Student weddings attended by Ida Carroll

Ciara Garcha has been volunteering with our Archive as part of our Northern School of Music centenary project. She shares what she’s learned about the NSM’s second Principal Ida Carroll attending student weddings.

Hidden amongst the many photographs in Ida Carroll’s recently digitised archival collection are several images taken from weddings attended by Ms. Carroll. The weddings pictured took place over the course of the second half of the 20th century and make up a key part of Ms. Carroll’s photographs.

The photographs of happy smiling couples highlight how the NSM and later RNCM profoundly affected and shaped the lives of so many who worked and studied. The NSM and RNCM were clearly far more than just educational institutions, but played a key part in shaping the professional and personal lives of so many who came through their doors.

Ms. Carroll’s possession of these photographs and her attendance at so many of these student weddings (depicted in several images) demonstrate the strong rapport and personal connection she clearly struck up with many students and alumni. For many who attended the NSM and RNCM, Ms. Carroll clearly remained a big part of their life and a valued member of their personal circle.

The many photographs of student weddings serve to exhibit the impact both the NSM and RNCM and Ms. Carroll herself had on the lives of the people who came into contact with them. They also reveal the heartwarming stories of love and friendship, which played out across the years and generations at the NSM and RNCM.

For hundreds of digitised archive items, head over to our online exhibition with the Manchester Digital Music Archive.