The Marriage Act of 1653: Its influence on the Parish Registers

Abstract

The evidence in English parish registers indicating the observance of the above Act is important in the analysis of demographic trends in the seventeenth century. Many registers are defective during the Civil War and Interregnum, and extant registers need careful scrutiny regarding the solemnization and registration of marriages between 1653 and 1660. It has been thought that the Act was generally disregarded. The evidence from some Berkshire and Oxfordshire parishes, bordering the Thames, clearly indicates that the requirements of the Act were observed. Control regarding marriage was more strict during this period than it was again until Hardwicke's Act of 1753.