Mexborough & Swinton Times, April 10, 1896

Fancy Dress Ball At Conisborough
A Brilliant Gathering For Charity’s Sake.

It has been said of Conisborough, and with some degree of truth, that out of Ireland there is no place in the world, where disagreement comes so naturally to the inhabitants, and where the art of adverse criticism of one another has been so studiously pursued, but while this is no doubt in a great degree, a fact concerning one phase of public life in the castle town, there is another side to the character of Conisborough, which reflects considerably more to its credit.

It’s people amid all their faults, are charitable to the last degree, and for ‘sweet charity’s sake’ deem no expenditure of time or money wasted. And in the promotion and successful carrying out of public entertainments, the majority of which are intended to benefit some charitable enterprise, the good folks of Conisborough employ to half measures, and consequently are bad to beat. A function, such as a ball, is invariably a success at Conisborough, the ladies and gentlemen who undertake the promotion of these affairs, knowing as little of the meaning of the word failure, as the British army does of the word defeat.

On Easter Monday night, Conisborough was enlivened, and the cause of charity, assisted by a Fancy Ball, organised for the purpose of helping a fund for the provision of an ambulance car for the castle town. Dr. McCall whom no more enthusiastic professor of the healing art never existed., was the originator of the proposal and Conisborough should endeavour to obtain and maintain an ambulance carriage, and being a medico inclined to a belief that mirth and merriment are not absolutely inconsistent with the desire to do good the idea of a ball as a means to raise money for the purpose, at once suggested itself to him.

In Conisborough, to endeavour and to succeed have one and the same meaning, and Dr. McCall, with the assistance of a band of very willing workers, not the least of whom was his wife, Mrs. McCall, carried out the idea in the most successful manner imaginable. The committee who undertook the by no means easy task of engineering to a triumphant conclusion, the doctor’s idea, were: Dr. McCall, chairman: Mr. W. W. Norwood, secretary; Dr. Gilchrist, Messrs. J. Appleyard, W. Appleyard, Alfred Appleyard, T. R. Booth, H. Booth, Frank Ogley, A. Pryce, H. S. Witty, H. L. Smethurst, W. Smith, J. Forrest, J. Hoyle, J. P. Norood, and F. Hattersley, and to these gentleman untainted praise must be given for the generous fashion in which they set themselves to the work, and for the assiduity with which they laboured for success. We shall meet with the support of most folks, when we assert that, while a fancy dress ball may be a great institution in its way, it pales into intelligence, beside another institution associated with it, and so to speak its better half. Beef without mustard would not be a less savoury dish, than a ball without a supper. There was a supper at Conisborough Fancy Dress Ball, and to Mrs. McCall must the thanks be given for the provision of it.

The majority of people would shrink from the task of providing a supper, calculated to satisfy the inner carvings of something like a hundred people, the majority of whom by trapping it on the light fantastic toe, had, so to speak, trained for the event, but Mrs. McCall undertook that task. She saw to the cooking of the supper – and we will say here, that the culinary portion of the programme was like the remainder, and unqualified success – and the same kind hearted lady superintended the laying of the tables, and the serving of the banquet, for such it was. Her choice of the edibles provided, reflects the highest credit upon her. We were represented at that ball by a gentleman who is in judge of things to eat, and his verdict is that the supper was an excellent one, which from so high, and authority is praise beyond measure.

The ‘menu’ was follows: – Roast fowls, ham, boiled, fowls, tongue, roast lamb, roast beef, pigeon pie, game pie, galantine of veal, salads; sweets, trifle, tipsy cake, jelly, blancmange, meringues, soup in departure.

We have already said the cookery was excellent, but more must be said of one particular item of the repast. Dr. McCall informed our representative that the ‘trifle,’ was a special effort on his wife’s part and everything of which it was composed had come from Scotland. It can be said of that ‘trifle’ that it was a veritable triumph and that it owed its origin to a Scotch recipe proves that the Scotch if not a nation of epicures, are at any rate no bad judges of things edible. In connection with the truly noble work of supplying refreshments it should be mentioned that Messrs. Nicholson Bros, generously gave a supply of bottled beer, and Mr. Williams, the genial landlord of the Star Inn, a case of champagne.

The conversion of a plain prosaic Board School into a ball room is not an easy task, but it was accomplished in a fashion that left no room whatever for criticism. The cricket club ban committee lent their Holland floor covering, which was laid down in one of the long rooms of the school and made the floor perfect from a dancer’s point of view. The other rooms of the school were used as a drawing room, a smoke room, a refreshment room and a kitchen. The drawing room was furnished in a really sumptuous manner, the furniture being lent by Mrs. McCall, Mrs. Hattersley, Mrs. Smith, Mrs. Pryce and Mrs. Norwood. The cricket club ball committee lent curtains and Mr. McCall, not having had enough to do with the success of the enterprise in other directions, super-intended the decorations, which were carried out by Messrs. Smith, Pryce, Forrest, Norwood, Dr. McCall and Dr. Gilchrist, and the manner in which the rooms were decorated proved that a woman of taste had been at the head of affairs.

