Marriage and Registration Act, 1856

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MARRIAGE AND REGISTRATION ACT 1856

CAP. CXIX.

An Act to amend the Provisions of the Marriage and Registration Acts. [29th July 1856.]

6&7 W.4. c. 85

1 Vict. c. 22.

3&4 Vict. c. 72

‘Whereas an Act was passed in the Session holden in the Sixth and Seventh Years of the Reign of King William the Fourth, Chapter Eighty-five, intituled An Act for Marriages in England; and another Act was passed in the First Year of the Reign of Her Majesty, Chapter Twenty-two, intituled An Act to explain and amend Two Acts, passed in the last Session of Parliament for Marriages, and for registering Births, Deaths, and Marriages in England; and another Act was passed in the Session holden in the Third and Fourth Years of Her Majesty, Chapter Seventy-two, intituled An Act to provide for the Solemnization of Marriages in the District in or near to which the Parties reside: And whereas it is expedient to alter and amend the Provisions of the said recited Acts, so far as is herein-after provided:’ Be it therefore enacted by the Queen’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, as follows:

No Notice of Marriage to be read, &c. before Poor Law Guardians, &c.

I. In case of any Party intending Marriage under the Provisions of any of the said recited Acts or of this Act, no Notice of such intended Marriage shall be read or published before the Guardians of any Poor Law Union or Parish or Place, or be transmitted by any Superintendent Registrar to the Clerk of any such Guardians.

Every Notice of Marriage to be accompanied by a solemn Declaration, by One of the Parties, that there is no lawful Hindrance to such Marriage, &c.

Persons making wilfully false Declarations to suffer the Penalties of Perjury.

II. In case any Party shall intend Marriage, under the Provisions of any of the said recited Acts or of this Act, the Party so intending Marriage shall, at the Time of giving to the Superintendent Registrar or respective Superintendent Registrars, as the Case may be, the Notice required by the said recited Acts or either of them, make and sign or subscribe a solemn Declaration in Writing, in the Body or at the Foot of such Notice, that he or she believes that there is no Impediment of Kindred or Alliance or other lawful Hindrance to the said Marriage, and that the Parties to the said Marriage, in case the Marriage is intended to be had without Licence, have, for the Space of Seven Days immediately preceding the giving of such Notice, had their usual Place of Abode and Residence within the District of the Superintendent Registrar or respective Superintendent Registrars to whom such Notice or Notices, as the Case may be, shall be so given, or, in case such Marriage is intended to be had by Licence, that One of the said Parties hath for the Space of Fifteen Days immediately preceding the giving of such Notice had his or her usual Place of Abode and Residence within the District of the Superintendent Registrar to whom such Notice shall be so given; and when either of the Parties intending Marriage, and not being a Widower or Widow, shall be under the Age of Twenty-one Years, the Party making such Declaration shall further declare that the Consent of the Person or Persons whose Consent to such Marriage is by Law required has been given, or (as the Case may be) that there is no Person whose Consent to such Marriage is by Law required; and every Declaration so made as aforesaid shall be signed and subscribed by the Party making the same, in the Presence of the Superintendent Registrar to whom the Notice of Marriage containing such Declaration is given, or in the Presence of his Deputy, or of some Registrar of Births and Deaths or of Marriages for the District in which the Party giving such Notice resides, or of the Deputy of such Registrar, who shall respectively attest the same by adding thereto his Name, Description, and Place of Abode; and no Certificate or Licence for Marriage shall be issued or granted pursuant to any such Notice as aforesaid unless the said Notice be accompanied by such solemn Declaration duly made and signed or subscribed and attested as aforesaid; and every Person who shall knowingly or wilfully make and sign or subscribe any false Declaration; or who shall sign any false Notice for the Purpose of procuring any Marriage under the Provisions of any of the said recited Acts or this Act, shall suffer the Penalties of Perjury.

Form of Notice of Marriage.

