VERSION|0.5.1|NAME|Edwin|DATE|1380525339|CONTENT|Don&#039;t think he is right about earlier marriage being informal and &quot;common law marriage&quot; being recognised. Marriages used to be celebrated at the church porch before entering the church for a nuptial match and surely details were entered in the parish registers from at least the time of the first Elizabeth?

As even today a lot of women regarded themselves as married who would not be  legally accepted as such. Common law wives and Sharia only wives get nasty shocks because of this.

Scotland as always was different and I like the story of the group on a church outing who got silly and played at marriages only to realise that they were now legally married having stood up and declared same before witnesses as then required by law.|EMAIL|aeduin@aol.com|IP-ADDRESS|92.6.65.8|MODERATIONFLAG|