This article has been copied from the Northampton Independent.

The Record Office at Wootton Hall Park houses the registers of

many Northamptonshire churches, over half of which start in 1538

when the keeping of parish registers began. Henry VII had become

head of the English Church in 1531 and this was the time of the

Dissolution of the Monasteries. These early registers give us

400 years of baptisms, marriages and burials and, although

inevitably the registers are not all complete and not always legible,

it may well be possible to trace a family back that far.
A parish register would tell you that, at Rothwell on July 12, 1765,

was baptised William, son of William SHORTLAND and his wife

Elizabeth; but who was Elizabeth before she married William?

There is, unfortunately, no sign of the marriage in the registers

of Rothwell. Thomas WEST and his wife Elizabeth DANES married in

Kingsthorpe on November 30, 1767, by licence, and on consulting

the marriage bond we find chat Elizabeth was under age but had

the permission of her father John.
In those days, as today, they were frequently near neighbours or

lived in the same village, but often they met at the market or

the fair in a nearby town, or their fathers were of the same

trade, both blacksmiths or bakers. Sons grew up and were apprenticed

in another parish or left home to work on a distant farm or

one of the big estates. Girls went in to service in big houses

or large farms, or went to help their married sisters with their

children and sometimes whole families uprooted and went elsewhere.

Just as today, banns were called and the couple married in the

parish church, but this was often the bride's parish, so when

looking for a marriage, a search has to be made in an increasing

circle from the parish where they eventually lived.

Thomas WEST and Elizabeth DANES, like many others, married by

licence. This cost more, but saved having the banns called,

and the marriage could take place more quickly. People tend

to think that a licence would only be obtained by the aristocracy,

or a least the gentry, but this was not so. Frequently the local

squire was only too pleased for the banns to be called and all the

village to attend the wedding but sometimes a licence was

considered "smarter".

Licences have been granted by the Bishops, or their

Surrogates, since the 14th century but they became more common late

in the 16th and early 17th centuries and especially after the

restoration of Charles II in 1660.

Licences gave names, ages, parishes and the church at which the

marriage would take place. Most of these have disappeared, but

what still exist in many cases are the Marriage Bonds.

A Marriage Bond was entered into by two (or more) bondsmen or

sureties who bound themselves to ensure that there was no

impediment to the marriage and that the correct couple would

present themselves to be married. One bondsman was usually

the groom and the other was frequently a relative of groom or bride.

Maunsell COURTMAN, widower and Rector of Draughton, was bondsman

with Gerard GOURE, Gent. of Northampton, when the Rector married

Gerard's daughter Elizabeth. The bond is dated January 1699/1700.

In those days, before the calendar was altered, the year ended in

March, so the period from January to March is usually given both

dates. We would think of it as 1700. Sometimes the second

surety was just a friend, often of the same calling as the groom,

or was a clergyman or an inn-keeper or someone of social standing;

occasionally a bridegroom who was a carpenter or a labourer or of

similar occupation, would have a surety who was recorded as Gent.,

possibly his employer or landlord. In some cases, the second

bondsman was fictitious, John Doe or, less obvious, Edward Scriven.

Often, these were given "signatures" and even occupations.

Why did couples use a Licence? It was more expensive than banns

but quicker and less public, also it was possible by licence to

be married in Lent or on Fast Days. Maybe a quiet wedding was

cheaper in the long run if no wedding feast was provided; maybe

for couples of different social standing it was more tactful;

there seems little evidence that family opposition was the reason,

though I did find one bond where the groom and his friend were

"Gentlemen of London" and there is evidence that the marriage

probably did not take place. The time between the marriage

and the baptism of the first child does not seem to relate to

"banns" or "licence" either. If either party was under 21,

parental consent had to be given.
Some families seem to have "gone in" for licences rather than

banns, for example the BILLINGS of Weedon Bec:-

1686 Joseph married Ann BLISS, of Stowe.
1688 Mary married John GUDGEON, of Weedon.
1688 Susannah married Joshua PROCTOR, of Northampton.
1695 Elizabeth married Richard JUDKINS, of Weedon.

and it is Interesting chat, on a few occasions, I have found a

bond for one young couple in a small village and another for

another couple from the same village, sometimes acting as each

other's sureties; perhaps getting a licence was infectious or

they gave each other courage! One reason for a licence may have

been a desire to be married in an other church. Even with a

licence, they were supposed to marry in the appropriate parish

but this was widely ignored and, in the space provided, two,

three or even four alternatives were written.

John CHAMBERS, of Benefield, and Bridget HOUSE of Barnwell,

St. Andrews, decided to marry In Polebrook; Francis EATON,

husbandman, of Woodford, near Thrapston, and Frances KNIGHT,

of Islip, opted for All Saints, Northampton; while Samuel EDEN,

shopkeeper of Hargrave and Anne CUTHBERT of Covington, Hunts,

chose Higham Ferrers and James HARRIOTT, of London, with Alice SELBY,

of Warmlngton, in May, 1699, went to Oundle.

