Was your ancestor married in Southam, Rubgy, Dunchurch, Ufton, or another parish of Warwickshire? Search thousands of records and discover your ancestor’s marriage date, spouse’s name, and residence, as well as possibly the names of the witnesses to the marriage.
Was your ancestor married in Southam, Rubgy, Dunchurch, Ufton, or another parish of Warwickshire? Search thousands of records and discover your ancestor’s marriage date, spouse’s name, and residence, as well as possibly the names of the witnesses to the marriage.
Each record includes a transcript and many will include an image of the original marriage registry. The amount of information in each transcript can differ but most will include the following:
Transcript
Name
Sex
Birth year
Marital status
Residence
Marriage date
Marriage place
Spouse’s name
Spouse’s age
Spouse’s marital status
Spouse’s residence
Spouse’s occupation
Father’s name
Father’s occupation
Spouse’s father’s name
Spouse’s father’s occupation
Witness names
By licence or banns
Minister
Church
County and country
Source
Archive and reference
Images
The image can provide you additional details about your ancestor’s wedding day. Records which include an image have not transcribed the names of the witnesses and officiant, the couple’s occupations, and their fathers’ occupations. These facts will only be found in the image.
The Warwickshire Marriages are not intended to be a comprehensive collection of all the marriages in Warwickshire. For more details about what towns or villages are included, view the Warwickshire place list available in the Useful links and resources section. Within this collection, you will find records transcribed by Findmypast from the original records held at the Warwickshire County Record Office as well as transcripts created by the Birmingham and Midland Society of Genealogy & Heraldry and FamilySearch’s International Genealogical Index. The collection does include some duplication of marriage records. Both records have been retained because, in some cases, additional family history can be found in both records.
Warwickshire is in the West Midlands of England. These records show 36,436 marriages from St Mary’s in Warwick. St Mary’s is a Church of England parish and one of the largest churches in England. Founded in 1123 by Robert de Newburgh, the 2nd Earl of Warwick, St Mary’s is a collegiate church. A collegiate church observes daily worship and is maintained by a college of canons, a secular clergy. It can be presided over by a dean or provost.
The records start from 1538, the year Thomas Cromwell, the Vicar General of the newly formed Anglican Church, mandated that all parishes were to keep records of marriages, baptisms, and burials. Often these records were kept in a single book. The book was to be kept in a coffer (a small chest) and locked by two keys. One key was held by the minister and the other by the church warden. Entries were to be made every Sunday after service. If records were not kept, the church would be fined.
Many of the transcripts include details of whether the couple married by licence or banns. Marriage licences were created in the 14th century. Couples could obtain a marriage licence for a fee if they wished to waive the banns period. Along with a marriage licence fee, the couples were obligated to sign a declaration stating that there were no lawful impediments to their marriage. There are different reasons why couples married by licence instead of by banns. You can search for your ancestor’s banns record in the Warwickshire banns.