Page images
PDF
EPUB

with him as to terms. As we shall hereafter see, the service was often left unfinished because an amount of money suffieient to meet the clerical ideas was not forthcoming.

The service read was of course that of the Church of England — although probably a modified and abbreviated version of it. At the commencement of a pocketbook kept by one of the parsons, we have found portions of the office for matrimony apparently transcribed for reading from so rendered as to lead to the conclusion that references to the Deity were, when it was practicable, omitted. For instance, in the passage which accompanies the giving of the ring, the invocation worded in the Prayer-book thus, "In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost," is altered into the phrase, "From this time forth for ever more. Amen;" and the promise given by man and woman to hold together" according to to God's holy ordinance" is rendered simply," according to law." It was only to be expected that the parsons would reduce the directly religious portions of the service to the smallest possible limits. A clerk was generally present at the ceremony to say the Amens. He was either a person regularly employed for the purpose by the clergyman, or a pot-boy or some other tavern functionary fetched in for the occasion. Sometimes the proprietor of the marriage-house himself acted in this capacity, and kept the register also. Occasionally a woman was suddenly called upon

to officiate as clerk.

The ceremony over, the parson made a note of the marriage in his pocketbook; this entry being subsequently transcribed into a larger and more regular register, which might belong either to the parson himself, or to the marriage-house keeper. In some cases the insertion was made in the pages of the more bulky volume direct. But this insertion, it would seem, never took place at all unless it was specially paid for; it was omitted, too, on those occasions when it was desired that the mar riage should be kept entirely secret. If possible, the parson now sold a certificate of the event which had just taken place, to the parties married; and they were, generally speaking, desirous of obtaining such a document. Considerable efforts were made to render the certificates legal and impressive in appearance. In many cases forms were printed upon sheets of vellum, which sheets were each headed with an imposing engraving of the Royal Arms. A form

such as these was now produced and filled in. The fee demanded for the certificate varied, like the marriage-fees themselves, according to circumstances. In pursuance of that simple rule which guided the entire conduct of the Fleet parsons in all pecuniary affairs, the priest took as much for it as he could get. În various entries which we shall presently extract from the registers, mention will be found of the different amounts received on the score of certificates issued.

And now, if he were in a position to afford it, and assuming the marriage to have occurred at a tavern, the bridegroom treated the wedding-party to a repast. The feast was not of a refined description. On account, however, of the large quantity of punch and other drinks consumed at the entertainment, it was a portion of the proceedings in which the landlord took a vivid interest; and we may imagine him always endeavouring to promote the festivities. The parson too, who was generally present at these feasts, doubtless regarded such conviviality as an important item in a wedding programme. And here we must close our description; for the orgies that often followed were of a character such as cannot be described in these pages.

Let us, therefore, turn to our documents themselves, and proceed to extract from them information on such further points in the lives and labours of the parsons as may appear interesting. We shall have to do principally with the pocketbooks-those queer little volumes of matrimonial memor anda to which we have before referred; for in them is to be found much matter eminently characteristic of their owners, matter which has in most cases been excluded from the larger registers. We will quote in the first place a few jottings, which express the ideas of different Fleet parsons on the subjects of their own mode of existence and moral standing.

Doctor Gaynham, one of the most notorious of Fleet notorieties, and who, as Mr. Burn tells us, acquired the unenviable title of "Bishop of Hell," is not at all inclined to own the degradation implied in that designation. Such at least would seem to be the case from his having inserted on the flyleaf of one of his pocketbooks, apparently as applicable to himself, the following high-flown lines:

The Great Good Man wm fortune doth displace
May into scarceness fall, but not disgrace.
His sacred person none will dare profane,
Poor he may be, but never can be mean.

[blocks in formation]

The pious crowd the fallen Pile deplore,
And what they ne'er can raise, they still adore.

We are afraid that the poor "bishop's" life did not in the slightest degree reflect this picture of virtuous misfortune. But perhaps his quotation merely represents the moral ideal to which he aspired, and not the condition to which he pretended to have attained; we will at any rate give

him the benefit of the doubt.

Mr. Walter Wyatt, another prominent vendor of clandestine matrimony, is quite pathetic in his acknowledgments of evil and his desires after good. The fear of the Lord," he writes, "is the beginning of wisdom. The marrying in the Fleet is the beginning of eternal woe. .. May God forgive me what is past, and give me grace to forsake such a wicked place, where truth and virtue can't take place unless you are resolved to starve."

