Series
MARRIAGE ACT BOOKS
Catalogue reference: EDC 7
What’s it about?
This record is about the MARRIAGE ACT BOOKS.
Is it available online?
Maybe, but not on The National Archives website. This record is held at Cheshire Archives and Local Studies.
Can I see it in person?
Not at The National Archives, but you may be able to view it in person at Cheshire Archives and Local Studies.
Full description and record details
-
Reference (The unique identifier to the record described, used to order and refer to it)
-
EDC 7
-
Title (The name of the record)
-
MARRIAGE ACT BOOKS
-
Description (What the record is about)
-
The registrar entered into the marriage act book the details contained in the licence, ie date, number of licence issued, name and parish of proposed groom and bride, place marriage to be held, names of these giving oath and bond (contracting parties and one other man), before whom (surrogate or chancellor) the oath was made. Since the archdeaconry of Richmond issued its own marriage licences, those issued by the diocese relate chiefly to the archdeaconry of Chester.
The issue of a licence should not be taken as proof that a marriage actually took place.
-
Arrangement (Information about the filing sequence or logical order of the record)
-
Licences are in numerical, not chronological order in the act book. Batches of licences were dispatched to surrogates empowered to issue them on behalf of the bishop; not all were returned and entered in the act book. The number allocated to the licence is the same as that on the bond. To trace an entry in the act books you need to know the number on the bond and year date.
-
Held by (Who holds the record)
- Cheshire Archives and Local Studies
-
Language (The language of the record)
-
English
-
Unpublished finding aids (A note of unpublished indexes, lists or guides to the record)
- <p>Abstracts and indexes of entries in these volumes for the years 1606-1700 have been printed in LCRS, vols 53, 56, 57, 61, 65, 69, 63, 77.</p>
-
Administrative / biographical background (Historical or biographical information about the creator of the record and the context of its creation)
-
In cases of marriage without the proclamation of banns, a licence was granted by the bishop or one of his own surrogates and issued to the contracting parties. All licences, including marriage licences, were in general authenticated by the application of the bishop's seal and were granted on his behalf by his chancellor or official often in the Consistory Court.
-
Record URL
- https://beta.nationalarchives.gov.uk/catalogue/id/433284fd-2ae7-479b-9acc-70fdaf874edf/
Catalogue hierarchy
This record is held at Cheshire Archives and Local Studies
Within the fonds: EDC
Consistory Court
You are currently looking at the series: EDC 7
MARRIAGE ACT BOOKS