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Marriage licences, obtained from a bishop’s court for about ten shillings, were an alternative to the public reading, on three consecutive Sundays, of banns. They were sometimes used to avoid public scrutiny, or to hasten a wedding, e.g. before the onset of Lent. They were not uncommon, though the notation 'with licence' is rarer in the register in later years. Once obtained, the licence would be delivered to the parish clerk in advance of the wedding, usually only a day or two after issuance.

This small set (P92/SAV/0322-/0355) covers only the period 1569 to 1585, and represents only about half the weddings 'with licence' recorded in the parish register during that period. The other licences have not survived. In rare cases the licences were lost. Some licences offer fuller information than others. In the majority of these licences, neither party was from St Saviour, but the licence allowed the ceremony to be performed in the church.

In this list, 'marriage not found in the parish register' means that no record has been found for the twelve months following the date of the licence. In such cases, the marriage licence in question is included in this collection because, like the others, it was turned in to the parish clerk. This action would signal the presence of the parties in the parish and an intent to have a wedding, which presumably then took place. Had it not, the licence would presumably have been returned to the bearers. That the wedding isn’t in the register is yet another caution about the possible incompleteness of records.

    Marriage licenses in which the bride / groom / both / neither is from St Saviour


Marriage licences in which the bride is from St Saviour:


Marriage licences in which the groom is from St Saviour:

Marriage licences in which both are from St Saviour:

Marriage licences in which neither party is from St Saviour:

Instances of weddings for which the licences were lost (from the wedding register, P92/SAV/3001):