Wales, Parish Marriages and Banns

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Wales, Parish Marriages and Banns

Wales, Parish Marriages and Banns

3,480,047 records

In this collection of records from Wales, each marriage or bann record is a transcript of the original register. A bann is an announcement of a couple’s intention to be married. The amount of information in a marriage or bann record may vary, but the records include the following information when it is available: bride first name, bride last name, groom first name, groom last name, bride age, groom age, banns date, marriage date, marriage year, bride father name, groom father name, bride parish, groom parish, parish, and county. Occasionally, ages of the couple may be listed as "full" rather than as a figure. This was a customary way of noting that they were over the required age of 21. If the bride or groom was under the age of 21, “with consent of parents” is noted in the record.<br><br>Before the introduction of the civil registration of births, marriages and deaths in 1837 all such events were recorded in the local parish. Parish records generally begin from 1538 after the Church of England mandated the keeping of parish registers in 1537. Baptisms, marriages and burials were all recorded in a single volume until 1774, when the law changed to require a separate marriage register and another one for banns. Standardised forms for these registers appeared in 1812. Other religious denominations, with the exception of the Quakers and Jews, often registered these events in their local Church of England parish even after the Toleration Act of 1689 although between 1754 and 1837 it was illegal to marry anywhere other than a Church of England parish. The amount of information in registers varies from parish to parish. Later records generally give more complete information than earlier ones. Some early parish registers are in Latin. A few very early registers are in Welsh or have occasional entries in Welsh. Local dialects may have affected the spelling of names or places.

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Sample record

Henry Walford DaviesBride: Constance Margaret Isabel Evans

Sir Henry Walford Davies was an English composer, organist, conductor and educator who held the title Master of the King's Music from 1934 until 1941.