Genealogy Forum UK

One query I have

When did marriages start happening in registry offices rather than a church of some sort? was this option available from 1837?

Ive been looking all morning. Come up with this hope it helps...

"The Marriage Act of 1836 allowed Superintendent Registrars to conduct marriages in Register Offices from July 1837, and permitted marriages to take place in nonconformist chapels which were licensed to perform marriage ceremonies"

"1836 Marriage Act: Superintendent Registrars were empowered to issue licenses for marriage in the office of a registrar or in a non-conformist church. After 1837, the marriage register kept by the parish church was laid out to look much like the actual civil registration certificates which began in that year. It is also important to note that whereas before 1837 everyone who was not a Jew or a Quaker had to marry in the church, after 1837, it was possible to marry in a Register Office, or in a Catholic Church or a nonconformist chapel that had been licensed. By 1900 it is estimated that some 10% of marriages occurred in register offices."
from
http://www.joinermarriageindex.co.uk/history.php

Registry Offices. It was also possible from 1837 to have a civil marriage in a Register Office. On 30 June 1837, two Acts of Parliament became law: the Marriage Act 1836, and the Registration Act 1836 (6&7 Will. 4 c86). By these two Acts, covering Births, Deaths and Marriages, the Guardians were directed to provide a register office and to appoint Registrars of Births and Deaths. The Marriage Act provided the opportunity, for the very first time, of marrying with a civil ceremony. The Clerk to the Guardians was given a right of appointment to the office of Superintendent Registrar, and the power of appointment of Registrars of Marriages. Arrangements for carrying out periodic censuses also devolved upon the Superintendent Registrar and the Registrars. That register of marriages was kept by the Superintendent Registrar also. The registers held by at the Register Office cannot be seen, but Index books can be viewed at an hourly cost.

from
http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/Cornwa ... cords.html

grangers14 wrote:Ive been looking all morning. Come up with this hope it helps...

"The Marriage Act of 1836 allowed Superintendent Registrars to conduct marriages in Register Offices from July 1837, and permitted marriages to take place in nonconformist chapels which were licensed to perform marriage ceremonies"

"1836 Marriage Act: Superintendent Registrars were empowered to issue licenses for marriage in the office of a registrar or in a non-conformist church. After 1837, the marriage register kept by the parish church was laid out to look much like the actual civil registration certificates which began in that year. It is also important to note that whereas before 1837 everyone who was not a Jew or a Quaker had to marry in the church, after 1837, it was possible to marry in a Register Office, or in a Catholic Church or a nonconformist chapel that had been licensed. By 1900 it is estimated that some 10% of marriages occurred in register offices."
from
http://www.joinermarriageindex.co.uk/history.php

Registry Offices. It was also possible from 1837 to have a civil marriage in a Register Office. On 30 June 1837, two Acts of Parliament became law: the Marriage Act 1836, and the Registration Act 1836 (6&7 Will. 4 c86). By these two Acts, covering Births, Deaths and Marriages, the Guardians were directed to provide a register office and to appoint Registrars of Births and Deaths. The Marriage Act provided the opportunity, for the very first time, of marrying with a civil ceremony. The Clerk to the Guardians was given a right of appointment to the office of Superintendent Registrar, and the power of appointment of Registrars of Marriages. Arrangements for carrying out periodic censuses also devolved upon the Superintendent Registrar and the Registrars. That register of marriages was kept by the Superintendent Registrar also. The registers held by at the Register Office cannot be seen, but Index books can be viewed at an hourly cost.

from
http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/Cornwa ... cords.html

Thank you for spending the time and yes it helps - presumably those marriages that did happen in register offices were recorded in the indexes we access but will never be found in church registers - do the last two sentences mean that it is not possible to see the full entries on civil marriages or am I misreading them?

That register of marriages was kept by the Superintendent Registrar also. The registers held by at the Register Office cannot be seen, but Index books can be viewed at an hourly cost.

the reason the register cannot be seen mg is that they wont be able to sell you the cert as youve seen what you need that why they give you acess to the index

peterd wrote:

That register of marriages was kept by the Superintendent Registrar also. The registers held by at the Register Office cannot be seen, but Index books can be viewed at an hourly cost.

the reason the register cannot be seen mg is that they wont be able to sell you the cert as youve seen what you need that why they give you acess to the index

Sorry I have post Christmas confusion here -- When we look at indexes (should that be indices>) we see the basic facts year, quarter , spouse (if it is alater one) and then go to a copy of the certificate that was kept at the church/GRO to see more details eg father's occupation, witnesses --are the equivalent of the latter available to view or just the original index?

Registry office marriages can only be seen via purchasing a certificate

The church ones can be seen at the archives or by purchasing a certificate.

They have an index I presume the same as on free bmd but I am told that no more info than on those sites

Northern Lass wrote:Registry office marriages can only be seen via purchasing a certificate

The church ones can be seen at the archives or by purchasing a certificate.

They have an index I presume the same as on free bmd but I am told that no more info than on those sites

see MG i knew my secretary would be along to deal with it

peterd wrote:

Northern Lass wrote:Registry office marriages can only be seen via purchasing a certificate

The church ones can be seen at the archives or by purchasing a certificate.

They have an index I presume the same as on free bmd but I am told that no more info than on those sites

see MG i knew my secretary would be along to deal with it

Thank you - I am gradually getting this - do they show up on freebmd or only if we ask them specifically to look them up? I think I am trying to clear up whether if we can't find a marriage it might have happened as a civil marriage and therefore we wouldn't know from bmd - it could account for some of those "missing marriages" that we get sometimes

fbmd has both church and register office marriage on, but this is not complete thats why there marriages missing, or have been transcribed wrong

peterd wrote:fbmd has both church and register office marriage on, but this is not complete thats why there marriages missing, or have been transcribed wrong

can you tell which it is from the index?

Maths girl wrote:

peterd wrote:fbmd has both church and register office marriage on, but this is not complete thats why there marriages missing, or have been transcribed wrong

can you tell which it is from the index?

no as think there a copy of the GRO indexes

Maths girl wrote:

peterd wrote:fbmd has both church and register office marriage on, but this is not complete thats why there marriages missing, or have been transcribed wrong

can you tell which it is from the index?

but you can tell if church or registry office on Ukbmd or west mids bmsgh
http://www.bmsgh.org/index.html

peterd wrote:

Maths girl wrote:

peterd wrote:fbmd has both church and register office marriage on, but this is not complete thats why there marriages missing, or have been transcribed wrong

can you tell which it is from the index?

no as think there a copy of the GRO indexes

Birmingham registry office website says this...

"Certificates obtained from the General Register Office are prepared from copies written and sent by the Registrar, Vicar or Authorised Person, therefore they do not show original signatures."

http://www.birmingham.gov.uk/cs/Satelli ... %2FWrapper

What marriage are you looking for?

grangers14 wrote:What marriage are you looking for?

None in particular it is just one of those questions that keeps popping into my head and I've just got round to asking - i've obviously never yet come across a marriage that was done in a registry office and so haven't had to follow up what you see and what you get and from where.

Thank you for all your help