Another parson, who was, we fear, a miserably degraded character, Mr. John Floud, expresses his private feelings in the following verse:

I have Liv'd so long I am weary Living, I wish I was dead and my sins forgiven; Then I am sure to go to heaven, Although I liv'd at sixes & sevens.

A portion of poor Mr. Floud's wishes was realized very suddenly. His fatal illness, of a few hours' duration, and his death, are recorded by one of the marriage-house keepers. He was seized while celebrating a wedding. The man who records the decease only mentions it as occasioning him the loss of some marriage-fees which in the ordinary course of things would have fallen to his share.

In a private pocketbook belonging to a fourth parson, the unhappy priest comments upon the course of his existence thus-"A wicked life is a damnable thing." A fifth gentleman takes an entirely different and much more cheerful view of his mode of living, and writes"Let everything that hath breath praise the Lord. Jubilate. Always the best." Another parson dedicates his pocketbook false entries and all -to" My God and King."

The principal object of the Fleet clergymen in practising clandestine matrimony having been to make money, we may properly give a prominent place to any evidence

about

we have as to the amount which they were able to realize. The average sum received by the parsons for a wedding seems to have been about six shillings only; although in individual cases the fee was much higher. The following quotations will exemplify the more liberal class of payments. It will be observed that the amount obtained for a wedding was sometimes divided amongst the different persons concerned in bringing it the touter, clerk, tavern-keeper, &c. In some instances the tavern-keepers kept a parson as a portion of their establishment, to whom they paid a fixed weekly salary. We suppose, however, that they more commonly sent for any parson they pleased, upon an application for a wedding being made at their "shop ;" and since in many cases one or more parsons lodged on the premises, they would not have far to send. In those comparatively rare instances in which the parson himself was the proprietor of the "chapel," the division of fees of course rested with him; but it generally happened that he was in the hands of a marriage-house keeper, when his share of the gains was determined by that functionary. The entries to which we wish to call the reader's attention are as follows:

10 Dec 1728. Wm Salkeld a Marriner, and Mary Jones, both of St Andrews, Holborn. B & Sp. Pr Jno Floud. Marr: ten shillings, two and sixpence Clark; one Do Register, two and sixpence Certificate. They were married at twelve at night.

Sep. 30. 1742. Chambers Bute Gent: of the Parish of Foston in Derbyshire and Ann N.B. Trye of Amney in Glocestershire Sp. My Landlord Overs Invited me to mary the Couple &c at the Salutation Tavern near Gt Andrew Ch. He had 2 Gs out of 4.

Oct. 3d 1742. James Higham Marriner of St Margts West. Br Alice Sergant do Sp. were married at Lilly's. Pd 17: 6. Marriage. 48 A; Clk 5: C. 3 Boles of Bunch (sic, for bowls of punch.)

1742. October 24. Benjamin & Rose Married at ye Leg Tavern but would give no other account of themselves. pd

£1. 10s

Subjoined are two entries showing that when money was not to be had, articles of jewellery, dress, &c., were occasionally accepted in its place, or by way of pledge. We fear we cannot undertake to explain the signs and abbreviations employed. In the first example, however, it is plain that the bridegroom tendered to the parson, in cash, a sum which the reverend gentleman considered insufficient, whereupon a ring was deposited with him by way of security

for a further amount. The second entry | Sp. Half married went away (he had 4) to

r itself.

[merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small]

It would seem (as we have already intimated) that the parson himself, and not the keeper of the marriage-house, was in the habit of conducting the pecuniary negotiations. We will now give a few extracts from the books of different parsons, illustrative of the interruptions which often occur red in the midst of the marriage-service, and the disputes which were wont to arise between the priests and the applicants for matrimony, on account of the all-important question of fees.

September 14. 1737. A coachman came & was half married & wou'd give but 38 64 &

went off.

June 21st 1740. John Jones of Eaton Sutton in Bedfordshire and Mary Steward of the same came to Woods in Fleet Lane about six oclock in the morning. Mr. Ashwell and self had been down the markett Wood called him and I went with him there found the said man and wooman offer'd Mr. Ashwell 3 shilling to marry him he would not so he swore very much

fetch more money. Saide he had a hundred Pound left by his father, his uncle had it in his hands took this account because She should not come and say they were married and not [registered.]

(1745) June 4.

