now in his early sixties, continued to work as a Schoolmaster (Elementary), demonstrating a lifelong commitment to education that spanned decades and generations of pupils.

Frederick Arthur Wildmore died on 1 November 1946 in 38 Laythorpe Avenue, Skegness, Lincolnshire, at the age of 68. His death marked the end of a life characterised by stability, service, and dedication to learning. Probate was granted on 1 August 1947 in Lincoln, formally settling his estate.

Frederick’s legacy lived on through his wife Lena Ann Wildmore, who survived him by many years, dying in January 1985, and through his son Neville Arthur Wildmore, who carried the family line into the late twentieth century.

As always, if you can share any old photos or stories about the Wildmore or Cullen Family or Billinghay with me or have any connections, I would love to hear from you. Please comment here or email jackocats2@gmail.com