Divorces

[alan w jones]

Hello ,
If I wanted to check whether a relative had been married and divorced at some stage where would I look please. Its a shot in the dark and I want to look for around 1923 -25 in Nuneaton or Coventry area .
Any help appreciated , thanks
Alan

[Mean_genie]

Divorce files for that period should be in The National Archives, and you can search for them by name using the online Catalogue:

www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/catalogue/search.asp

Put the surname in the 'Word or phrase' box, and J77 in the 'Department or Series' box. You can specify the date range too, but you don't need to. If there is a divorce file it will then show up.

You will then either have to go to Kew to look at the file, or request an estimate for a copy, because these are original documents, but they are usually worth looking at. You will get more information that you would get from the Divorce Registry, who only supply copies of the Decrees Absolute and Nisi, and charge quite a lot for the search.

Mean_genie

[alan w jones]

Hello Genie,
Thank you very much for that, I will give it a go .
Many thanks
Alan

[Just Kia]

Divorce files for that period should be in The National Archives, and you can search for them by name using the online Catalogue:

www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/catalogue/search.asp

Put the surname in the 'Word or phrase' box, and J77 in the 'Department or Series' box. You can specify the date range too, but you don't need to. If there is a divorce file it will then show up.

You will then either have to go to Kew to look at the file, or request an estimate for a copy, because these are original documents, but they are usually worth looking at. You will get more information that you would get from the Divorce Registry, who only supply copies of the Decrees Absolute and Nisi, and charge quite a lot for the search.

Mean_genie

Sorry to butt in on a post.
The information you provided in this was very welcome, however, I have people who I know for sure were divorced yet I can't find them using the method described here.
At least 2 (non related) people who were divorced were later married again (at least one of them in a church) so surely they must have had an official divorce as opposed to a separation?

[Mean_genie]

JustKia

Alan was looking for a divorce n the 1920s, and these records are likely to be in The National Archives, who hold the files from 1858 onwards, but from 1928 to 1937 they hold roughly 80%, and from 1938 onwards only a tiny number of files survive - about 10 to 20 a year at most. The only complete index to divorces is held by the Divorce Registry, but the indexes are not publicly avaailable, you have to pay them to search for you. It's not cheap!

So if the divorces you are interested in are more recent, that's why you can't find them (and if they were a very long time ago you'd be surprised how much bigamy went on!)

Mean_genie

[Just Kia]

Many thanks.
One was 1970's, the other 1923-25.
I'm sure I have many people who remarried in the 1800s without divorces

[fish53]

Have recently asked for a search for divorce papers with the Divorce Registry.

It costs £40 for them to search a ten year period.
Use the on-line form D440. You need the names of both parties before they will be able to conduct the search.