October 17. 1743. Michael Hickey of St Catherines by the Tower Marriner & Br & Elizabeth Hudson-78 only. N.B. These were half marrie ye day before, John Greenruff, of Farnham Royall in Bucks Sawyer W. & Martha Brookwell of do W. Ash. dy. These people was with us in the Jupe Before and the man forced her away Half Done because he would not pay. 4: 8. (Ash).

mention that Mr. Walter Wyatt, a person Before leaving the subject of fees, we may whose pathetic aspirations after a better life entries in one of his memorandum books, by we have already noticed, has left certain means of which we are able to form some idea as to the amount of his weekly profits. the whole of his receipts, we find that they Assuming the sums he gives to represent amounted to about 17. 108. per week, or more than 900l. a year. But it should be stated that Wyatt was one of the most prominent and pushing of the Fleet clergymen, and for that reason his receipts would be likely to exceed those of most of his confraternity.

with want of zeal and diligence in the perThe parsons certainly cannot be charged formance of their priestly functions. They appear to have been accessible at all hours of the day and night. An entry describing a marriage which took place at midnight has they might not Pretend afterwards they was already been quoted, and another in which married and not Register'd.

and would have knocked him down but for me. was not married. took this memorandom that

[blocks in formation]

the parson was stated to be in requisition at six o'clock in the morning. Two of the following extracts relate to weddings celebrated at even more unseasonable hours:

Thomas Delves, Nobleman's Sert White Hart Court of West: & Betty Rushworth Do B & Sp. The Cock. Married at 3 o'clock in the Morning. Behav'd Rudely.

of 12 came to Mr. Alders 1739 John Newbury
"Christms. Day at night Late about the Hour
Gent and Maria Diens and a 3rd Person. Gave
-(the sum here indicated is not intelligible)
behav'd Rudely told me that my Gown ought
to be stript of my Back.
Sep. 1. -John Bell of the Pa of Waltham-
stow--and Ba: & Sarah Smith of Shad-well
St Pauls wid. Mrs. Horskins's 4 clock morn.
Jno Floud.

We will now call the reader's attention to
the practice of antedating the registers
a practice to which many of the Fleet par-
sons and marriage-house keepers were al-

[blocks in formation]

J. Lilly at ye Hand and Pen, next door to the china shop, Fleet Bridge, London, will be perform'd the solemnization of marriages by a gentleman regularly bred att one of our universities, and lawfully ordain'd according to the institutions of the Church of England, and is ready to wait on any person in town or countrey.

Lilly was evidently an exceedingly sharp man of business, and even our astute parsons themselves had some difficulty in keep ing pace with him. They often allude to his rogueries in his private memoranda. Mr. Walter Wyatt, for instance, makes the following note respecting him :- "These are to certify that J. L. is a rouge (sic)." No doubt Mr. Lilly entertained a precisely similar opinion of Mr. Wyatt and he might justly do so.

But to proceed with our instances of antedating:

1729. June. George Mattocks of Giles Cripplegate Br and Catherine Smith of St George Southwark widw. N.B. George had liv'd some years Prior to the Marriage, & had several children, & had things done by Jos. accordingly.

That is, "Jos" (Joshua Lilly) dated the marriage entry "some years" back.

[merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small]

1729

June

25

Wm Knight of the Parish of Hampstead Gardner and Batchelor & Joanna Woodward of ye Pa of Wildson Spinister pr Jno Floud. The said Wm Knight on the other side — (the latter part of the entry is on a second leaf) -- [had?] his Certificate Dated 24th Blank Left unfill'd up for the month and year none to search but himself.

We understand by this that Mr. William ment so accurately calculate the exigencies Knight could not upon the spur of the moof his private position as to be able at once to state the period to which he wished his marriage ascribed. He accordingly took away his certificate unfinished, in order that he might put two and two together at leisure, and then fill in such a date as would suit his circumstances.

The clearly-proved unscrupulous misdating of the registers by the parsons, the strong probability that many of the entries which they made were entire fabrications, and the total absence of signatures, either of the parties married or of the witnesses who might have been present at the weddings, have constituted the main reason for the rejection of Fleet registers as evidence, to which we have already adverted. It will at once be perceived that such irregularities fully justified such a rejection; and the reader will not wonder that the commissioners of 1837, having fully examined the records, objected to their being placed upon a footing different from that on which they had previously stood. We may state that in some pedigree cases the registers have, under a kind of protest, been received by certain judges as declarations, and as collateral evidence they have not been regarded as without value. But at all times they have been held to be extremely doubtful, and any opinion in their favour has been enunciated with the greatest caution.

