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From:
Subject: Re: SCT-BANFFSHIRE-D Digest V05 #11
Date: Sat, 8 Jan 2005 17:39:13 EST


Hi

Margaret Burgess appears to be under a misapprehension regarding the
Proclamation of Banns, Marriages and the fees which were payable.

All marriages were first of all Proclaimed as she says on three occasions
prior to the marriage being performed and were not the actual marriage ceremony.
OPRs record this procedure in a variety of ways with many only recording the
Banns. Others such as those for Bellie which I am researching at present
record the Banns and then state words to the effect 'and were afterwards
married'. The fees included a tax imposed by the government introduced around
September/October 1783. The Bellie OPR between entries on 7 September 1783 and 29
October 1783 has a note which states 'Tax of Three Pence upon Marriages
commences'
Tax of Three pence upon marriages commences.

The Carluke OPR lists the fees for the various types of entries including
one for the fine imposed by the Kirk Session for 'premarital fornication' and
these were expressed firstly in Pounds Scots and later in Sterling.

Banns continued to be read long after Statutory Registration commenced but
prior to that, as far as I know, there was no requirement for a marriage
licence but there were the 'irregular', although legal, marriages.

While writing this I would mention in reference to the question of
illegitimacy that I came across a baptismal entry today which gave the name of the
child, who was described as the lawful daughter of the parents and then read as
follows ' having a sufficient Testificat from Cromdale was baptised before
witnesses' who were named. Clearly this couple had arrived in Bellie Parish and
the Kirk Session had required them to get a certificate from their previous
parish or the one in which they were married before agreeing to record the
child as 'lawful' and not 'natural' which would have indicated it was
illegitimate. This is the first time I have come across such an entry.

Ian A C Scott

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