Ninety-three of the invited guests accepted the invitation, and as the large majority of in the ball room was strikingly picturesque. The costumes were decidedly novel, and the display of colour made the picture bright and attractive. The ability of one or two of the dancers to act up to the character they represented, increased the enjoyment of the spectacle, and in this latter respect no one excelled Mr. Norwood a grotesquely funny Irish man, who perpetrated innumerable bulls, and spoke with a brougue rich enough to crack a pane of glass. Dr. McCall, who bravely represented his native land, had no difficulty in acting up to his character, and was a Scotchman in dress speech, and mannerism throughout the evening, dancing whenever opportunity afforded in the most approved Highland fashion. Dr. Gilchrist, who represented a canary bird, wore a very striking costume, and Mrs. McCall, who appeared as the ‘Weekly Telegraph,’ and ran very close for the prize for the most original lady’s costume, attracted a good deal of attention by her dress. Mr. Frank Ogley as Mephistopheles, looked the character to the life, and lacked only the smell of brimstone to be the prince of darkness in person, while his sister, Miss. Hammond Ogley, in a costume representing ‘games,’ charmed everyone by the prettiness of her dress. Both the prize winners wore decidedly taking costumes. Miss Appleyard, to whom the judge awarded the prize, for the most original lady’s costume, styled herself ‘Matches,’ and in conception and detail, her character was splendidly portrayed, her dress being decorated with matches, and matchboxes in a very clever and tasteful manner. Mr. Hoyle, the winner of the prize for gentlemen, appeared as the ‘Pirate King,’ a living representation of the bloodthirsty sea rover of the ‘penny dreadful’ of our schoolboy days. Other costumes which were striking and effective, were that of Mr. J. Appleyard, Mr. Thomas Braithwaite, Mr. J. P. Norwood, Mr. H. Booth, and Mr. Hedley Hattersley among the gentlemen, and Miss Tonge, Mss Watkinson, Miss Williams, Miss Hetherington, and Miss Roberts, among the ladies.

The names of the guests, and the characters they represented are as follows: –
Mr. J. Appleyard, Dr, Jim
Mr. F. H. Appleyard, Patrick
Miss A. Appleyard, Matches
Mr W. Appleyard (Clifton), Courtier
Mr. Alfred Appleyard, Old English Gentleman
Miss. Al. Appleyard, Gipsy
Mr. F. Appleyard, Cavalier
Mr. C. Appleyard, Jockey
Mr. Jhn. Appleyard, Tennis
Miss S. Ashton, (Rotherham), Girl Graduate
Mrs. Arden, Primrose
Mr. Arden, Matador
Mr. H. Booth, Christy
Mrs. H. Booth, Waiting Md.
Mr. T. R. Booth, Barrister
Mrs. T. R. Booth, Nurse
Miss Booth, Gipsy
Miss Blore, Evening Dress
Mr. T. Braithwaite, Henry VIII.
Mrs. Braithwaite, Grandma
Miss G. Braithwaite, Sailor Girl
Miss Briggs (Bradford, Dancing Girl
Mr. J. H. Cocker, Romeo
Miss Cocker, Pierrette
Mr. J. Clarkson, Carabineer
Mr. A. Cusworth, Evening
Mr. F. Hill, McNab
Miss A Huntington (Bradford), The Red Hussar
Dr. McCall, Highland Gent
Mrs. McCall, weekly Telegraph
Mr. J. Martin, Bill Adams
Mrs. J. Martin, Bill Adams
Mrs. H. Marshall, Spring
Mrs. Morley, Evening Dress
Miss Morley, Buttercup
Mr. W. W. Norwood, Pierrette
Mr. I. Ogley, Mephistopheles
Mrs. Ogley, Evening
Miss H. Ogley, Games
Mr. A. Pryce, The Volunteer
Mrs. Pryce, The Volunteer
Mrs. Pryce, Sweet Violets
Mrs. Rawson, Evening Dress
Mr. G. Radley, Evening Dress
Miss Riley, Witch
Mr. A Ridgill, Evening Dress
Mr. Rawding, Courier
Mrs. Rawding, Carmen
Miss Rawson, Nancy Lee
Mr. T. Rawding, Demon King
Miss Roberts, Pierrette
Mr. H. L. Smethurst, Cavaleer