Marriage in the reign of Queen Anne Stuart 1702-1714

The Captain and The Countess

By Rosemary Morris

I have written three historical romances, with strong themes set in the reign of Queen Anne Stuart and am writing a series of articles about life in the early 18^th century.

To purchase visit http://bookswelove.net/authors/morris-rosemary/

 

 

The Age of Consent

In England, a fourteen-year-old boy and a twelve-year-old girl could marry without the consent of their parents or guardians. Even if the boy was poor and the girl a duke’s daughter once the knot was tied it would be impossible to untie it.

For example, without his father’s consent fifteen-year-old Sir George Downing married thirteen-year-old Mary Forester in 1714. In accordance with custom they were bedded in the presence of those who later testified that they did not touch each other.

After the marriage, George spent four years travelling abroad while Mary lived with her parents. When he returned to England he refused to live with his lawful wife and publicly declared that he would not consummate the marriage. Fourteen years later the couple who disliked each other wanted a divorce. They applied to the ‘Legislative Power’ to dissolve the marriage. The judgement was that in the words of the marriage service Those whom God has joyn’d let no Man put asunder. The verdict was that George and Mary were Man and Wife by the Laws of God and the laws of the Land and could not be divorced.

Valentines, Marriage Settlements and Wedding Rings

Young people could visit each other and meet in dancing academies. On St Valentine’s day, an equal number of maidens and bachelors got together. They wrote their names on papers called Valentines which were rolled up. These were distributed at random and the bachelors held Balls and gave treats to the maiden who was his valentine. Sometimes, they fell in love and married but the wild blood engendered in Charles II’s reign still ran hot and young men tended to avoid marriage.

Another reason to avoid wedlock were marriage settlements which were comparatively new. Previously widows were contented with the third part of their husbands’ property which the law allotted them. Now the sum of the wife’s pin money for her personal use was included in a marriage settlement. Apart from the marriage contract the bridegroom was obliged to give his bride a ring with ‘a posy’ (two couplets) on it. These are examples of those engraved on lost wedding rings advertised in the newspapers.

                                                  

                                                    ‘Two made one

                                                    By God alone.’

                    

                                                   ‘God’s Providence

                                                    Is our Inheritance.’

                                                  

                                                    ‘Vertuous love

                                                    Will never remove.’

What about unvirtuous marriage? In 1702 Haagen Swendson kidnapped Mrs Rawlins, an heiress and was convicted of a crime and executed. In another case Sir Alexander Cumming, Knight of the Shire, abducted Madam Dennis rumoured to be worth £16,000. There were no consequences either because of his rank or because Madam Dennis was content.

Public and Private Marriages

Reading the banns in church for three weeks to inform the congregation of a couple’s intention to wed had become unpopular. A letter in The Spectator newspaper published by Steele to the editor reads: ‘I was marry’d on Sunday last, and went peaceably to Bed; but to my Surprise, was awaken’d the next Morning by the Thunder of a set of Drums.’  The unfortunate bridegroom had to pay the drummers to go away.

To avoid the noise and riot of a public church wedding, which besides being very expensive because an open house was only a small part of the celebrations, marriage by license in front of witnesses became popular.

Private marriages for which a marriage license cost a guinea became popular. Some couples preferred to be married in their closets (small rooms) in the presence of two friends who were witnesses.  

This new custom could be subject to abuse. Clergymen accepted a fee instead of calling the banns or insisting on a marriage license. A bride and groom could marry in a chapel which required neither banns nor a marriage license. Bigamy could be concealed and matches that would probably result in a difficult life could take place between ladies of quality and footmen. Some couples married in taverns such as the Ship Tavern without Temple Bar and in both the Queen’s Bench Prison and the Fleet. Clandestine marriages conducted by defrocked clergymen and laymen at the Fleet and forged marriage certificates were an illegal curse.

Novels by Rosemary Morris available as e-publications and paper backs.

Early 18^th century novels: Tangled Love, Far Beyond Rubies and The Captain and The Countess

Regency novels: False Pretences and Sunday’s Child, Monday’s Child and Tuesday’s Child. Heroines born on different days of the week.

Mediaeval Novel, Yvonne, Lady of Cassio, set in the turbulent reign of Edward II will be published as and e-book on the 9h May, 2017 and subsequently as a paperback.

www.rosemarymorris.co.uk     http://bookswelove.net/authors/morris-rosemary/

Early Pulp Press & Superstition by Katherine Pym

Buy Here

 As a historical fiction author, I have accumulated a lot of data, and stored it for ‘just in case’. One such book I came across deals with pulp press during the 17^th century.

