St Margaret’s Rose Queen 1973

Saiqa Chaudhari
February 20, 2019

A photo of a Rose Queen Coronation which the Bolton News published on 31st January 2019 provoked a lot of memories from readers:

These girls at St Margaret’s Church were pretty as a picture at the annual crowning of their Rose Queen. In 1973 the chosen Queen was 10-year-old Alison Ottley, of Beverley Road, Bolton, who was crowned by the church’s oldest member 96-year-old Mrs Bertha Kyle.

The Rose Queen Coronation picture which appeared on a Looking Back page in January triggered some right royal memories.
The crowning ceremony at St Margaret’s Halliwell was immediately recognisable to Sheila Worthington because the rose queen in the picture is her daughter, Alison Ottley.

The picture was taken in 1973 and Alison (now Wadsworth and now aged 56) is surrounded by 13 attendants and two page boys.

St Margaret’s is named in honour of Queen Margaret of Scotland and Mrs Worthington explained that the church was granted permission to use the Royal Stewart tartan for the occasion. Three page boys, including Stephen Heron and Alison’s brother, Andrew Ottley, wore the specially made kilts.

The girls’ dresses, all made among the congregation, were white with red flowers, decorated with a red velvet band.

Alison’s dress was made by a member of the congregation, a Mrs Airey, but the train was sent to Bolton College to be embroidered with a thistle (again for the Scottish link) by college students.

Mrs Worthington, who has attended St Margaret’s since 1964, said: “We used to raise money for the rose queen ceremony with coffee mornings and by holding little shows. We would raise about £200 over the year — back then it was a lot of money.”

She said St Margaret’s, led in 1973 by the Rev Stanley Rogers, used to join with other churches for a Festival of Queens which would be held in Bolton town centre. She said up to 120 churches would take part in the annual event.

Mrs Worthington was able to name several other children in the picture from 1973.

They are, far left, Angela McClure, fourth from left, Diane Jackson, sixth from left, Kathryn Abram, the consort Yvonne Porter, fourth from right, Tina Brandley, third from right, Gaynor Barlow and back with parasol, Alison Duckworth.

The article continue with family memories about Joan Smith, the first Rose Queen at Bolton Parish Church in 1948.