It is not to be wondered at that many persons married at the Fleet, in a short time

became anxious to free themselves from the bonds which they had incurred. Under these circumstances they seem to have held that all they had to do to ensure entire liberty was to procure an erasure of their names from the register books. Applications with this object were therefore often made to the parsons, who, upon the usual condition, were found willing to entertain them. From some memoranda we learn that moneys were occasionally paid for the promise of erasures, and that the erasures were never made. An entry illustrative of this species of fraud, will be found amongst our subsequent extracts.

We have selected for quotation from the pocket-books the following notes, which will be entertaining in various ways. It will be seen that the persons frequently comment upon the "vile behaviour" of the persons married. One would imagine that the "behaviour" must have been very "vile " indeed to call forth the observations of a Fleet clergyman; there is abundant evidence, indeed, that it was so. On some occasions the bridegrooms and their friends exhibited the most outrageous violence, with the object of intimidating the parsons into marrying them cheaply; and it hap pened not unfrequently that the reverend gentlemen were glad to hurry the marriage ceremony to a conclusion on almost any terms, that they might escape from the ruffianly gang which composed the bridal party.

John and Elizabeth August 30th 1737. at Mr Sandy's the Fleet. He said he belonged to

the sea and had his own hair.

name was Edward But would not tell who he was only yt he came from Spitalfield. The young woman sd her Name was Ann More of ye same Parish.

8 Oct: 1741. Robt Mary at Newmarket married. Poold of his coat because it

was Black, said he would not be married in that coat for yt Reason pd 28 6.

1742-3 Jany 16. John Whitham of Hutton it Essex Husb. Br & Mary Westaby Do. Sp. N.B. Vile Behav'd the fellow would not say with this ring I thee wed &c. Parish affair. Bull Garter.

The Bull and Garter" was a noted tavern in the Fleet. The signs of some other taverns often alluded to in the registers were "The Two Fighting Cocks and Walnut Tree," ""The Green Canister," "The Noah's Ark," "Jock's Last Shift," "The Shepherd and Goat," "The Leg," &c.

1742 Novmbr 21 Richard Akerman Turner of Christ Church Batr & Lydia Collit at Mrs. Crooks. NB. They Bevav'd very Vilely, & attempted to run away with Mrs Crooks gold ring.

Mrs. Crook was the proprietor of the marriage-house, and lent her ring, it seems, for the purposes of the marriage ceremony.

8th Novbr. 1745. Timothy Floyd. Elis Love as under. She a most vile wicked abusive wooman, No: 274. Ash K & all to pay 38: 6. Clerk and Registr 4: 8 part copy.

The subjoined extract shows that the Fleet marriages were not always contracted by young and impulsive persons. The wedding recorded took place at Mr. Lilly's "Hand and Pen," and was solemnized by Mr. Ashwell whom we have before mentioned.

1746. Jan. 9. Jno Servt of St Marylebone wr & Ann Page ww He 82 years she 77 both fresh and in perfect senses. Ash.

Decembr 12th 1739. About ye Hour of 10 in ye Evening there came 2 men and One woman to Mr Burnfords The man yt was married appear'd by Dress as a Gentleman of fortune and ye woman yt was married like a Lady of Quality, ye Man yt came with em seemed to me to be a Tayler who sd he knew Mr B--d very well & me likewise. The Gentlman would not pay but in a mean and scandalous manner, he offerd d. & and went Down stairs and Down ye Court came back Again & pd g. in all and went away reader that the Fleet parsons, although the It may be well in this place to remind the without telling of their names. N.B. He sd he had 2 Xn Names viz: John Skinner & ye Gen- majority of them were regularly ordained tlewoman sd her name was Elizabeth. N.B. clergymen, had yet their counterfeits and Ye Gentlewoman when married had on a flour-personators who were no clergymen at all. ed Silk Round Gown & after she was married If we were left to judge of the matter from she pulls of her flowr'd Gown & underneath She had a Large full Black Silk gown on & went away in ye same. Ye other was wrapt up. B--d Absent.

1741. May ye 12th 1741. A certain man with a spott in one eye a Sinament coat And a young woman with a Pritty Genteel face & Appearance came to Mrs. Crooks and were Married she had on a Linnen Gown the Man sd his

the references to it in the journals of the day alone, we should almost come to the conclusion that these impostors were as numerous as the actual priests if not more so; for the journalists constantly mention the Fleet parson as a mock parson altogether. But other evidence leads us to a different conclusion. There is, however, no doubt

« PreviousContinue »