Marriage "over the brush" ?

[stanmapstone]

There was nothing to stop anyone living together after Harwicke's Act whether they gave a fig or not but they would not be  legally married. Under Harwicke's Act all marriages were void unless they followed the requirements of the Act,

Stan

[stanmapstone]

Dickens mentions 'broomstick marriage' in Great Expectations.


A satirical song published in The Times of 1789 also alludes to the custom in a line referring to the rumoured clandestine marriage between the Prince Regent and Mrs. Fitzherbert: “Their way to consummation was by hopping o’er a broom, sir"


I doubt that many people would give a fig for Lord Hardwickes Act in 1753 

A clandestine marriage was a secret marriage which could be perfectly valid. I am not disputing the existence of  'broomstick marriages' but this it not the meaning of 'living over the brush' as generally meant in the north of England. There were plenty of couples who simply lived together as man and wife, knowing that the law puts the burden of proof on those who would challenge such a ‘marriage’ as invalid.

Stan

[stanmapstone]

To marry over the broomstick was to go through a quasi-marriage  ceremony in which the parties jumped over the broomstick.
To marry over the broomstick is an old term meaning that a couple were joined in a common-law union by jumping over a broomstick together.
In  English Law, since 1753, there is no such thing as a 'common law marriage',  in the eyes of the law there is no special relationship and they are not equivalent to a husband or wife.

Stan

[stanmapstone]

In this podcast from the National Archives Rebecca Probert shows that even before Harwicke's Act the great majority of couples married in church
Tracing marriages in 18th century England and Wales: a reassessment of law and practice.
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/podcasts/tracing-marriages-in-18th-century.htm

Stan

[Canterburynorth]

Interesting thread,

My granny (bless her) always used to talk in 'hushed tones' about people who lived over the brush, she meant  people who were ,shock horror, living together. I always wondered how the saying came about
,
Leandra

[waterloo]

I always understood that "Jumping over the brush" marriage was praticed my the romany or more commanly know Gipsy folk my grandmother ones told me this as she was supose to be related to the Irish Gipsys we kids all thought she was a gipsy