The process of issuing a Marriage Licence involved three pieces of paper. There is the Allegation which was a sworn statement by both parties of their intention to marry. There was the Bond, an assurance given by the prospective Bridegroom plus at least one other person in which a surety of money was given that the couple would be married in a specified church or chapel. These two documents were kept by the Diocesan registry. In return the latter issued a Marriage Licence to the couple which was their permission from the Bishop to marry without the benefit of Banns being read on three consecutive Sunday's. The Licence was valid for three months. To determine what has happened in this particular case, it will be necessary to examine the Allegation and Bond at the Record Office (if they have survived) and compare the details with those shown in the Marriage Register. Very occasionally, the Marriage Licence may have been kept by the Parish Clerk and may later find its way into the Record Office too, but this is rare. Best wishes Marion Woolgar Bognor Regis, West Sussex SFHG NO: 3323

Hello Robin, Further to Marion's email the bond was essentially protection given to the issuer of the licence that the the licence had not been obtained fraudulently i.e. that the statements in the Allegation (sometimes called an Affidavit) were correct and that there were no impediments to the marriage. Any such impediments would have been exoected to be disclosed had the marriage been through the public announcements of banns. As neither being a spinster nor being a widow introduced an impediment - it is perhaps just possible that either the bond or the affidavit slipped through the legal net. The parson is unlikely to have seen the bond, which would have been given to the Diocesan authorities prior to the issue of the licence and held by them as their guarantee that, should the licence have been obtained fraudulently, they would be able to recover, on demand,, not through the courts, a substantial sum to protect themselves against claims that they had acted improperly . Such recovery would be from either or both the Obligor ( usually the groom) and the Guarantor (usually a relative of substantial means or perhaps a professional surety,who would charge a fee for his signature based upon his assessment of the risks). Were the notes in the register made at a later date and by whom ? . As Marion makes clear you should search for the original documents - Registers, Allegation, Bond and Licence. You will be very lucky if you find them all ! Jim Halsey On 15/04/2008, Marion Woolgar <listmail2008@btinternet.com> wrote: > > The process of issuing a Marriage Licence involved three pieces of paper. > There is the Allegation which was a sworn statement by both parties of > their > intention to marry. There was the Bond, an assurance given by the > prospective Bridegroom plus at least one other person in which a surety of > money was given that the couple would be married in a specified church or > chapel. These two documents were kept by the Diocesan registry. In > return > the latter issued a Marriage Licence to the couple which was their > permission from the Bishop to marry without the benefit of Banns being > read > on three consecutive Sunday's. The Licence was valid for three months. > > To determine what has happened in this particular case, it will be > necessary > to examine the Allegation and Bond at the Record Office (if they have > survived) and compare the details with those shown in the Marriage > Register. > Very occasionally, the Marriage Licence may have been kept by the Parish > Clerk and may later find its way into the Record Office too, but this is > rare. > > Best wishes > > Marion Woolgar > Bognor Regis, West Sussex > SFHG NO: 3323 > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > SFHG-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes > in the subject and the body of the message >

Robin, As an afterthought ( should have been a forethought ! ) what do the BTs show? Do they have the notes too ? Jim Halsey