England, Norfolk Marriage Bonds - FamilySearch Historical Records

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Collection Time Period
These records cover the dates from 1557 through 1915

How to Use the Record
Marriage bonds can help you determine an approximate date and place of marriage, maiden name of the bride, their places of residence at the time of the marriage, sometimes the names of parents or other relatives or associates, and the ages and marital status of the couple. They can also give names of friends or relatives who agreed to compensate the church officials for any financial loss.

Not all marriage bonds survived. For a complete listing of what marriage bonds exist see Jeremy Gibson’s "Transcripts and Marriage Licences, Bonds and Allegations: A Guide to their Location and Indexes," available at the Family History Library.

The Family History Library has indexes to some of these marriage bonds:

• "Index of Marriage License Bonds in Norfolk Peculiar Jurisdictions 1624-1860, in Norfolk Genealogy, vol. 16" held at the Family History Library.

• "Index of Marriage License Bonds in the Archdeaconry of Norfolk, 1813-1837 in Norfolk Genealogy, v. 25" held at the Family History Library.

• "Index of Marriage License Bonds in the Archdeaconry of Norwich, 1813-1837 in Norfolk Genealogy, v. 23" held at the Family History Library.

There are additional unpublished indexes held at the Norfolk Record Office as described in their leaflet on Marriage License Bonds.

Record Description
Marriage bonds have standard wording and most of them are partly in Latin. Preprinted, typewritten forms began in the 1700s. Not all marriage bonds survive. Some are in poor condition and difficult to read.

The records are organized by year ranges and jurisdictions. Gaps in the records are not always reflected on familysearch.org. Because some of the pages may be out of order, researchers should browse through the records if they do not find what they are seeking in the expected place.

For more information about the marriage licenses and bonds for Norfolk see the Norfolk Record Office Information Leaflet on Marriage License Bonds. http://www.archives.norfolk.gov.uk/documents/pdf/NRO048_MLB.pdf

Record Content
Key genealogical facts found in the collection are listed below: (The information on individual records may vary) • Names of bride and groom • Ages of bride and groom (often only whether or not they were over 21) • Residences of bride and groom • Marital status of bride and groom • Name of the parish church in which they plan to marry • Sometimes the occupations of the groom and/or bondsmen • Occasionally the parents’ names

Record History
When a couple was married by license, three types of documents were created, the allegation, the bond and the license. A marriage allegation was a sworn statement submitted usually by the groom, stating that the couple was legally able to marry. A marriage bond was a contract entered into by friends, relatives, or sometimes the groom himself promising to monetarily compensate the church officials if a legal impediment to the marriage arose, such as consanguinity, affinity, or the existence of any pre-contract.

A couple might marry by license if they wanted to marry in a hurry, thus bypassing the posting of banns for three consecutive Sundays, or if they wished to marry away from their normal residence, in which case at least one of them had to live in the parish for four weeks prior to the wedding.

Although the majority of the population was married by banns, marriage bonds often contain additional names of relatives or friends of the couple.

This collection covers four areas of jurisdiction which are the Dean and Chapter of Norwich, the Consistory Court of the Diocese of Norwich, the Court of the Archdeaconry of Norwich and the Court of the Archdeaconry of Norfolk. For more information about which jurisdiction your ancestor’s marriage bond might be in see the Norfolk Record Office leaflet on marriage license bonds.

Why This Record Was Created
Marriage bonds and allegations were issued when a couple chose to marry by license. These documents were created to verify that the couple was legally able to marry and to protect the church officials from any financial loss if problems arose.

Record Reliability
It should be noted that the existence of a marriage bond does not prove that the couple was actually married. Also note that couples occasionally obtained the bond and licence from a court other than the one which held jurisdiction over their parish of residence.

Related Web Sites
Norfolk Record Office online catalogue Norfolk Record Office Information Leaflet on Marriage Licensee Bonds

Related Wiki Articles
England Church Records

Sources of This Collection
England, Norfolk Marriage Bonds, 1557-1915. Digital images of originals housed at the Norfolk Record Office, Norwich, England.

• Dean and Chapter of Norwich, 1725-1847, 2 microfilm reels, Norfolk Record Office no.: PDC/4/1-10

• Diocese of Norwich Consistory Court, 1557-1902, 61 microfilm reels, Norfolk Record Office no.: MLB/1-205

• Norwich Diocese, Norwich Archdeaconry Court, 1660-1915, 20 microfilm reels, Norfolk Record Office no.: ANW/24/1-144

• Norwich Diocese, Norfolk Archdeaconry Court, 1670-1886, 16 mircrofilm reels, Norfolk Record Office no.: ANF/12/1-113