Tutorial - Tying the Knot: The Options for Getting Married, 1700-1950 with Rebecca Probert

'Tying the Knot: the options for getting married, 1700-1950'  

In this talk, based on her book Marriage Law for Genealogists, Professor Rebecca Probert explains the laws regulating how couples could get married. Three phases will be explored: the first half of the eighteenth century, when marriages were still governed by the canon law; the Clandestine Marriages Act 1753, which first put marriage law on a statutory footing; and the Marriage Act 1836, which expanded the legal options for getting married and remains the foundation of the current law.   

Rebecca Probert is Professor of Law at the University of Exeter. Her research focuses on the law and history of marriage, bigamy, divorce and cohabitation and she is the author of numerous articles and books, including Marriage Law and Practice in the Long Eighteenth Century: A Reassessment (2009) and The Legal Regulation of Cohabitation: From Fornicators to Family, 1600-2010 (2012) and Tying the Knot: The Formation of Marriage 1836-2020 (2021), all published by Cambridge University Press. She has also published a number of guides for family historians, including Marriage Law for Genealogists (2012) and Divorced, Bigamist, Bereaved? (2015). Her TV appearances include A House Through Time and Who Do You Think You Are?

Our online tutorials provide guidance on a broad range of topics. They are open to everyone.

In order to be able to join the tutorial you will need access to ZOOM. On the day of the Tutorial you will be sent a unique ID and password.

Please allow for two hours for the session, including joining and discussions. The talk will last approximately an hour.

The numbers are limited. If the bookings are full, please contact the registrar@ihgs.ac.uk as new dates will be added.

**Please Note that the tutorials contain copyrighted material and therefore should not be recorded or reproduced in any way.**