Hello All I have been following the discussion on marriage bonds/licenses and read the WIKI article on databases and saw the following: “””1754 Lord Hardwicke's Act outlawed marriage outside the Church of England (except for Quakers and Jews) and required that separate registers for marriages be kept. Common law marriages were also outlawed. From “Events affecting Church Records” at https://www.familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/Suffolk_Church_Records#Nonconformists I have a brick wall of my Baptist family of any marriages before 1800 and wondered if anyone knows how non-conformists got legally married other than in the Church of England during that time. Thanks Barbara

Barbara, I have copied the following from a City of London information leaflet available at http://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/nr/rdonlyres/e9551411-e3a0-45b2-a65a-f7ba8e4b2718/0/lh_lma_nonconformist.pdf Marriage Prior to Lord Hardwick’s Marriage Act of 1753, it had been possible for dissenting couples to marry at their congregational meeting house. Although ceremonies of this nature were not valid by law, the public contract which was made by the parties constituted a legal marriage. With the notable exception of Baptists, it was common for Nonconformist couples to marry within the Anglican church. Baptists were often forced to marry outside the established church as the clergy were predominantly reluctant to practice the marriage ceremony for the un-baptised. With the exception of Jewish and Quaker marriages, after Hardwick’s Act every marriage in England had to be performed in the churches and chapels of the Church of England. Marriage registers of the majority of nonconformist denominations are infrequent before the Hardwick Marriage Act, after which they are virtually non-existent until 1837. Where nonconformist congregations kept marriage registers at this time, the detail provided will again depend largely on the on the preferences of the priest and contents can therefore vary. However, one would expect to find at least the full names of the couple and the bride’s father. Lyn B -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Turnham Sent: 22 June 2012 11:54 To: [email protected] Subject: [SFK-UK] non-conformist marriages before civil registration Hello All I have been following the discussion on marriage bonds/licenses and read the WIKI article on databases and saw the following: ���1754 Lord Hardwicke's Act outlawed marriage outside the Church of England (except for Quakers and Jews) and required that separate registers for marriages be kept. Common law marriages were also outlawed. From �Events affecting Church Records� at https://www.familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/Suffolk_Church_Records#Nonconformists I have a brick wall of my Baptist family of any marriages before 1800 and wondered if anyone knows how non-conformists got legally married other than in the Church of England during that time. Thanks Barbara ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message