When a couple wish to marry then can do so by banns or licence. Banns are called in the church in which a couple are to marry on the three Sundays before the wedding takes place. If one of the partners is from a different parish then banns should also have been called in the church of that parish.
A couple could obtain a marriage licence to avoid the calling of banns. Reasons for this could be that they wished to avoid the publicity, they may need to marry in a hurry, particularly if the bride was pregnant or perhaps the groom was going abroad with the army or navy. Licences cost more than banns so those who could afford it (i.e. gentry preferred this option as it was seen as a status symbol.)
Special licences allowed marriages to take place anywhere: these were granted by the Archbishop of Canterbury but are rare. A common license named one or two parishes where the marriage could take, usually a parish in which one of the couple lived. This restriction was however often ignored by the church officials.
Common licences could be issued by archbishops, some archdeacons, or their surrogates who are clergymen or officials entitled to act of their behalf. Couples often took up temporary residence in the parish in which they wished to get married. Hardwicke’s Marriage Act of 1753 stated that one of spouses should have had his/her ‘usual abode’ in that parish for four weeks: this was reduced to 15 days in 1823.
One of the parties would apply for the licence at the appropriate church official’s registry by submitting an allegation, a sworn statement that there was no impediment to the marriage taking place. It will name the groom, bride, places of residence, occasionally a specific age, sometimes only stated as ‘of full age’ or ‘over 21’ and whether single or widowed. If either of the parties were minors, then a statement from the parent or guardian stating that they consented to the marriage would form part of the allegation.
Prior to 1823, bonds needed to be entered into. These were sworn statements by the groom (usually) and a friend or relative stating they knew of no impediment to the marriage and stating the amount of money by which they were bound (and which they would forfeit if the licence was not complied with).
The Licence itself would be given to the parties and handed to the officiating minister. The Allegation, being the statement made by the parties affirming their intention to marry along with the Bond, remained with the Diocesan official. Thus, Northamptonshire Record Office, as the Diocesan depository holds surviving records for the Peterborough Diocese.
Details of whether the marriage took place by licence or banns should (but not always!) be recorded in the parish register. If you find such an entry then it is worth looking at the Licence or Bond as they may contain more information that that recorded in the register, particularly for marriages pre-1754.
The parish register for Roade states:
Peter James and Elizabeth Blunt were married 18 Oct 1716.
But… the marriage licence bond records:
Peter James of Ecton in the county of Northampton, bachelor, and Elizabeth Blunt of Roade, widow. The bondsman was John Denton of Great Houghton. So, you can see that the licence has given more information for the bride and groom and further research reveals John Denton was Peter’s brother-in-law.
Interestingly, the marriage is also recorded in the parish registers for Northampton, Saint Sepulchre. It is doubtful that they married twice on the same day, but the Vicar of St Seps is also the same person who issued the marriage licence as ‘Surrogate’. Furthermore, if you look at the whole register page, it would appear that he has entered details of all the marriage licences he had issued.
Whilst this is admirable in that he has kept a record, it is confusing as researchers may unwittingly assume that all these marriages took place at that church. Northampton St Giles also has a higher number of persons from ‘out of town’ recorded in their marriage register so the same may have happened there. (Entry from Northampton St Sep’s register)
A Licence for the marriage of Edward Jerams of Moreton Pinkney to Lucy Goff of Sulgrave notes that Edward is aged 31 and Lucy 20 but there is no mention of the consent being given by her father (as she was a minor) although the marriage entry of 2 November 1770 at Sulgrave states ‘with consent of parents’. If you only checked the register, you may assume that both were under the age of 21 and could therefore possibly be looking for a baptism for Edward 21 years earlier rather than the correct 31 years.
John Bowers of Braunston, farmer and Ann Reeve of Newnham, spinster were married 18 October 1810 at Newnham. Ann was a minor and a statement from her father John is attached to the Bond.
All of the examples mentioned above show how important it is to corroborate your information from as many sources as possible and a marriage licence may give more details than that shown in a parish register entry.
Holdings at Northants Archives:
There are two card indexes for Licence Bonds (by surname of both groom and bride) which gives names of parties, bondsman, date and often place of marriage. These cover 1598-1684 and 1685-1836. There are other registers of grants amongst the Peterborough Diocesan records from 1636-1651, 1660-1665, 1668- 1684 for the Consistory Court of Peterborough so mainly covering the northern parishes (although there was no real division of the county) and for the Archdeaconry Court of Northampton for 1614-1621 and 1668-1683. Affidavits have not as a rule been preserved before 1823. From 1858 to 1917 the affidavits are bound in chronological order in volumes.
(Images © Northamptonshire Archives)
AM Nov 2024