III. Every Notice of Marriage which shall be given under the Provisions of any of the said recited Acts or of this Act, after this Act shall have come into operation, shall be in the Form of Schedule (A.) to this Act annexed, or to the like Effect; and in every Case where the Marriage is intended to be had and solemnized under the Provisions of the said recited Act of the Third and Fourth Years of Her Majesty, Chapter Seventy-two, such Notice shall, in addition to the several Particulars comprised in the said Schedule, contain the Declaration required to be made by One of the Parties to such intended Marriage, pursuant to the Second Section of the said last-mentioned Act; and the Superintendent Registrar to whom any such Notice of Marriage shall be so given shall forthwith enter the Particulars, and the Date thereof, and the Name of the Party giving the same, into the Marriage Notice Book; and for every such Entry the Superintendent Registrar shall be entitled to have a Fee of One Shilling.

Notice of Marriage without Licence to be affixed in Superintendent Registrar’s Office.

IV. In case any Party shall intend Marriage without Licence under the Provisions of any of the said recited Acts or of this Act, the Superintendent Registrar to whom Notice of such intended Marriage has been given shall cause the Notice of Marriage, or a true and exact Copy thereof, as entered in the Marriage Notice Book, under the Hand of such Superintendent Registrar, to be suspended or affixed in some conspicuous Place in the Office of the said Superintendent Registrar during Twenty-one successive Days next after the Day of the Entry of such Notice in his “Marriage Notice Book,” before any Marriage shall be solemnized in pursuance of such Notice, and after the Expiration of Twenty-one Days next after the Day of the Entry of such Notice in his “Marriage Notice Book” the Superintendent Registrar shall issue under his Hand, upon the Request of the Party giving such Notice, a Certificate in the Form or to the Effect of the Certificate set forth in Schedule (B.) to this Act annexed, provided that in the meantime no lawful Impediment to the issuing of such Certificate be shown to the Satisfaction of the same Superintendent Registrar, and provided the Issue of such Certificate shall not have been forbidden in the Manner provided by either of the said firstly and secondly recited Acts by some Person or Persons authorized in that Behalf; and every such Certificate shall state the Particulars set forth in the said Notice, and the Day on which the same Notice was entered, and that the Issue of such Certificate has not been forbidden by any Person or Persons authorized in that Behalf; and for every such Certificate the Superintendent Registrar shall be entitled to have and receive a Fee of One Shilling; and at any Time within Three Calendar Months next after the Day of the Entry of such Notice the intended Marriage may be solemnized under the Authority of the said Certificate; and every Superintendent Registrar’s Certificate for Marriage duly issued under the Provisions of this Act shall have the same Force, Validity, and Effect as the like Certificate issued under the Provisions of the said recited Acts or either of them would have had in case this Act had not been passed.

As to Notice of Marriage by Licence.

V. In case any Party shall intend Marriage by Licence under the Provisions of any of the said recited Acts or of this Act, Notice of such intended Marriage shall not be suspended in the Office of the Superintendent Registrar, but the Party giving the same shall state therein that such Marriage is intended to be celebrated by Licence.

In case of Marriage by Licence, Notice given to Superintendent Registrar of One District to be sufficient.

VI. In any Case of Marriage intended to be solemnized by Licence, under the Provisions of either of the said Two firstly recited Acts or of this Act, between Parties both of whom do not dwell in the same Superintendent Registrar’s District, it shall not be required that Notice of such intended Marriage shall be given to more than One Superintendent Registrar, but a Notice to the Superintendent Registrar of the District in which one of the Parties so intending Marriage resides shall be sufficient; and it shall not be required that the said Notice shall state how long each of the said Parties has resided in his or her Dwelling Place, but only how long the Party residing in the District in which the Notice is given has so resided.

Notice of Marriage without Licence may be given in Ireland, if One of the Parties reside there.

