Where would people have married?

[Russell]

Hi Carol

It wasn't unusual for the Banns to be called twice on the same day and they didn't have to 'called' in Church. Technically a notice pinned to the door would meet the literal requirements but a verbal proclamation was better in parishes where literacy was low.
I love the justice in Scots law which made the child legitimate as soon as the marriage took place unlike England where the child would be registered as a 'bastard' irrevocably.

Russell

[Falkyrn]

Another thing to consider was the attitude of the Presbyterian Church to marriage often gave out mixed signals. The Church while encouraging formal marriage also attempted to distance itself from any involvement in the after ceremony celebrations.... The Church buildings were rarely used to perform the marriage ceremony until the 20th century, the most common places used were either the Brides home or the Ministers home (The Manse).

[Montrose Budie]

Hi Carol

......snipped.......

I love the justice in Scots law which made the child legitimate as soon as the marriage took place .....snipped......
Russell

But only as long as the couple were free to marry at the time of the birth, - altho' a strict interpretation of the law was at the time of conception.

Any puir wain who didn't meet this qualification was defined as an adulterine bastard.

mb

[Archiver]

Ha, thanks for all the answers! So it would seem that, like after statutory registration, people just got married wherever, either at home, in the manse (hadn't crossed my mind about unheated churches...) or someone else's home.

It was really just curiosity, because the OPRs don't really mention anything about place, other than the parish and I just wondered if anyone knew for definite where people married!

Thanks again!

[Montrose Budie]

When making the entry in the parish register, the minister or session clerk wasn't bothered about where the marriage had taken place, only that the banns had been cried the necessary number of times, with there being no objection, and that the Established Church of Scotland minister, or a minister from another presbyterian church had performed the ceremony.

It can be a clue to another minister being involved if a name is given; which can be important in determining if one or both families belonged to a secession church. A check in the Fasti of the ECoS will show who was the ECoS minister at the time.

Many members of secession churches still arranged for marriages and births to be registered in the ECoS Old Parish Register, as these were seen as being more 'official' than the registers of the secession church.

mb

[bob(mc)]

My Mother was married at 21 Hope Street, Glasgow, on June 29, 1939 but, search as I may, that address seems to have been used for just about everything thro the years

[nelmit]

My Mother was married at 21 Hope Street, Glasgow, on June 29, 1939 but, search as I may, that address seems to have been used for just about everything thro the years

Hello Bob and welcome to Talking Scot,

Was the marriage 'By Declaration'?

I found this snippet about somebody marrying there in 1934.

http://discuss.glasgowguide.co.uk/lofiv ... 13846.html (scroll down to Steven Bickerstaff's post).

Regards,
Annette

[Currie]

Hello Annette,

I zoomed into Hope Street with Google Street View and remembered that I had been there before.
viewtopic.php?f=7&t=14586&start=0

We seem to have come to the same conclusion then. The business card certainly puts the clincher on things.

All the best,
Alan

[jennyblain]

I just found two quite interesting 18th century marriages. James Renton and Katharine Fairlie were married irregularly in Edinburgh, and being called before the Gladsmuir Kirk Session (East Lothian) 'produced a certificate thereof dated Edinr Novr 6th 1765 and subscribed by one Peter Wilson.'

The record is in a section of the Gladsmuir OPR marriages that seems comprised of such entries. Peter Wilson's name crops up a few times, as do a couple of other people in Edinburgh, though the entries don't give further information on them or on where the marriages took place.

The other entry I've just found is of a 'clandestine marriage' and seems more complicated, and I'll post about that in another message.
Jenny

[Falkyrn]

A "Clandestine Marriage" was a different kettle of fish to an irregular marriage and was a criminal offence with a hefty penalty for not only the couple involved but the minister/priest who officiated.