The legal age for marriage was 12 for girls and 14 for boys until the 1929 Age of Marriage Act which made all marriages carried out from 10 May 1929, void if either partner was under the age of 16.
Marriages of minors, i.e. under 21, without consent after banns were valid, unless the banns had been forbidden by parents or guardians openly and publicly in church at the time of publication.
If the marriage was by common licence an affidavit as to residence, absence of lawful impediment, and consent of the parent (if either party was a minor) was required to be made when the licence was applied for. However false swearing to obtain a licence did not constitute the crime of perjury. No kind of publicity was given to a licence application. Legislation did not say anything about a marriage being void if the licence was obtained under false pretences.
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