VII. In every Case in which One of the Parties intending Marriage without Licence, under the Provisions of any of the said recited Acts or of this Act, shall dwell in Ireland, the Party so dwelling in Ireland shall give Notice in the Form there used in that Behalf or to the like Effect to the Registrar of the District in Ireland within which such Party shall have dwelt for not less than Seven Days then next preceding, and shall state therein the Name and Surname and the Profession and Condition and Age of each of the Parties intending Marriage, and also the Dwelling Place of each of them, and the Time, not being less than Seven Days, during which he or she shall have dwelt therein, and also the Church or other Building in which the Marriage is to be solemnized, provided that if either Party shall have dwelt in the Place stated in the Notice as his or her Dwelling Place more than One Month it may be stated that he or she hath dwelt therein One Month and upwards; and such Notice shall be dealt with in the Manner and such Certificate for Marriage shall be given by such Registrar in the Mode respectively prescribed in an Act passed in the Session holden in the Seventh and Eighth Years of the Reign of Her present Majesty, Chapter Eighty-one, intituled An Act for Marriages in Ireland, and for registering such Marriages, as amended by another Act passed in the Session holden in the Ninth and Tenth Years of the same Reign, Chapter Seventy-two, intituled An Act to amend the Act for Marriages in Ireland, and for registering such Marriages, provided that in such Case the Certificate for Marriage shall not be issued before the Expiration of Twenty-one Days next after the Day of the Entry of such Notice, as in the first of the said Two last-mentioned Acts is provided; and from and after the issuing of such Certificate the Production of the same to any Person duly authorized under the Provisions of this Act to solemnize a Marriage shall be as valid and effectual for authorizing such Person to solemnize such Marriage as the Production of a Certificate for Marriage of a Superintendent Registrar of a District in England would be under any or either of the said Three firstly herein-before recited Acts, if the Party giving such Notice were resident within such District, and the other Party to such intended Marriage were also resident within another Superintendent Registrar’s District in England; and where Marriages have since the passing of the said Act for Marriages in Ireland, and for registering such Marriages, been solemnized in England between Parties, one of whom was resident in Ireland, under Certificates, of which one was the Certificate of the Registrar of the District in Ireland within which one of the Parties had dwelt for not less than Seven Days, and the other the Certificate of the Superintendent Registrar of the District in England within which the other Party had dwelt for not less than Seven Days, such Marriages are hereby declared to be and to have been valid in the same Manner as if the Parties had been respectively resident for not less than Seven Days in the respective Districts of Two Superintendent Registrars in England, and like Certificates had been issued by both such Superintendent Registrars.

Certificate of Proclamation of Banns in Scotland as to Party resident there equivalent to Certificate in England.

VIII. In every Case in which one of the Parties intending Marriage without Licence, under the Provisions of any of the said recited Acts or this Act, shall dwell in Scotland, a Certificate of Proclamation of Banns in Scotland under the Hand of the Session Clerk of the Parish in which such Proclamation shall have been made shall, when produced to any Person duly authorized under the Provisions of this Act to solemnize a Marriage, be as valid and effectual for authorizing such Person to solemnize such Marriage as the Production of a Certificate for Marriage of a Superintendent Registrar of a District in England would be, under any or either of the said Three firstly-recited Acts, in reference to a Party resident within such District.

In Cases of Marriage by Licence, Certificate of the Notice thereof may be given by the Superintendent Registrar (unless the Marriage be forbidden), and thereupon the Marriage may be solemnized.

IX. Every Superintendent Registrar receiving Notice of an intended Marriage to be solemnized by Licence as aforesaid shall, after the Expiration of One whole Day next after the Day of the Entry of such Notice in his “Marriage Notice Book,” issue under his Hand, upon the Request of the Party giving such Notice, a Certificate in the Form or to the Effect of the Certificate set forth in the said Schedule (B.) to this Act annexed, and also a Licence to marry, provided that in the meantime no lawful Impediment to the issuing of such Certificate be shown to the Satisfaction of the same Superintendent Registrar, and provided the Issue of such Certificate shall not have been forbidden in the Manner provided by either of the said firstly and secondly recited Acts by some Person or Persons authorized in that Behalf; and every such Certificate shall state the Particulars set forth in the said Notice, and the Day on which the same Notice was entered, and that the Issue of such Certificate has not been forbidden by any Person or Persons authorized in that Behalf; and for every such Certificate the Superintendent Registrar shall be entitled to have and receive a Fee of One Shilling; and at any Time within Three Calendar Months next after the Day of the Entry of such Notice the intended Marriage may be solemnized under the Authority of the said Licence; and every Superintendent Registrar’s Certificate and Licence for Marriage duly issued under the Provisions of this Act shall have the same Force, Validity, and Effect as the like Certificate and Licence issued under the Provisions of the said recited Acts or either of them would have had in case this Act had not been passed.

