NORTHAMPTONSHIRE MARRIAGE INDEX
MARRIAGE LICENSES by Mona C. Harrison
This article has been copied from the Northampton Independent.
The Record Office at Wootton Hall Park houses the registers of many
Northamptonshire churches, over half of which start
in 1538 when the keeping of parish registers began. Henry VII had become head of the English Church in 1531 and this was
the time of the Dissolution of the Monasteries. These early registers give us 400 years of baptisms, marriages and burials and,
although inevitably the registers are not all complete and not always legible, it may well be possible to trace a family back that far.
A parish register would tell you that, at Rothwell on July 12, 1765, was
baptised William, son of William SHORTLAND and his wife
Elizabeth; but who was Elizabeth before she married William? There is,
unfortunately, no sign of the marriage in the
registers of Rothwell.
Thomas WEST and his wife Elizabeth DANES married in Kingsthorpe on November 30, 1767, by licence, and on
consulting the marriage bond we find chat Elizabeth was under age but had the permission of her father John.
In those days, as today, they were frequently near neighbours or lived in the
same village, but often they met at the market or
the fair in a nearby town, or their fathers were of the same trade, both
blacksmiths or bakers. Sons grew up and were apprenticed
in another parish or left home to work on a distant farm or one of the big
estates. Girls went in to service in big houses
or large farms, or went to help their married sisters with their children and
sometimes whole families uprooted and went elsewhere.
Just as today, banns were called and the couple married in the parish church,
but this was often the bride's parish, so when
looking for a marriage, a search has to be made in an increasing circle from the
parish where they eventually lived.
Thomas WEST and Elizabeth DANES, like many others, married by licence. This cost
more, but saved having the banns called,
and the marriage could take place more quickly. People tend to think that a
licence would only be obtained by the aristocracy,
or a least the gentry, but this was not so. Frequently the local squire was only
too pleased for the banns to be called and all the
village to attend the wedding but sometimes a licence was considered "smarter".
Licences have been granted by the Bishops, or their Surrogates, since the 14th
century but they became more common late
in the 16th and early 17th centuries and especially after the restoration of
Charles II in 1660.
Licences gave names, ages, parishes and the church at which the marriage would
take place. Most of these have disappeared, but
what still exist in many cases are the Marriage Bonds. A Marriage Bond was
entered into by two (or more) bondsmen or sureties
who bound themselves to ensure that there was no impediment to the marriage and that the correct couple would present themselves to
be married. One bondsman was usually the groom and the other was frequently a relative of groom or bride.
Maunsell COURTMAN, widower and Rector of Draughton, was bondsman with Gerard
GOURE, Gent. of Northampton, when the
Rector married Gerard's daughter Elizabeth. The bond is dated January 1699/1700. In those days, before the calendar was altered, the
year ended in March, so the period from January to March is usually given both dates. We would think of it as 1700. Sometimes the
second surety was just a friend, often of the same calling as the groom, or was a clergyman or an inn-keeper or someone of social
standing; occasionally a bridegroom who was a carpenter or a labourer or of similar occupation, would have a surety who was recorded as
Gent., possibly his employer or landlord. In some cases, the second bondsman was fictitious, John Doe or, less obvious, Edward Scriven.
Often, these were given "signatures" and even occupations. Why did couples use a Licence? It was more expensive than banns but quicker
and less public, also it was possible by licence to be married in Lent or on Fast Days. Maybe a quiet wedding was cheaper in the long run if
no wedding feast was provided; maybe for couples of different social standing it was more tactful; there seems little evidence that family
opposition was the reason, though I did find one bond where the groom and his friend were "Gentlemen of London" and there is evidence
that the marriage probably did not take place. The time between the marriage and the baptism of the first child does not seem to relate to
"banns" or "licence" either. If either party was under 21, parental consent had to be given.
Some families seem to have "gone in" for licences rather than banns, for example
the BILLINGS of Weedon Bec:-
1686 Joseph married Ann BLISS, of Stowe.
1688 Mary married John GUDGEON, of Weedon.
1688 Susannah married Joshua PROCTOR, of Northampton.
1695 Elizabeth married Richard JUDKINS, of Weedon.
and it is Interesting chat, on a few occasions, I have found a bond for one
young couple in a small village and another for another
couple from the same village, sometimes acting as each other's sureties; perhaps getting a licence was infectious or they gave each other
courage! One reason for a licence may have been a desire to be married in an other church. Even with a licence, they were supposed to
marry in the appropriate parish but this was widely ignored and, in the space provided, two, three or even four alternatives were written.
