The Primitive Methodist Church in Farnhill Main Street, built in 1896, was the first building in the village licenced as a place where marriages could be performed - and so it was that the first ever wedding to take place in Farnhill happened on 14th June 1899.
Here's the report from the Keighley News:
The first marriage at the Primitive Methodist Chapel (which was recently licenced) took place on Wednesday last, the parties being Mr. Arthur Turner, son of Mr. John Turner, and Miss Martha Green, daughter of Mr. Thomas Green. The bride who was given away by her brother, Mr. Christie Green, Mus. Bac., was accompanied by her sister, Miss Miriam Green, and Miss M. Sutcliffe. The Rev. J. R. Tranmer officiated, and at the end of the service he presented the newly-married pair with a Bible and Connexional Hymn-book. The chapel is the first and only place of worship in Farnhill known to have been registered for the solemnisation of marriages.
We can't be sure what the church looked like on the day of Martha's wedding but our archive does contain a photograph of the interior of the church taken at about that time:
Note: Martha Green's sister, Miriam, married later in 1899 - in St. Andrew's Church, Kildwick.
First posted: 27/09/2014
Updated: 28/03/2015