The Society of Genealogists

Faculty Office Marriage Licence Allegations 1701-1850 and Vicar-General Marriage Licence Allegations 1694-1850

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.

These allegation indexes contain the names of over 670,000 people issued with marriage licences between 1694 to 1850, by the Archbishop of Canterbury's Vicar-General index 1694-1850 and the Faculty Office index 1701-1850 identifying couples, particularly Londoners, who intended to marry. The Vicar-General marriage licence allegations are indexed by last name only. If you enter a first name and a last name when you search, your results will reflect the last name only.

It is estimated that about 2-3% of marriages in England were by a licence issued by the Archbishop of Canterbury during 1694-1850. The issue of a Marriage Licence Allegation, however, does not prove that the marriage actually took place.

Many ecclesiastical bodies had the right to issue marriage licences, many at archdeaconry and diocesan level. In theory a licence should be issued by the office, which had jurisdiction over both parties. If a couple lived in different dioceses in the Province of Canterbury then the licence should have been issued by the Vicar-General. If they lived in different Provinces (e.g., Canterbury and York) or overseas, then the licence should be issued by the Faculty Office. In practice, people often went to a higher office.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, through his Vicar-General, issued common licences for couples to marry in any parish church or chapelry in the province of Canterbury, which dispensed with the calling of banns on three successive Sundays. Until 1753, the Vicar-General's Office also granted relatively few special licences which allowed parties 'to marry at any meet and convenient place', generally a college chapel or nobleman's private chapel not normally licensed for marriages. From 1753 special licences could only be obtained through the Faculty Office.

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 have been compiled by volunteers from the Society of Genealogists using copies of the old 19th century calendars of the records. The indexes are strictly finding aids for the original allegations held at Lambeth Palace Library and copies on microfilm at the Society of Genealogists. The original entries should, therefore, always be examined.

Hard copies of the allegation can be ordered online. You can view the instructions for ordering hard copies from the Society of Genealogists on each search result page.

Faculty Office index - 321,000 names, 1701 to 1850. The index records contain first name and last name of bride and groom and the date of the allegation. See an example of a Faculty Office index record below - click on the image to enlarge it:

Vicar-General index - 356,000 names, 1694 to 1850. The index contain last names only, not first names - if you enter a first name and a last name when you search, your results will reflect the last name only. See an example of a Vicar-General index record below - click on the image to enlarge it:

The marriage licence allegations themselves (which may be ordered as hard copy) have the full names of the bride and groom, whether over 21, their respective parish, and the church(es) (often up to three alternatives were given) for which the marriage was licensed. In the case of a minor (aged under 21), there is usually the written consent of a parent or guardian, sometimes from overseas.