Hi Andy & List, Marriages by license were a lot quicker than having to wait for banns to be read on three Sundays before the wedding. I have an ancestor who married the same day that he signed the license. Licenses could be used to get around the problem of opposisition to the union, you could marry before anyone found out about it. You could also try looking for a christening about six months after the wedding, that is another reason to get married before anything shows. People married in chapels because they were non-conformists, they were baptists, methodists etc. and didn't follow the Church of England. There are quite a few marriage licenses around, non-conformist registers can be more difficult to access. Regards, Ian in sunny France

Andy Agree with Ian Using a license also made it easier if you didn't live in the area eg if both parties were working away from the area. As you are probably aware it is traditional for a marriage to take place in the bride's church or chapel. According to the Church Census, completed in 1851, over 40% of the church going population attended non-conformist churches, so if people come up against brick walls they should always explore the possibility that their relatives might've been non-conformists. I fully agree with Ian that non-conformist registers can be difficult to access - I have 2 lots of great grand parents who married in non-conformist churches: I can find no trace of one set of registers and I have to contact the church to gain access to the other ;-) Regards Paul On Thu, 13 Feb 2003 04:38:21 EST, [email protected] wrote: >Hi Andy & List, > >Marriages by license were a lot quicker than having to wait for banns to be >read on three Sundays before the wedding. >I have an ancestor who married the same day that he signed the license. >Licenses could be used to get around the problem of opposisition to the >union, you could marry before anyone found out about it. >You could also try looking for a christening about six months after the >wedding, that is another reason to get married before anything shows. > >People married in chapels because they were non-conformists, they were >baptists, methodists etc. and didn't follow the Church of England. > >There are quite a few marriage licenses around, non-conformist registers can >be more difficult to access. > >Regards, Ian in sunny France >>Hi All, >>Could somebody please explain the difference between being married by Banns and a License. Also why would somebody get married in an Independent chapel and not their local Church. Could it possibly be that one was from out of the Parish? >>My Great grandparents were married in one such chapel. No child was born within 2yrs, so that was not the reason. One G.P. was from outside the parish so could this be why? >> >>Best wishes >> >>Andy >>Penton Mewsey, Hants. 50.33.50N 02.26.70W http://www.pbenyon.plus.com/Naval.html