John CHAMBERS, of Benefield, and Bridget HOUSE of Barnwell, St. Andrews, decided
to marry In Polebrook; Francis EATON,
husbandman, of Woodford, near Thrapston, and Frances KNIGHT, of Islip, opted for All Saints, Northampton; while Samuel EDEN,
shopkeeper of Hargrave and Anne CUTHBERT of Covington, Hunts, chose Higham Ferrers and James HARRIOTT, of London, with
Alice SELBY, of Warmlngton, in May, 1699, went to Oundle. Oundle was a popular choice among couples who lived in the north
of the county, though Samuel EDIS, labourer, came from Aldwinkle and Mary GUNN from Tichmarsh when they chose Oundle in 1698.
Oundle was a market town, with an imposing church and was a good centre for
surrounding villages. East Carlton, or Carleton,
seems to have been another popular choice, particularly when one party came from
over the Leicestershire border.
Peterborough Cathedral has an obvious appeal, though only a small number of couples from outside the parish chose it; many
preferred St. John the Baptist, in Peterborough, and far more popular was the church of St. Martins, Stafford, which is situated on the
Northamptonshire side of the river Welland and was thus in Stanford Baron and in Northamptonshire. It would have been an attractive
church in an attractive town, situated on the Great North Road and well supplied with inns. Another remarkably popular church,
particularly from about 1696, was St. Sepulchre's in Northampton; it was reported as in great need of repair in 1680 but some was
done, and more in the early 1700's, and, at this time, a very large proportion of the weddings there were by licence and of couples
from other parishes.
In 1697 William SPENCER and Penelope HOWARD came from Heyford, and John CATTELL,
from Ravensthorpe, married Elizabeth
NEWMAN, from Harpole, at the church. Thomas LOWKE and Joanna CROFTS were prepared to travel almost 15 miles from Yelvertoft
along muddy, icy roads in January 1699/1700, and in March of the same year John LAVENDER, a tallow-chandler of Wollaston, and
his bride, Mary Halford, of Wellingborough, also chose to journey to St. Sepulchres. Why was St. Sepulchre's so popular? If it
was "done" to travel to Northampton, why not All Saints, St. Giles or St. Peters? Of course, All Saints had burnt down in the fire of
1675 but it was opened again in 1680 after the congregation had shared with St. Peter's for five years. Perhaps the new church felt
too modern or too vast! St. Giles was small at that time and was always considered the "Townsman's Church" and there had been rather
a series of vicars at that period, mostly members of the WHALLEY family who were also connected with Cogenhoe and Ecton. It was on
the fringe of the town and, apart from the parishioners, seems to have had no particular attraction. St. Peter's was also on the fringe,
almost outside the town, and although an interesting Norman church, had been largely restored in the early 17th century.
To St. Peter's were attached the parishes of Kingsthorpe and Upton and the
vicars often lived in one of those parishes. In 1668,
Jonas WHITHAM was instituted vicar of St. Sepulchres, the first to be "properly" appointed since the Commonwealth period, and was
also chaplain of St. John's Hospital in Bridge Street and served the church for 46 years until he died in 1708. St. John's Hospital, near
the river at the south entry to the town, had an attractive chapel, perhaps felt to be a romantic setting for a wedding. It had no register
of its own and was not intended for such functions, nevertheless quite a few couples were married there in the late 17th century under
the auspices of All Saints or St. Sepulchres. Two examples are John MANSELL, of London, and Ann RAWLINS, of Cosgrove, in September,
1690, and Thomas DICKENS and Mary GUDGEON from Passenham in 1702. The popularity of St. Sepulchre's could have been due to the
popularity of the new vicar. He was followed in 1708 by John CLARKE, who was also an usher at the Free School, and who stayed until his
death in 1748. Between them the two vicars covered 86 years. Perhaps the attraction was the rural setting of an ancient round church in a
town. Whatever the reasons, couples travelled miles to be married there. Although some of the families may have been rich enough to
have their own coach or some kind of carriage, the greatest number who sought marriage licences were yeomen farmers and
husbandmen, and probably used their farm arts to transport the wedding party.
Other rural licence seekers were blacksmiths, butchers, bakers, chandlers,
shepherds, wheelwrights, tailors millers, joiners and
shoemakers; from the towns, there were hatters, govers, collar makers, pipe-makers, barbers and even the occasional schoolmaster,
bookseller, pharmacist or surgeon; certainly no trade or profession is without an example. A few were literate or could, at least sign their
names but for the vast majority, the clerk filled in the forms and added "signatures" while the bondsmen "made their marks". Some
bridegrooms came from far away, London, as has been mentioned; John JACKSON was a coachman from Lincoln and another groom was
a sailor from Scarborough!
In 1754 was passed Lord Hardwicke's Marriage Act designed to end clandestine
marriages and make it more likely that couples
would marry in their parish church and in 1836, Superintendent Registrars were able to issue licences for marriages in a Registry Office or
a Non-Conformist church, and from mid-1837 all marriages, as well as births and deaths,were recorded under the Civil Registration, the
indexes of which, originally at Somerset House and now at St. Catherine's House in London, are available for anyone to search out
their ancestors from this time.
Mona C. Harrison
