Thank you all for the information provided. The Stephen Bentley in Angmering in 1910 was my greatgrandfather. My Bentley ancestors and cousins have lived in the Angmering and Poling area from as far back as I have got so far (late 18th century) until the second half of the 20th century. There may well be branches of the family still living there that I am not in contact with. Ron Marion Woolgar wrote: > There is actually a bit of "history" about people from Poling slipping off > to Portsmouth to get married in secret. I copied the following item out of > the Poling Parish Registers back in 1999, just out of interest and thinking > that it might come in useful some day! > > Feb 26 1737 > > "Nubent, ut dixerunt, Henricus Blaxton et Elizabetha Storey de Arundelio > apud Portsmouth in comitatu Hantoniae Octavo die Octobris Anno 1735. Sed > nubent realiter Henricus Blaxton et Elizabeth Storey in Ecclesia parochiali > de Poling in comitatu Sussexi vicesimo sexto die Februarii Anno 1737 per me > Johannem Storey Vicarius de poling praedita". > > My Latin isn't very good, but here is my very rough translation: > > Henry Blaxton and Elizabeth Storey of Arundel were married, so they say, at > Portsmouth in the County of Hampshire on the Eighth day of October in the > year 1735. But Henry Blaxton and Elizabeth Storey were actually married in > the parish Church of Poling in the County of Sussex on the twenty sixth day > of February in the year 1737 [1737/38] by me John Storey Vicar of Poling > aforesaid. > > So, it looks as if it might be the Vicar's own daughter who claimed to have > married Henry BLAXTON in Portsmouth and her Father didn't believe her and > married/remarried her himself in his own Church, just to be quite sure! > > Best wishes > > Marion Woolgar > Bognor Regis, West Sussex > SFHG NO: 3323 > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Ron Cowell" <ron.cowell@virgin.net> > To: "Anne Capewell" <alc_goytre@hotmail.com> > Cc: <sussex-plus-l@rootsweb.com> > Sent: Friday, February 15, 2008 2:56 PM > Subject: Re: [SXP] BENTLEY and STONE > > > Hello Anne > > That is quite amazing. I had not even considered anything outside Sussex > and Portsea is a long way off. I'm not sure whether there was a train > service at that time.If your theory is correct then I suppose it was the > nearest big city where they could have gone and been completely unknown. > Thank you. > > Ron > > > Anne Capewell wrote: > >> Hi Ron, >> >> IGI has the marriage 01/08/1836 St Mary's, Portsea, Hants. >> http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/search/frameset_search.asp?PAGE=ancestorsearchresults.asp >> Don't know why they should have gone to Hampshire unless their local >> church wouldn't marry them as they had had a child out of wedlock? >> >> hth, >> Anne >> >> ------------------------------------------------------------------------ >> >> >>> Date: Fri, 15 Feb 2008 10:10:43 +0000 >>> From: ron.cowell@virgin.net >>> To: SUSSEX-PLUS-L@rootsweb.com >>> Subject: [SXP] BENTLEY and STONE >>> >>> I am trying to find a record of the marriage of Stephen Bentley to his >>> second wife Mary Ann Stone. Stephen's first wife died in Nov 1834 and >>> Mary Ann's first child was baptised in May 1836. Stephen lived in >>> >> Poling >> >>> and Mary Ann was born in Arundel although it is likely that her family >>> had moved to Poling by the time of the marriage. I have not found it in >>> the Poling or Arundel parish registers. Has anyone any thoughts as to >>> where I could look next? >>> >>> Ron >>> >>> ------------------------------- >>> To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to >>> >> SUSSEX-PLUS-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without >> the quotes in the subject and the body of the message >> >> >> ------------------------------------------------------------------------ >> Sounds like? How many syllables? Guess and win prizes with Search >> Charades! <http://www.searchcharades.com> >> > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > SUSSEX-PLUS-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message > > >

There seems to be some anecdotal evidence of marriages at Potsea between parties from quite a distance away. Marion Woolgar cites one in 1735, and the Bentley / Stone marriage took place there in 1836. In my Lickfold families I have 3 such marriages: 1834 bride and groom lived at Lurgashall, West Sussex, but described as "of this parish" 1849 bride and groom lived at Haslemere, Surrey, but PR gives an address in Portsmouth 1862 bride and groom lived at Haslemere, Surrey, but PR gives an address in Portsmouth Does anyone know whether St Mary Portsea was 'famous' for such marriages? Maybe the clergy there were quite happy to turn a blind eye? Gordon Lickfold Henfield, West Sussex Researching Lickfold and Lickford - any place, any date (one-name study): mainly of West Sussex (from 1297); also Surrey from c1550; London since C17th.; Hampshire since C17th; and world-wide since the 1840s.