Form of Licence for Marriage.

X. The Form of a Licence for Marriage so to be granted as aforesaid to any Party or Parties, by the Superintendent Registrar of any District as aforesaid, shall be in the Form or to the Effect of the Licence set forth in Schedule (C.) to this Act annexed; and for every such Licence the Superintendent Registrar granting the same shall be entitled to have and receive of the Party requiring the same the Sum of One Pound Ten Shillings, over and above the Amount paid for the Stamps necessary on granting such Licence.

Mode of solemnizing Marriages in registered Buildings.

XI. No such Marriage as aforesaid shall be solemnized in any such registered Building without the Consent of the Minister or of One of the Trustees, Owners, Deacons, or Managers thereof, nor in any registered Building of the Church of Rome without the Consent of the Officiating Minister thereof, nor in any Church or Chapel of the United Church of England and Ireland without the Consent of the Minister thereof, nor in such latter Case by any other than a duly qualified Clergyman of the said United Church, or with any other Forms or Ceremonies than those of the said United Church, any Statute or Statutes to the contrary notwithstanding.

Persons desirous may add the Religious Ceremony ordained by the Church.

XII. If the Parties to any Marriage contracted at the Registry Office of any District conformably to the said recited Acts or any of them, or to the Provisions of this Act, shall desire to add the Religious Ceremony ordained or used by the Church or Persuasion of which such Parties shall be Members to the Marriage so contracted, it shall be competent for them to present themselves for that Purpose to a Clergyman or Minister of the Church or Persuasion of which such Parties shall be Members, having given Notice to such Clergyman or Minister of their Intention so to do; and such Clergyman or Minister, upon the Production of their Certificate of Marriage before the Superintendent Registrar, and upon the Payment of the customary Fees (if any), may, if he shall see fit, in the Church or Chapel whereof he is the regular Minister, by himself or by some Minister nominated by him, read or celebrate the Marriage Service of the Persuasion to which such Minister shall belong: Provided always, that no Minister of Religion who is not in Holy Orders of the United Church of England and Ireland shall under the Provisions of this Act officiate in any Church or Chapel of the United Church of England and Ireland; but nothing in the Reading or Celebration of such Service shall be held to supersede or invalidate any Marriage so previously contracted, nor shall such Reading or Celebration be entered as a Marriage among the Marriages in the Parish Register: Provided also, that at no Marriage solemnized at the Registry Office of any District shall any Religious Service be used at such Registry Office.

Superintendent Registrar to whom Notice is given may grant Licence for Marriage (under 3 & 4 Vict. c. 72.) in a District in which neither of the Parties resides.

XIII. When any Marriage is intended to be solemnized between Parties not of the Society of Friends commonly called Quakers, or not professing the Jewish Religion, by Licence under the Provisions of the before-recited Act of the Third and Fourth Years of Her Majesty, Chapter Seventy-two, in a registered Building situated in a District within which neither of the Parties resides, it shall be lawful for the Superintendent Registrar to whom Notice of such intended Marriage shall have been given to grant to the Party applying for the same a Licence for such Marriage to be solemnized in the registered Building stated in such Notice; and every Licence and Certificate granted in pursuance of this Enactment shall be as valid and effectual to all Intents and Purposes as if the same had been granted by the Superintendent Registrar of the District in which the registered Building wherein the Marriage is intended to be solemnized is situated.

Superintendent Registrar may grant Licence for Marriage to be solemnized in registered Building out of the District wherein the Parties reside.

