Marriage Licence Allegations Index 1694-1850
Vicar-General and Faculty Office

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A Marriage Licence Allegation was a document sworn by one of the prospective parties, usually the groom, to the effect that there was no impediment to the marriage and where the marriage could take place. British Origins has two Marriage Licences Allegation indexes containing the names of over 670,000 people issued with marriage licences between 1694 to 1850, identifying couples, particularly Londoners, who intended to marry: Vicar-General index 1694-1850 Faculty Office index 1701-1850 It is estimated that about 2-3% of marriages in England were by a licence issued by the Archbishop of Canterbury during 1694-1850. However, the issue of a Marriage Licence Allegation does not prove that the marriage actually took place. Marrying by licence appealed to couples for whom the speed and discretion with which a license could be issued was important. It also appears that often couples, especially Londoners, went to a higher office than was necessary, using the registries of the Vicar-General and Faculty Office of the Archbishop of Canterbury located at Doctors Commons, because these courts had status and a reputation for efficiency. The indexes, therefore, are often useful for finding London marriages which otherwise might be difficult to locate. The indexes are strictly finding aids for the original allegations. Hard copies of the allegation can be ordered online when you access the record in the British Origins database. View more detailed information about this dataset Try a Free British Origins search to view results Presented in association with the Society of Genealogists www.sog.org.uk