Forever Keele Issue 10 | 2015 | Page 34

NEWS A Fairytale Wedding I n the 1970s an eleven year old girl from Canada discovered she was distantly related to Keele’s former owners, the Sneyd family. She made a promise to visit Keele Hall one day. In 2013 Jane Heseltine, née Sneyd, returned to Keele Hall for her most special of days, her wedding. In 2012 Jane fell in love with Darlington born Canadian Alan Heseltine. Within a few months Alan had proposed. Learning that Keele Hall was available as a wedding venue, the couple announced their plans to marry there. Family and friends were excited, as was Jane herself: “The majority of them had never been to England before, they didn’t want to pass up the opportunity to come and see Keele Hall.” Jane and Alan chose to get married in the Great Hall. The ceremony was followed by a family dinner in the Old Library, overlooking the manicured lawns and majestic lakes of the Keele estate, the same views that Ralph Sneyd would have enjoyed when he built Keele Hall in 1860. Earlier in the day the family had been introduced to the Sneyd motto “Thank God for All” along with the student version “Thank God for Ale”. Jane’s brother, Greg Sneyd, gave the after dinner toast: “Thank God for All, Thank God for Ale, Thank God for Al”, in reference to Jane’s new husband Alan. The Canadian Sneyds and Heseltines still reminisce about their time at Keele. Jane Heseltine comments: “My mum said it was the highlight of her life and it was a huge tribute to my dad who loved Keele. I was never much of a fairytale girl when I was younger, but safe to say, I had a fairytale wedding at Keele Hall.” 34 | Keele University