Genealogy Chat

Was just wondering if anyone could explain marriage licenses. I was in a record office the other day and overheard someone talking about them and saying that a rellie he was looking for may not have been married following banns but by licence instead. I assume, therefore, that licences are something that we should be looking at as an additional resource to parish registers etc. What time period do licenses cover ? In what circumstances did someone apply for one etc etc ? Simon

Hi Simon I'm not 100% sure on this one, and I'm sure somebody else out there will know definitely, but I think that the difference is Catholics get married by licence but other religions have banns called in their parish church. I seem to remember it being on a thread a few weeks ago. I've just been and had a look at my brother's marriage certificate (he married a catholic) but it doesn't help. So I've rattled on without saying anything useful at all .... hope somebody can come up with the right answer!

Registry Office Marriages were/are by licence. Sheila

hi Simon found this Marriage by banns Before marrying in a parish church you had to make sure there was no impediment to the marriage. The usual way of doing this was by publishing banns - making a public declaration that you intended to marry. The banns would be published (announced) during the principal service in the parish church on three successive Sundays. If the man and his bride-to-be lived in different parishes the banns had to be published in both churches. Top -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Marriage by licence Better-off people could avoid publicity and delay by marrying by licence. If you had a licence from the Church authorities there was no need to have the banns called. In Wales a licence would usually be issued in the bishop's name, but it was also possible to obtain a licence from the archbishop of Canterbury (`common licence'). Christine

Simon This is from Barbara's webpage and covers marriage by certificate, by licence, after banns, special licence and Registrar General's licence. Bet you're sorry you asked now! (1) "by certificate" which would be found on a marriage entry in a register office marriage register or in a non-conformist marriage register. It shows that the couple waited 3 weeks between giving notice and getting married. (2) "by licence" which would be found in the same set of registers and would indicate that the couple may have married with less than three weeks between giving the notice and getting married (minimum of 1 clear working day). However - a licence lasts three months so the marriage wasn't necessarily done in a rush. It may have been easier to give only the one licence notice rather than the two that would have been needed for a marriage by certificate if the bride and groom lived in different districts. (3) "after banns" which can only be found in a Church of England marriage. It is the equivalent of the certificate for the register office/non-conformist churches. (4) "by common licence" which can only be found in a Church of England marriage. The licence has been issued by the Bishop for the diocese and I believe is the equivalent of the licence in a register office or non-conformist church. (5) "by special licence" which can only be found in a Church of England marriage. The licence has been issued by the Archbishop not the Bishop. I believe that this would allow the couple to get married in a church which is not the usual parish church for either of them but I am not sure of this. (6) "by Registrar Generals" which could be found on any marriage certificate except for one where the marriage was by the rites of the Church of England. It is issued when one of the couple is dying and it allows a marriage ceremony to take place at any location at any time of the day or night. (7) "By superintendent registrars certificate" is a very rare finding. It is issued for a Church of England marriage but instead of banns being called in the church, notice of marriage has been given to the superintendent registrar. In the early days this would be necessary where services were held so infrequently e.g. in a small chapel,that it was not possible to call the banns on three succesive Sundays and get married all within the three months time limit. Later on it was sometimes used as an expedient if for some reason the vicar did not want to make the forthcoming marriage in the church public knowledge and have the entry in his banns book which anyone can look at. The sort of problem might be where a bride and groom were of different persuasions and the vicar either didn't want the congregtion in general to know or even the bride/grooms family if he thought they might try to disrupt the ceremony. It is sometimes used these days when one of the couple is divorced and the vicar does not want it generally known that he is marrying a divorcee in his church. Helen

My Ancestor,who was serving on board ship at the time, was married in 1782 by licence in Hampshire granted by the Bishop of Winchester. My 5XGreat Grandfather father was from the North and his spouse from the South......thanks Christine it never occured to me before Sheila