Genealogy Chat

many thanks for the info, i wasnt sure it was possible to find out about divorces.
lynne

This is the link to the full information leaflet on divorce records

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/catalogue/RdLeaflet.asp?sLeafletID=53&j=1

From National Archives

The courts
From 11 January 1858, the new secular Court for Divorce and Matrimonial Causes heard all divorce and matrimonial cases, such as restitution of conjugal rights and legitimacy. (In 1873 it became part of the Probate, Divorce and Admiralty Division of the Supreme Court of Judicature.)

Although divorce was no longer the exclusive province of the very wealthy, it still involved considerable expense, so the poor were effectively excluded. The very poor could sue without payment of fees ‘in forma pauperis’ if they could prove their lack of means. The real opening of divorce to all classes did not take place until the 1920s, with the extension of legal aid, and the provision of some local facilities. In 1922, ten assize towns were named as suitable for the hearing of certain kinds of divorce. From 1927, petitions could also be filed in 23 district registries instead of solely at the Principal Registry in London, while cases could be heard in 18 assize towns as well as in London. This option proved increasingly popular: within 10 years nearly a quarter of all suits were started at district registries of the Supreme Court. The county courts were finally able to hear divorce suits in the late 1960s. Most divorces now take place at county courts.

A divorce normally took about 18 months to go through the procedure, from the initial filing of a petition to the granting of a decree absolute. In the meantime, a decree nisi was granted when the court was satisfied that the grounds for the divorce had been proved. This was conditional: the parties were not free to re-marry until the decree absolute was granted, usually six months after the decree nisi.

Is it possible to look up anywhere to find out if and when someone got divorced?