Hi, Molly, Thanks for this reply. You wrote - > I'm still surprised to find the marriage in the Anglican church At this time (1888) the Catholic Church still considered England to be a missionary country even though it had re-established dioceses, etc. and marriages in an Anglican church were considered valid but irregular. The tradition of marrying in the local Anglican church which was established under Hardwicke's Act of 1754, continued in some areas after the introduction of Civil Registration, though it dwindled over the years. In 1908 the Church was concerned about bigamy, people getting round the teaching that marriage is for life by moving away from their roots and setting up as a single person in another town, or another country. From this time, the Church required Catholics to be married in a Catholic church before a priest for the marriage to be recognised as a sacramental marriage by the Church. It is this that you probably remember. Hope this helps Jim Lancaster (Bury, Lancs.) -----Original Message----- From: Mary McLeod Sent: Wednesday, February 19, 2014 3:23 PM To: lancsgen@rootsweb.com Subject: Re: [LAN] Padiham Catholic Churches