XIV. When any Marriage is intended to be solemnized, under the Provisions of any of the before-recited Acts or of this Act, in the usual Place of Worship of the Parties so intending Marriage, or One of them, and such Place of Worship shall be a registered Building situated out of the District of their, his, or her Residence, it shall be lawful for the Superintendent Registrar or respective Superintendent Registrars to whom Notice of such Marriage shall have been given to grant to the Party applying for the same a Licence or Certificate, as the Case may be, for such Marriage to be solemnized in the registered Building stated in such Notice, provided such Building be situated not more than Two Miles beyond the Limits of the District in which the Notice of such Marriage has been given, and the Party giving Notice of such Marriage shall at the Time of giving the same state therein, in addition to the Description of the Building in which the Marriage is to be solemnized, that it is the usual Place of Worship of One of the Parties, and shall also state the Name of the Party whose usual Place of Worship it is; and every Licence and Certificate granted in pursuance of this Enactment shall be as valid and effectual, to all Intents and Purposes, as if the same had been granted by the Superintendent Registrar of the District in which the registered Building wherein the Marriage is intended to be solemnized is situated.

Registrars may be appointed by Registrar General, and, subject to his Approval, by Superintendent Registrars.

XV. The Registrar General shall have Power and he is hereby authorized from Time to Time to appoint, by Writing under his Hand, such Person or Persons as he may think fit, with such Qualifications as the said Registrar General by any General Rule shall have declared to be necessary, to be a Registrar or Registrars of Marriages within the District of any Superintendent Registrar; and every Appointment to be hereafter made by any Superintendent Registrar of any Person or Persons to be a Registrar or Registrars, for the Purpose of being present at Marriages to be solemnized under and by virtue of any or either of the said recited Acts or of this Act, shall be by Writing under the Hand of such Superintendent Registrar, and shall be subject to the Approval of the Registrar General.

Registrar of Marriages may appoint a Deputy.

XVI. Every Registrar of Marriages, already appointed or hereafter to be appointed, shall be and he is hereby empowered, subject to the Approval of the Registrar General, to appoint, by a Writing under his Hand, a fit Person to be and to act as his Deputy, in case of the Illness or unavoidable Absence of such Registrar; and every such Deputy, while so acting, shall have all the Powers and Duties and be subject to all the Provisions and Penalties in the said recited Acts or any or either of them given, imposed, and contained concerning Registrars of Marriages; and every such Deputy shall hold his Office during the Pleasure of the Registrar by whom he was appointed, but shall be removable by the Registrar General; and every Registrar of Marriages shall be civilly responsible for the Acts and Omissions of his Deputy; and in case any Registrar of Marriages shall die, or otherwise cease to hold his Office, his Deputy shall become the Registrar of Marriages in his Place until the Appointment of another Registrar of Marriages shall have been made, and notified to him by the Superintendent Registrar or by the Registrar General, and shall, while continuing such Registrar, have the same Powers and Duties and be subject to the same Provisions and Penalties as any other Registrar of Marriages.

Proof of the Observance of this Act and of the recited Acts, Matters not necessary to the Validity of Marriages.

XVII. After any Marriage shall have been solemnized, under the Authority of any of the said recited Acts or of this Act, it shall not be necessary in support of such Marriage to give any Proof of the actual dwelling or of the Period of dwelling of either of the Parties previous to the Marriage within the District stated in any Notice of Marriage to be that of his or her Residence, or of the Consent to any Marriage having been given by any Person whose Consent thereto is required by Law, or that the registered Building in which any Marriage may have been solemnized had been certified according to Law as a Place of Religious Worship, or that such Building was the usual Place of Worship of either of the Parties, nor shall any Evidence be given to prove the contrary in any Suit or legal Proceedings touching the Validity of such Marriage; and all Marriages which heretofore have been or which hereafter may be had or solemnized, under the Authority of any of the said recited Acts or of this Act, in any Building or Place of Worship which has been registered pursuant to the Provisions of the said Act passed in the Sixth and Seventh Years of His late Majesty King William the Fourth, Chapter Eighty-five, but which may not have been certified as required by Law, shall be as valid in all respects as if such Place of Worship had been so certified.

Penalty on making false Declaration, or giving false Notices.

