BOYD'S LONDON BURIALS - only 7 entries, so no separate file: see details below in Section 3.12. CIVIL SERVICE EVIDENCE OF AGE - only 3 entries, so no separate file: see details below in Section 3.13. 3. DETAILED EXPLANATIONS 3.1 USEFUL DATES FOR GRO (ENGLAND & WALES) BMD 1754 Lord Hardwicke's Marriage Act came into force on 25th March and applied to England & Wales only. Marriages had to take place in a Church of England church, except for Jewish & Quaker marriages. Those under 21 needed parental consent. 1783-94 Stamp Duty Act of 1783 levied a tax of 3d on baptisms, marriages and burials. Only paupers were exempt. Widely hated, the Act was repealed in 1794, but is believed the cause of many apparently missing or late baptisms. 1813 Church registers were required to be kept in standard format. Address and father's occupation were required in baptismal registers. 1835 The Marriage Act 1835 made void in law marriages between various closely related parties, which had previously been voidable (that is to say, capable of being declared void by legal action being brought), but not void, under church law. 1837 Civil registration began on 1st July. Marriages were permitted in non-conformist churches in the presence of a Registrar. They were recorded officially in the Registrar's Book. Only a few such churches kept their own register as well. Jewish synagogues and Quaker meeting houses were exempt from the requirement and kept their own registers. 1852 GRO volume numbers for Registration Districts changed. 1866 Age at death was recorded in GRO death indexes. In this year also, the second and subsequent forenames were replaced by an initial, a practice that lasted only for this one year, until it was revived in 1910 (see below). 1899 The 1898 Marriage Act came into force on 1st April, allowing marriages to be performed in non-conformist churches, without a registrar being present, if conducted by an "authorised person". Such authorised person marriages were recorded in the church's own register. 1907 The Deceased Wife's Sister's Marriage Act permitted a man to marry his deceased wife's sister. 1910 From1st July, the second and subsequent forenames were replaced by initials in the GRO birth, marriage and death indexes. 1911 From1st July, the mother's maiden name was recorded in the GRO birth indexes. 1912 The GRO marriage index was cross-referenced with surname of spouse. 1921 The Deceased Brother's Widow's Marriage Act permitted a woman to marry her deceased husband's brother. 1927 Adoption was made a legal process and registers of adopted children began on 1st January. 1927 Registration of still births became compulsory. 1931 The Marriages (Prohibited Degrees) Relationship Act 1931 permitted marriages between uncle and niece or aunt and nephew.