25.12.2013 Views

Differing Responses to an Industrialising Economy - eTheses ...

Differing Responses to an Industrialising Economy - eTheses ...

Differing Responses to an Industrialising Economy - eTheses ...

SHOW MORE
SHOW LESS

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.

licences include the more wealthy members of society, those who had previously been<br />

married or who desired a speedy wedding for whatever reason <strong>an</strong>d those where there was<br />

a noticeable discrep<strong>an</strong>cy in age or status between the groom <strong>an</strong>d the bride. There was<br />

also a tendency for non-conformists <strong>an</strong>d Rom<strong>an</strong> Catholics <strong>to</strong> marry by licence. The<br />

marriage allegations under-represent labourers <strong>an</strong>d poorer craftsmen, but they do mention<br />

m<strong>an</strong>y local individuals who chose <strong>to</strong> be married outside the study area, the marriage<br />

therefore not appearing in the register of the expected parish. So, although the marriage<br />

allegations are not a comprehensive guide <strong>to</strong> occupations in the area, they do provide<br />

information about certain individuals not found in other records.<br />

However, the reference <strong>to</strong> occupations is patchy at certain periods in the<br />

Worcester diocese records, particularly the late 1660s. The Worcester diocese marriage<br />

allegations (available on microfilm in date order) have been consulted for the period<br />

1660-1837. In Gloucester diocese the marriage allegations are not so easy <strong>to</strong> use. 27 For<br />

this reason I have not studied the allegations for Gloucester diocese parishes for the<br />

whole study period, but certain periods have been selected for comparative purposes. 28<br />

The Gloucester marriage allegations from 1660-1700 <strong>an</strong>d the Worcester allegations from<br />

1731-54 are available in printed form. 29 I have chosen four periods for <strong>an</strong>alysis of the<br />

marriage licence records, (namely 1680-1699, 1737-1754, 1780-1799 <strong>an</strong>d 1810-1837),<br />

using years where occupational information is readily available in both dioceses <strong>an</strong>d<br />

27 They have not been filmed <strong>an</strong>d have only been indexed by surname, not parish.<br />

28 There is also a printed selection of earlier licences: WoRO, L929.34244, ‘Marriage licences in the<br />

dioces<strong>an</strong> registry at Worcester, 1446-1725’. In my footnote references I use the short-h<strong>an</strong>d ‘marriage<br />

licence’ <strong>to</strong> also cover bonds or allegations, which are grouped <strong>to</strong>gether.<br />

29 B. C. Frith, ed., ‘Gloucestershire marriage allegations, vol. 1, 1637-1680/1 <strong>an</strong>d vol. 2, 1681-1700’,<br />

Bris<strong>to</strong>l <strong>an</strong>d Gloucestershire Arch. Soc., Records Br<strong>an</strong>ch, 2, (1954), <strong>an</strong>d WoRO, L929.34244, ‘Diocese of<br />

Worcester marriage licences, vol. 1, 1731-40’, (1992) <strong>an</strong>d ‘vol. 2, 1740-54’, (1994).<br />

16

Hooray! Your file is uploaded and ready to be published.

Saved successfully!

Ooh no, something went wrong!