Equally, a marriage that took place at Gretna Green on the Western Border seems to carry a similar status involving the same romantic notions and an air of respectability and unquestionable legality. Should the marriage have occurred in the East however, at one of the many Toll house such as Lamberton, Mordington, Paxton and most famously Coldstream Bridge the marriage seems to attract an entirely different reputation altogether, when effectively they are exactly the same, perfectly legal, and stem from fundamental differences in the laws of the two countries.
In this month’s article I hope to address the most commonly asked questions by examining these differences and the historical events behind them, in a somewhat lighthearted, but hopefully still informative manner.
Marriage in England – Clandestine & Otherwise.
This led to many couples choosing a cheaper, quicker and more convenient option of marriage, conducted in a place outwith the jurisdiction of a presiding Bishop and thus the Church itself. A form of 18th century tax avoidance if you like. The most famous of these was the “Fleet Prison” in London where during the 1740’s it is estimated some 6,000 marriages were conducted per year within its environs. This equated to some 13% of the 47,000 marriages that took place annually through England, and whilst most were open and honest the system was open to abuse.
In an effort to stem this abuse (and tax evasion) Hardwicks Marriage Act of 1753 introduced statutory legislation that for a marriage to be deemed legal in England and Wales it now required a formal ceremony to be conducted in a Church, in addition to the duty payable for the reading of banns or purchase of a licence. However, Scotland remained unaffected by this legislation and the dash to the Scottish Border by English couples began in earnest.
Marriage in Scotland – Regular & Irregular.
Nor did it require residency until the reform bill known as the “Cooling Off Act” was passed in 1856, introduced by Lord Brougham, the Scottish born former Lord Chancellor. Prior to this date to be recognised by law, an ‘irregular’ marriage came in three basic forms:
- A couple were legally married if they declared themselves to be so in front of witnesses, regardless of whether this was followed by a sexual connection. Marriage contracted in this way without witnesses was also legal, but much harder to prove in court.
- A promise of marriage, followed by a sexual relationship, was regarded as a legal marriage - but this had to be backed up by some kind of proof, such as a written promise of marriage, or an oath sworn before witnesses.
- Marriages 'by habit and repute' were also legal if a couple usually presented themselves in public as husband and wife, even if no formal declaration of marriage was made.
It has gone midnight and the narrator and Coldstream “priest” Dickson have already enjoyed a profitable evening and are now both evidently somewhat in their cups:
The persons performing these ceremonies certainly add colour and closer inspection of their character goes a long way to explaining the scarcity of records that surround these ‘irregular’ unions that so frustrate and confuse the researcher.
Prior to 1855 no formal registration of a birth, marriage or death was required by law in Scotland, and we already know the ceremony did not require the presence of an ordained minister. In the early days the trade of “marrying the folk” was performed by largely uneducated and illiterate persons, or “idlers” as described by the former occupant of the Bridge Inn, Coldstream.
Pattie Mudie (Peter Moody) & Jack Armstrong were two of the well-known Coldstream “priests”. Virtually no records exist of the marriages they conducted as they either refused to keep them or were unable to do so. There was also Mr Ewan the tailor, who is described as being a bit of a ‘dandy’ but rather unpopular with the more ‘sober’ clientele due to his fondness of the “aqua vita”!
Probably the best known Coldstream marriage celebrant was William Dickson a shoemaker by trade. Widowed, his health ailing and with a young family to provide for he reluctantly assumed the role of “priest” and celebrated many marriages between 1840 and 1857. In 1844 Dickson began to keep meticulous records and conducted the ceremonies in a sincere, respectful manner which made him very popular, and helps us date the marriage of Andrew Davison and Anne Scott to around this period. His popularity came at a cost however, when he incurred the wrath of the local Minister, Rev Thomas Smith Goldie, who took Dickson to court in 1844.
The case was heard in Edinburgh and promptly dismissed, unlike two of his Coldstream predecessors Andrew Rutherford and James Angus who were banished from Scotland never to return “on pain of death”. Not for performing ‘irregular’ marriages however, but for misleadingly assuming the appearance of clergymen!
“A Riotous Affray at Lamberton Toll”
- The wedding party number approximately 20
- It took place between 9.00pm on the 5th March and 2.00am the following day
- The keeper of Lamberton Toll and prosecutor was John White who is cited as being a “recovered lunatic”! also present his wife Susannah and their two sons William and Alexander aged 12.
- The name and occupation of the ‘priest’. Joseph Atkinson a waiter in Berwick, but not a native of the area
- The names and occupations of the accused - William Kidd, William Anderson and Ralph Johnston. All coal miners. All pleaded “Not Guilty”.
- The cause of the affray? The refusal by the prosecutor to provide the party with more whiskey! and an ensuing dispute over the bill
- That a surgeon was called for, a Mr Lilly from Berwick
- One of the party and witness Thomas Jordan, also a pitman lost the end of his nose. It was stitched back in place by Mr Lilly
- The bride and groom, two of the bride’s sisters (unnamed) and one of the accused, William Anderson had left before the fighting broke out
- The outcome - two of the accused were acquitted, the perceived instigator, William Kidd received “Nine months imprisonment with hard labour”.
A Change in the Law and it's Economic Impact
“My malison be upon all those who took “airt and pairt” in the making of a law which deprived me and many more of a considerable amount of income and poor folks the pleasure of getting cheaply married without the compulsory interference of a busybody in the shape of a minister or a registrar who cannot tie the marriage knot one whit tighter that I have seen it done in my ain house in the auld fashioned way.”
Further Reading & Henry Collins
Or you could of course just ask me of course, as I hold these records within my ever growing collection, which also includes Coldstream Bridge Marriages 1793 – 1797. A simple email will suffice!
A comprehensive list of where to source other records can be found at: