Just thought that some of you would like to see the following rules re
marriages.
Parish registers began in 1538 when Henry VIII ordered they be kept,
although not many this early have survived.
From 1597 the Archbishop of Canterbury encouraged parishes to keep
registers
in good condition. Churchwardens were asked to make a full copy of the
register each year and send to the Diocesan Registry. These are known as
Bishops transcripts, and sometimes differ from the actual parish register.
William III imposed a tax on marriage registration thus resulted in a rise
in the number of Clandestine and irregular marriages, which took place
outside church jurisdiction. Paupers were exempt from the tax.
This resulted by 1753 the government introduced the Marriage Act. The
legislation required both parties to be at least 21 years old at the time of
the marriage unless they had received parental consent or guardians consent.
This law also required the keeping of books where banns were to be recorded.
Most importantly for the first time a standard form was introduced for
recording the marriage. The register was now kept separate from the baptism
and burial register.
The details recorded were the names of the bride and groom, their parish,
their previous marital status, whether by banns or licence, names of
witnesses (including signature or mark) and the signature or marks of the
bride and groom. The names of the parents were not required, unless consent
was being given for someone under age.
The most controversial aspect was its definition of where a marriage could
take place. Marriages could now take place in a licenced Church or chapel,
or following the grant of a special licence. This meant an Anglican church.
Jews and Quakers were exempt and continued to perform marriages at their
respective services, but it forced Roman Catholics, Baptists, Independents
and other non-conformists to be married by the Church of England. This
continued until July 1837 when if a civil registrar was present,
non-conformists could again perform their own marriages.
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This is why our index mainly begins from 1754-1837 - earlier ones are
indexed where applicable.
Pauline James
Carmarthenshirefhs
http://www.carmarthenshirefhs.co.uk