Banns and Licences - what's the differecne

[Cedas]

A couple of my ancestors married in Manchester Cathedral  in 1869.  The certificate says he was resident in Liverpool and she in 2 Shaw St Cheetham.  Both were born in Holywell Wales, he was a seamn so I can see why he was listed in Liverpool but don't know why she was in Manchester.

The certificate says they were married by licence.  Can anyone give me any ideas as to why people married by licence instead of banns? Is there any way of finding the licence application?  and what would it tell me if I did find it?

Any help or advice appreciated.

[C P Rayson]

Hi Cedas

I think the main difference is that Banns had to be read on three consecutive Sundays before the marriage. A licence, if granted allowed a couple to marry having only met the basic residential requirement of the diocese (5-7 days I think)

The license can sometimes be found in the Diocesan Records Office for the area, check with the archive service for Manchester, they should be able to help

Happy hunting

Chris

[behindthefrogs]

Banns have to be read at over a period of three weeks in the parish of the bride and the parish of the groom and are sufficient if the marriage is to take place in one of these parishes.

If the marriage is to be elsewhere and the residential qualifications cannot be met for banns to be read then a licence must be obtained.  This is usually from the diosese but as for wills if the applicants lived in different diocese application was made to the Vicar General and if they lived in different provinces application had to be made to Master of faculties for the Archbishop of Canterbury.

Non -conformists who had to marry in a parish church sometimes married by licence to avoid having banns called and possible objections being raised.

If the wedding was to take place in a diocese which wasn't the diocese of either of the applicants then a special licence had to be obtained from Canterbury or York.

Banns and licences can provide information not available elsewhere like the home parishes of the participants and in some early cases the name of the bride when not in the parish register.

David

[Cedas]

Thank you David and Chris for your comments and ideas for further research

[loo]

I read somewhere that it became fashionable at some  point to get a license rather than have banns read.  I'm sorry I don't know where I read that;  I think it would have applied to 19th and early 20thC at least.  I believe the process of getting a license still involved the church somehow, but I don't have the details.

[loo]

Here it is!

"Marriage by licence was often preferred because it was quicker, more convenient and/or more discreet, or because it was thought to confer social prestige."
from http://www.history.ac.uk/gh/marrlic.htm