XVIII. Any Person who shall knowingly or wilfully make any false Declaration or sign any false Notice required by this Act for the Purpose of procuring any Marriage, and every Person who shall forbid the granting by any Superintendent Registrar of a Certificate for Marriage by falsely representing himself or herself to be a Person whose Consent to such Marriage is required by Law, knowing such Representation to be false, shall suffer the Penalties of Perjury.

In case of fraudulent Marriages, the guilty Party to forfeit all Property accruing from the Marriage, as in 4 G. 4. c. 76.

XIX. If any valid Marriage shall be had, under the Provisions of any of the said recited Acts or this Act, by means of any wilfully false Declaration, Notice, or Certificate made or obtained by either Party to such Marriage as to any Matter in which a solemn Declaration, Notice, or Certificate is required, it shall be lawful for Her Majesty’s Attorney General or Solicitor General to sue for a Forfeiture of all the Estate and Interest in any Property accruing to the offending Party by such Marriage, and the Proceedings thereupon and the Consequences thereof shall be the same as are provided in the like Case with regard to Marriages solemnized by Licence between Parties under Age according to the Rites of the Church of England in the Statute passed in the Fourth Year of the Reign of His late Majesty King George the Fourth, Chapter Seventy-six.

Nothing to alter, &c. Provisions of existing Acts, except where at variance with this Act.

XX. Except where the Provisions of the said recited Acts are expressly altered by or are at variance with the Provisions of this Act, nothing herein contained shall alter, repeal, or affect, or be construed so as in any Manner to alter, repeal, or affect, any of the several Provisions and Clauses contained in the same Acts or any of them, but, except as aforesaid, the same Provisions and Clauses respectively shall be and remain in full Force and Effect as if this Act had not been passed; and this Act shall, except as aforesaid, be considered as incorporated with the same Provisions and Clauses, and be construed in connexion therewith; provided that, save as herein-after mentioned, none of the Provisions of this Act shall limit or alter, or be construed to limit or alter, the Privileges of Persons belonging to the Society of Friends commonly called Quakers, or of Persons professing the Jewish Religion, or impose on either of such Bodies any Obligations beyond such as are enacted in either of the said recited Acts.

Marriages of Quakers or Jews may be solemnized by Licence.

XXI. Any Marriage according to the Usages of the Society of Friends commonly called Quakers, or to the Usages of Persons professing the Jewish Religion respectively, where the Parties thereto are both Members of the said Society or both Persons professing the Jewish Religion respectively, may be solemnized by Licence (which Licence the Superintendent Registrar to whom Notice of the intended Marriage shall have been given is hereby authorized to grant, in the Form or to the Effect set forth in the said Schedule (C.) to this Act annexed,) as effectually in all respects as if such Marriage were solemnized after the Issue of a Certificate by such Superintendent Registrar in the Manner provided by the said recited Acts or any of them; and the Provisions in this present Act contained in relation to the solemn Declaration to be made by the Party intending Marriage, and to the Statement to be contained in the Notice of such intended Marriage that such Marriage is intended to be celebrated by Licence, and to the Notice to be given of any such intended Marriage by Licence, and to the giving of Certificates in the Form or to the Effect set forth in Schedule (B.) to this Act annexed, and to the Fee and Stamp to be paid for such Licence, shall be applicable in all respects to every such Marriage to be solemnized by Licence according to the Usages of the said Society or to the Usages of Persons professing the Jewish Religion respectively.

Registrar General to furnish Marriage Register Books and Forms to each certified Secretary of a Synagogue of British Jews.

XXII. The Registrar General shall furnish or cause to be furnished to the Person whom Twenty Householders professing the Jewish Religion, and being Members of the West London Synagogue of British Jews, shall certify in Writing under their Hands to the Registrar General to be the Secretary of the West London Synagogue of British Jews, and also to every Person whom such Secretary shall in like Manner certify to be the Secretary of some other Synagogue of not less than Twenty Householders professing the Jewish Religion, and being in connexion with the West London Synagogue, and having been established for not less than One Year, a sufficient Number in Duplicate of Marriage Register Books and Forms for certified Copies thereof; and every Secretary of a Synagogue to whom such Books and Forms shall be furnished under this Act shall perform the same Duties in relation to the Registration of Marriages between Persons professing the Jewish Religion as under an Act passed in the Session of Parliament held in the Sixth and Seventh Years of His late Majesty King William the Fourth, Chapter Eighty-six, intituled An Act for registering Births, Deaths, and Marriages in England, are to be performed by the Secretary of a Synagogue to whom Marriage Register Books and Forms for certified Copies thereof have been or shall be furnished under that Act.

