People obtained a marriage license for many reasons, most commonly to avoid the wait through the reading of the banns, to avoid the publicity of the announcement, and to reflect social superiority. For the better off, the gentry and nobility, marriage by license was usual; to them it was inappropriate to call for objections from all and sundry, especially the laboring classes.
In fact, hardly any licenses survive because the license was given to the groom to present to the officiating minister. The allegation was a statement made on oath that both parties to the union were over the age of twenty-one (or they supplied the proper permission) and that there was no known impediment. The bond, required until 1823, was a sum of money to be forfeit if any part of the allegation were false. Allegations and bonds are found in county record offices, or in published copies. Many have been transcribed and/or indexed.
Marriage licences were introduced in the fourteenth century to allow the usual notice period under banns to be waived, on payment of a fee and accompanied by a sworn declaration that there was no legal impediment to the marriage. Licences were usually granted by an archbishop, bishop or archdeacon. There could be a number of reasons for a couple to obtain a licence: they might wish to marry quickly (and avoid the three weeks’ delay by the calling of banns); they might wish to marry in a parish away from their home parish; or, because a licence required payment, they might choose to obtain one as a status symbol.
There were two kinds of marriage licence that could be issued: the usual was known as a common licence and named one or two parishes where the wedding could take place, within the jurisdiction of the person who issued the licence. The other was the special licence, which could only be granted by the Archbishop of Canterbury, or his officials, and allowed the marriage to take place in any church.
To obtain a marriage licence, the couple, or more usually the bridegroom, had to swear that there was no just cause or impediment why they should not marry. This was the marriage allegation. A bond was also lodged with the church authorities for a sum of money to be paid if it turned out that the marriage was contrary to Canon Law. The bishop kept the allegation and bond and issued the licence to the groom, who then gave it to the vicar of the church where they were to get married. There was no obligation for the vicar to keep the licence, and many were simply destroyed. Hence, few historical examples of marriage licences in England and Wales survive. However, the allegations and bonds were usually retained and are an important source for English genealogy.