Oundle was a popular choice among couples who lived in the north

of the county, though Samuel EDIS, labourer, came from Aldwinkle

and Mary GUNN from Tichmarsh when they chose Oundle in 1698.

Oundle was a market town, with an imposing church and was a

good centre for surrounding villages. East Carlton, or Carleton,

seems to have been another popular choice, particularly when one

party came from over the Leicestershire border.

Peterborough Cathedral has an obvious appeal, though only a

small number of couples from outside the parish chose it; many

preferred St. John the Baptist, in Peterborough, and far more

popular was the church of St. Martins, Stafford, which is

situated on the Northamptonshire side of the river Welland and

was thus in Stanford Baron and in Northamptonshire. It would

have been an attractive church in an attractive town, situated

on the Great North Road and well supplied with inns.

Another remarkably popular church, particularly from about 1696,

was St. Sepulchre's in Northampton; it was reported as in great

need of repair in 1680 but some was done, and more in the early

1700's, and, at this time, a very large proportion of the

weddings there were by licence and of couples from other parishes.

In 1697 William SPENCER and Penelope HOWARD came from Heyford,

and John CATTELL, from Ravensthorpe, married Elizabeth NEWMAN,

from Harpole, at the church. Thomas LOWKE and Joanna CROFTS

were prepared to travel almost 15 miles from Yelvertoft along

muddy, icy roads in January 1699/1700, and in March of the same

year John LAVENDER, a tallow-chandler of Wollaston, and

his bride, Mary Halford, of Wellingborough, also chose to

journey to St. Sepulchres.

Why was St. Sepulchre's so popular? If it was "done" to

travel to Northampton, why not All Saints, St. Giles or St. Peters?

Of course, All Saints had burnt down in the fire of 1675 but

it was opened again in 1680 after the congregation had shared

with St. Peter's for five years. Perhaps the new church felt

too modern or too vast! St. Giles was small at that time

and was always considered the "Townsman's Church" and there

had been rather a series of vicars at that period, mostly

members of the WHALLEY family who were also connected with

Cogenhoe and Ecton. It was on the fringe of the town and,

apart from the parishioners, seems to have had no particular

attraction. St. Peter's was also on the fringe, almost

outside the town, and although an interesting Norman church,

had been largely restored in the early 17th century.

To St. Peter's were attached the parishes of Kingsthorpe

and Upton and the vicars often lived in one of those parishes.

In 1668, Jonas WHITHAM was instituted vicar of St. Sepulchres,

the first to be "properly" appointed since the Commonwealth

period, and was also chaplain of St. John's Hospital in

Bridge Street and served the church for 46 years until he died in 1708.

St. John's Hospital, near the river at the south entry to the

town, had an attractive chapel, perhaps felt to be a romantic

setting for a wedding. It had no register of its own and was

not intended for such functions, nevertheless quite a few couples

were married there in the late 17th century under the auspices

of All Saints or St. Sepulchres. Two examples are John MANSELL,

of London, and Ann RAWLINS, of Cosgrove, in September, 1690, and

Thomas DICKENS and Mary GUDGEON from Passenham in 1702.

The popularity of St. Sepulchre's could have been due to the

popularity of the new vicar. He was followed in 1708 by

John CLARKE, who was also an usher at the Free School, and

who stayed until his death in 1748. Between them the two vicars

covered 86 years. Perhaps the attraction was the rural setting

of an ancient round church in a town. Whatever the reasons,

couples travelled miles to be married there.

Although some of the families may have been rich enough to have

their own coach or some kind of carriage, the greatest number who

sought marriage licences were yeomen farmers and husbandmen, and

probably used their farm arts to transport the wedding party.

Other rural licence seekers were blacksmiths, butchers,

bakers, chandlers, shepherds, wheelwrights, tailors

millers, joiners and shoemakers; from the towns, there were hatters,

govers, collar makers, pipe-makers, barbers and even the occasional

schoolmaster, bookseller, pharmacist or surgeon; certainly no trade

or profession is without an example. A few were literate or could,

at least sign their names but for the vast majority, the clerk

filled in the forms and added "signatures" while the bondsmen

"made their marks". Some bridegrooms came from far away,

London, as has been mentioned; John JACKSON was a coachman

from Lincoln and another groom was a sailor from Scarborough!

In 1754 was passed Lord Hardwicke's Marriage Act designed to

end clandestine marriages and make it more likely that couples

would marry in their parish church and in 1836, Superintendent

Registrars were able to issue licences for marriages in a

Registry Office or a Non-Conformist church, and from mid-1837

all marriages, as well as births and deaths,
were recorded under the Civil Registration, the indexes of

which, originally at Somerset House and now at St. Catherine's

House in London, are available for anyone to search out

their ancestors from this time.

Mona C. Harrison