Marriages under this Act good and cognizable.

XXIII. Every Marriage solemnized under any of the said recited Acts or of this Act shall be good and cognizable in like Manner as Marriages before the passing of the first-recited Act according to the Rites of the Church of England.

Recites the Act of 15 & 16 Vict. c. 36.

Registrar General to allow Searches to be made, and give Extracts from the Returns of certified Places of Worship made to him thereto, on Payment of specified Fees.

XXIV. ‘And whereas, in pursuance of an Act passed in the Session holden in the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Years of Her Majesty, Chapter Thirty-six, intituled An Act to amend the Law relating to the certifying and registering Places of Religious Worship of Protestant Dissenters, the Registrars of the several Dioceses and Archdeaconries, and the Clerks of the Peace of the several Counties, Ridings, Divisions, Cities, and Boroughs in England and Wales, did, in the Year One thousand eight hundred and fifty-two, make and transmit, as thereby required, to the Registrar General of Births, Deaths, and Marriages in England, duly verified Returns of all Places within the Limits of their respective Jurisdictions which previous to and up to the Time of the passing of the last-mentioned Act had been certified according to Law and registered or recorded as Places of Meeting for Religious Worship: And whereas the total Number of such Places of Meeting so returned to the said Registrar General pursuant to the Provisions of the said Act is Fifty-four thousand eight hundred and four, and it is expedient that, for facilitating the Proof of such Places having been duly certified and registered or recorded as aforesaid, the Registrar General should be empowered by Law to allow Searches to be made in the said Returns, and to give certified Copies thereof and Extracts therefrom:’ Be it further enacted as follows:

The Registrar General, on Payment to him of the several Fees herein-after mentioned, shall allow Searches to be made in the Returns so made to him as aforesaid, and shall give to any Person demanding the same a certified Copy thereof or Extract therefrom with respect to any Place of Meeting for Religious Worship contained therein; and every such certified Copy or Extract shall be sealed or stamped with the Seal of the General Register Office, and when so sealed or stamped as aforesaid, if tendered in Evidence upon any Trial or other judicial Proceeding in any Civil or Criminal Court, shall be received as Evidence of the Place of Meeting therein mentioned or described having been at the Time in that Behalf therein stated duly certified and registered or recorded as by Law required, without any further or other Proof of the same; and the Registrar General shall be entitled to demand and receive for every Search in the said Returns extending over a Period of not more than Ten Years the Sum of One Shilling, and for every additional Period of Ten Years the Sum of Sixpence, and the further Sum of Two Shillings and Sixpence for every single certified Copy or Extract.

Act not to extend to Ireland or Scotland.

XXV. Save as herein expressly provided, this Act shall not extend to Ireland or Scotland.

Commencement of Act

XXVI. This Act shall come into operation on the First Day of January One thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven, and none of the Provisions thereof shall take effect previous to that Day.

SCHEDULES.

SCHEDULE (A.)

Form of Notice of Marriage.

To the Superintendent Registrar of the District of Hendon in the County of Middlesex.

I, the undersigned James Smith, hereby give you Notice, That a Marriage is intended to be had without [or by, as the Case may be,] Licence within Three Calendar Months from the Date hereof between me and the other Party herein named and described; (that is to say,)

And I hereby solemnly declare, That I believe there is no Impediment of Kindred or Alliance or other lawful Hindrance to the said Marriage, and that I, the above-named James Smith, have for the Space of Fifteen Days immediately preceding the giving of this Notice had my usual Place of Abode and Residence

[If the Marriage is intended to be had in a Church or Chapel of the Church of England insert in this Space the following Words, “in the Parish of            ,” or “in the Ecclesiastical District of                ,” (as the Case may be,) and add the Name of the Parish or Ecclesiastical District in which One of the Parties resides] within the above-mentioned District of Hendon.

