On 22 Mar 2015 at 10:53, Leeanne Blunden via wrote: > I have found an entry in a church register for the marriage of my > great-great grandparents in Kimberley on 15 December 1890. > > Under the column "Consent, by whom given" it says Special License. > > I am assuming this is because, although they both still had living parents at > the time, the parents were all residing in Ireland. > > Would a Special License then have been granted because the parents were > unable to attend, or would the parents still have been able to give consent > via a letter or something? Or is there some other reason why a Special License > would be granted? A special licence means that banns did not have to be read for three weeks beforehand. Parents only had to give consent if the person was under 21 (now 18). People could apply for a special licence if they wanted to get married in a hurry, or if they were away from their usual residence. For example, my aunt and her boyfriend decided to get married when they were on holiday in Durban, though their usual residence was Johannesburg. They wanted to get married in Durban because more of their friends were there, so they got a special licence, and were married within a week. Both were of age, so neither needed their parents' permission. -- Keep well, Steve Hayes Blog: http://hayesgreene.wordpress.com Web: http://www.khanya.org.za/famhist1.htm E-mail: shayes@dunelm.org.uk