Marriages

Marriage Records

For a marriage, banns were required to be read aloud on three Sundays before the wedding ceremony, in the home parish churches of both parties. Hardwicke’s Marriage Act of 1753 required that both marriages and banns be recorded; also, from 1754, marriages were to be recorded in a separate bound volume on standard printed sheets and the registers had to be signed by both parties and witnesses.

Until 1929, boys could marry at 14, girls at 12. After 1754, minors, those aged 20 or under, could only marry with the permission of their parents. As an alternative to Banns, a special marriage licence could be obtained from the Bishop. There are occasions when the records of Banns or Licences have been found, but not the records of the actual marriage, leading to some confusion over whether the marriage actually took place.

Baptisms and burials were still recorded together in a separate volume until 1812, when they began to be recorded in separate bound volumes.

The Register from St James' Draycot Cerne, 1740, shows several marriages and baptisms listed together.

The following image shows the marriage of Harriet Bowness in Sutton Benger in 1828; for more on the Bowness family, see 'Who was General Bowness?' in Archives.