Strange and Wonderful Woodcut from 17th century Press

Thanks to King Henry VIII, most news of the 16^th and 17^th centuries was surrounded by religion. The constant upheaval during these nearly 200 years must have been mind-boggling. Wars on the Continent, changes in regime in England, regicide, conspiracy theories and civil wars were nonstop. Even if England wasn’t at war with the Holy Roman Empire, battles bled into their waters. The English navy was always on the alert. 

Something to attract the eye

Due to these unsettled times, a big interest was divining the future, reading about ancient prophecies. Strange woodcuts were attached to these pamphlets and journals, used again and again. Most of the woodcuts did not match the story or article.

Even Samuel Pepys wrote in his diary of an incident where he met a gypsy in the street. She said, ‘The world will end Tuesday next,’ then she wandered off, leaving the poor man in a conundrum. Should he put his things in order or leave them be? After all, if the world ends, no one will want his things, his chest of money buried in the back garden. There won’t be anywhere to spend it. So, he turned away from the encounter and went about his everyday business. I don’t recall if he mentioned having lived through "Tuesday next" or not. 

Kings and queens of those centuries tried to suppress unauthorized stories coming from the press rooms but it was a flow of nature no one could stop. “A list of prohibited books first appeared in England in 1529.” A licensing system followed where printers had to gain permission from the Crown before publishing pamphlets, which overwhelmed the Star Chamber whose other responsibilities were soon dwarfed. Queen Mary finally gave that responsibility to the English Stationers Company. 

Example of a 17th century News-sheet

Nothing could stop the flow. Within a few years, London was near buried under satirical and blasphemous pamphlets that soon found their way into the countryside. As a result, strange apparitions and beasts returned from the countryside in the form of divining the future, blaspheming God and Country. 

The government tried to suppress these incoming and outgoing tides of strange and ungodly news. Men would haunt the lanes looking for unauthorized presses. 

Printers found ways to secretly print their pamphlets. They made the presses smaller, easier to handle, to dismantle and hide them when the government came looking. Authors had pseudonyms so they weren’t caught and fined, thrown in to gaol. 

As an example: one fellow collected 22 pamphlets in 1640, almost 1000 in 1641, almost 2000 a year later. By 1660 he’d collected “a total of over 22,000 pamphlets, newspapers, and news books.”

The really good thing about this is, the literacy rate increased throughout England. 

~*~*~*~*~

Many thanks to:

Wikicommons Public Domain & 

The Battle of the Frogs and Fairford’s Flies, Miracles and the Pulp Press during the English Revolution by Jerome Friedman, St. Martin’s Press, NY, 1993

Where can I send my heroine? By Roberta Grieve

For more about Roberta's book and ordering information click here to visit her 

Books We Love author page

Where does a story come from? For some of us it is a character, others a setting, sometimes a plot. For me, the character is the start. I have a young woman in trouble of some sort; she has a problem to solve, Since most of my books are set in the past, the problem might not be the sort of thing that would daunt a modern heroine. Women’s lives were more circumscribed in Victorian times. They often had very little freedom. Whether rich or poor they were bound by the constraints of society. It is my job as a writer to find a way for them to overcome those constraints and find happiness at the end of their journey through the chapters of my book.

I have created heroines from .all classes of society from rich girl Arabella, whose one desire is to be a singer in ‘On Wings of Song’, to orphan housemaid Ruby in ‘Farewell Innocence’.

Arabella is leading a double life, desperate to keep her career as music hall singer Bella a secret from her respectable family. Her rebellious ways lead her into all sorts of adventures which brings me to the title of this blog. ‘Where do I send my heroine?’

Arabella ends up in the Crimea alongside Florence Nightingale, a far cry from the respectable London square where she lives, and the smoky seediness of the music hall. My heroines may have problems to solve but this is where my problems start.

The answer is research - probably one of the most enjoyable parts of my writing life. I love searching out contemporary accounts of the places my characters visit. I don’t use the internet much, preferring to linger in libraries and museums.

When you have not had the opportunity to travel to far off places it is possible with a writer’s imagination to submerge oneself into the atmosphere of exotic places. In ‘More precious than Jewels’ my heroine Grace ends up in India. I found a wonderful book, ‘Women of the Raj’ consisting of letters and diaries which painted a perfect picture of the country and the sort of life Grace could expect when she arrived in that strange place with its colours and smells.

It is often said that writers should write about what they know and when I started out as a writer I was very nervous of depicting places I could never hope to visit. But I grasped the nettle, did the research and, I hope, managed to show my readers what those places were like – India, Australia, Malta, Crimea – and, next on the list – Russia. Once I’ve done the research, that is.