Clandestine Marriages Act 1753
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
| Citation | 1753 c. 33 |
| Year | 1753 |
(26 Geo. 2) C A P. XXXIII.
'W H E R E A S great Mischiefs and Inconveniencies have arisen from Clandestine Marriages;' Forpreventing thereof for the future, Be it enacted by the King's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the Authority of the same, That from and after the twenty-fifth Day ofMarch in the Year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and fifty-four, all Banns of Matrimony shall be published in an audible manner in the Parish Church, or in some publick Chapel, in which publick Chapel Banns of Matrimony have been usually published, of or belonging to such Parish or Chapelry wherein the Persons to be married shall dwell, according to the Form of Words prescribed by the Rubrick prefixed to the Office of Matrimony in the Book of Common Prayer, upon three Sundays preceding the Solemnization of Marriage, during the Time of Morning Service, or of Evening Service (if there be no Morning Service in such Church or Chapel upon any of those Sundays ) immediately after the second Lesson: And whensoever it shall happen that the Persons to be married shall dwell in divers Parishes or Chapelries, the Banns shall in like manner be published in the Church or Chapel belonging to such Parish or Chapelry wherein each of the said Persons shall dwell; and where both or either of the Persons to be married shall dwell in any Extraparochial Place, (having no Church or Chapel wherein Banns have been usually published) then the Banns shall in like manner be published in the Parish Church or Chapel belonging to some Parish or Chapelry adjoining to such Extraparochial Place: And where Banns shall be published in any Church or Chapel belonging to any Parish adjoining to such Extraparochial Place, the Parson, Vicar, Minister or Curate, publishing such Banns, shall, in Writingunder his Hand, certify the Publication thereof in such manner as if either of the Persons to be married dwelt in such adjoining Parish; and that all other the Rules prescribed by the said Rubrick concerning the Publication of Banns, and the Solemnization of Matrimony, and not hereby altered, shall be duly observed; and that in all Caseswhere Banns shall have been published, the Marriage shall be solemnized in one of the Parish Churches or Chapels where such Banns have been published, and in no other Place whatsoever.
II Notice of the Names, Places of Abode and Time ofResidence of the Parties to be given to the Minister 7 Days beforePublication of Banns.
II. Provided always, and it is hereby further enacted, That no Parson, Vicar, Minister or Curate shall be obliged to publish the Banns of Matrimony between any Persons whatsoever, unless the Persons to be married shall, seven Days at the least before the Time required for the first Publication of such Banns respectively, deliver or cause to be delivered to such Parson, Vicar, Minister or Curate, a Notice in Writing of their true Christian and Surnames and of the House or Houses of their respective Abodes within such Parish, Chapelry or Extraparochial Place as aforesaid, and of the Time during which they have dwelt, inhabited or lodged in such House or Houses respectively.
III Minister not punishable for solemnizing Marriageafter Banns published, where the Parents or Guardiansgiveno Notice ofDissent; but where such Dissent shall be given, Publication of Banns tobe void.
III. Provided always, and be it enacted by the Authority aforesaid, That no Parson, Minister, Vicar or Curate solemnizing Marriages after the twenty-fifth Day ofMarch one thousand seven hundred and fifty-four, between Persons, both or one of whom shall be under the Age of twenty-one Years, after Banns published, shall be punishable by Ecclesiastical Censures for solemnizing such Marriages without Consent of Parents or Guardians, whose Consent is required by Law, unless such Parson, Minister, Vicar or Curate shall have Notice of the Dissent of such Parents or Guardians; and in case such Parents or Guardians, or one of them, shall openly and publickly declare, or cause to be declared in the Church or Chapel where the Banns shall be so published, at the Time of such Publication, his, her or their Dissent to such Marriage, such Publication of Banns shall be absolutely void.
IV Licences to be granted to solemnize Matrimony in theChurch or Chapel of such Parish only, where one of the Parties shall haveresided for 4 Weeks before, &c.
IV. And it is hereby further enacted, That no Licence of Marriage shall, from and after the said twenty-fifth Day ofMarch in the Year one thousand seven hundred and fifty-four, be granted by any Archbishop, Bishop, or other Ordinary or Person having Authority to grant such Licences, to solemnize any Marriage in any other Church or Chapel, than in the Parish Church or Publick Chapel of or belonging to the Parish or Chapelry, within which the usual Place of Abode of one of the Persons to be married shall have been for the Space of four Weeks immediately before the granting of such Licence; or where both or either of the Parties to be married shall dwell in any Extraparochial Place, having no Church or Chapel wherein Banns have been usually published, then in the Parish Church or Chapel belonging to some Parish or Chapelry adjoining to such Extraparochial Place, and in no other Place whatsoever.
V Place which may be deemed extraparochial by this Act.
V. Provided always, and be it enacted by the Authority aforesaid, That all Parishes where there shall be no Parish Church or Chapel belonging thereto, or none wherein Divine Service shall be usually celebrated everySunday , may be deemed Extraparochial Places for the Purposes...
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