[And I further declare, That I am not a Minor under the Age of Twenty-one Years, and that the other Party herein named and described is not a Minor under the Age of Twenty-one Years. (If One or both of the Parties be under Age these Words must be expunged.)] (Or, as the Case may be,)

And I further declare, That she [or I] the said Martha Green, not being a Widow [or Widower], is [or am] a Minor under the Age of Twenty-one Years, and that the Consent of George Kilpin, whose Consent to her [or my] Marriage is required by Law, has been duly given and obtained thereto [or “that there is no Person whose Consent to her [or my] Marriage is by Law required” (as the Case may be)].

And I make the foregoing Declarations solemnly and deliberately, conscientiously believing the same to be true, pursuant to the Provisions of an Act passed in the                  Year of Her Majesty Queen Victoria, Chapter                      intituled “An Act to amend the Provisions of the Marriage and Registration Acts,” well knowing that every Person who shall knowingly or wilfully make and sign or subscribe any false Declaration or who shall sign any false Notice for the Purpose of procuring any Marriage under the Provisions of the said Act above mentioned, or any of the several Acts therein recited, shall suffer the Penalties of Perjury. In witness whereof I have hereunto set and subscribed my Hand, this Fifth Day of January 1858.

James Smith.

[Here let the Witness attest the Signature of the Party giving the Notice according to one or other of the following “Examples”:—]

SCHEDULE (B.)

Form of Superintendent Registrar’s Certificate.

I, John Cox, Superintendent Registrar of the District of Hendon in the County of Middlesex, do hereby certify, That on the Fifth Day of January 1857 Notice was duly entered in the Marriage Notice Book of the said District of the Marriage intended between the Parties herein-after named and described, and of such Marriage being intended to be solemnized without [or by, as the Case may be,] Licence, delivered under the Hand of James Smith, One of the Parties; (that is to say,)

Witness my Hand, this Twenty-seventh Day of January 1857.

(Signed)              John Cox,

Superintendent Registrar.

This Certificate will be void unless the Marriage is solemnized within Three Calendar Months after the Date of the Entry of Notice, namely, on or before the Fifth Day of April 1857.

SCHEDULE (C.)

Form of Superintendent Registrar’s Licence for Marriage.

To A.B. of                 in the County of                 and C.D.,                 of                 in the County of                 I, the undersigned Superintendent Registrar of the District of             in the County of                 send Greeting:

Whereas in pursuance of some or one of the Statutes next herein-after mentioned made and now in force concerning the contracting and solemnizing of Marriages in England; (that is to say,) an Act passed in the Seventh Year of His late Majesty King William the Fourth, Chapter 85.; an Act passed in the First Year of Her present Majesty, Chapter 22.; an Act passed in the Fourth Year of Her said Majesty, Chapter 72.; and an Act passed in the             Year of Her said Majesty, Chapter           ; One of you did on the                     Day of                 give due Notice of your Intention to enter into a Contract of Marriage, and you are desirous that such Marriage should be speedily performed at                 in the District of                    : And whereas it has been made to appear to my Satisfaction that in regard to your said intended Marriage you have severally in all respects complied with the Provisions and Requirements of the above-mentioned Statutes, so far as such Provisions and Requirements are applicable to and binding upon you or either of you: And whereas no Impediment of Kindred or Alliance or other lawful Hindrance to the said Marriage has been shown to exist: And whereas the Certificate required by Law has been duly issued by me: Now therefore I, the said Superintendent Registrar, by virtue of the Power and Authority vested in me in that Behalf, do hereby grant unto you the aforesaid A.B. and C.D. full Licence and Permission to proceed in due Form of Law to contract and solemnize such Marriage at                     in the said District at any Time within but not after the Expiration of Three Calendar Months next following the                 Day of            .

Witness my Hand this                 Day of            .

E.F.,

Superintendent Registrar of the above-mentioned District.