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This chapter discusses clandestine marriage: a legally binding marriage, but one conducted in a manner which broke canon law. It was binding since it was conducted by a clergyman, following the ritual prescribed by the Book of Common Prayer. But it could be irregular in a number of ways, the primary cause being that it was done in secret rather than in public. The second section examines the advantages which increased the demand for clandestine marriage, the primary one being secrecy. A key group who catered to such demand was surrogates authorised to issue marriage licenses, explained in the third section. The fourth section looks at the parliamentary legislation between 1666 and 1718, where more than ten bills were introduced in order to stop the clandestine marriage business. The fifth section examines Fleet marriages between 1696 and 1753. The sixth section explores the demands for reform.

This introductory chapter outlines the coverage of this book, which is about the uncertainties and ambiguities surrounding the making of marriage in early modern England. This book provides a series of case studies ranging in date from the Restoration of the authority of the church in 1660 to the passage of the Marriage Act of 1753. The case studies cover a variety of marriage-related issues including verbal marriage contracts, customary concubinage, incestuous marriage, and clandestine marriages.

This chapter presents a case study on valid clandestine marriage in England, focusing on the court case Phillips v. Cresse which was filed in 1738. The cased involved the twenty-year-old wine-cooper apprentice Thomas Phillips and eighteen-year-old Eleanor Cresse who were married secretly by a Fleet parson in 1738. Eleanor gave birth in July 1743 without Thomas present. The Cresses then filed a lawsuit seeking support from Thomas, which they won. In February 1744 Thomas filed a counter suit seeking jactitation of marriage, an order forbidding Eleanor from claiming marriage, which he also won.

This chapter presents a case study on valid clandestine marriage in England, focusing on the court case Beaumont v. Hurnard which was filed in 1712. The case centres on the marriage of Joseph Beaumont to Catherine May. Despite their families' objections, Joseph and Catherine May were married in a clandestine wedding in 1709. After Joseph's death, Catherine married Philip Waldegrave, and later Robert Hurnard. Hurnard filed a suit to recover Catherine's dowery from Joseph's estate. The Beaumonts filed a counter suit in an ecclesiastical court to declare Joseph's marriage to Catherine invalid.

This chapter presents a case study on valid clandestine marriage in England, focusing on the court case Rudd v. Rudd which was filed in 1720. This can involved the sixteen-year-old baronet Sir John Rudd and young servant called Lettice Vaughan. Rudd secretly married Vaughan in her room. By January 1721, the news of the marriage seeped out and Rudd was sent by his family to Holland for his education. When Rudd came of age, his family mounted a deliberate campaign of deception to lure Lettice into a second, bigamous marriage in order to dissolve her first marriage. Lettice then married John Blackman. She later learned that Rudd was still alive when he filed a suit for separation on grounds on her adultery with Blackman.

This chapter presents a case study on valid clandestine marriage in England, focusing on the court case Elmes v. Elmes which was filed in 1706. The case involved poor widower Henry Elmes who took the twenty-year-old Mary Wise as his mistress in 1706 and claimed that they were married in May 1706. He said that they were married within the Rules of the Queen's Bench Prison in Southwark. However, in 1708, Elmes claimed that he was never married to Mary and later married a certain Anne Ordway. The secular and ecclesiastical courts had different positions on which marriage the was valid.

This chapter presents a case study on valid clandestine marriage in England, focusing on the court case Osborne v. Osborne which was filed in 1714. The case involved Lady Bridget Osborne, the elder daughter of Peregrine Osborne, and the Osborne's domestic chaplain William Williams. They were secretly married in January 1715. This case gives an extreme example of the twin conflicts generated by the choice of a spouse: a conflict over authority, between patriarchy and individualism; and a conflict over motive, between interest and love.

This chapter presents a case study on valid clandestine marriage in England, focusing on the court case Echard v. Townshend which was filed in 1704. This involved the Reverend John Echard and Fanny and Frances Townshend Frances. Echard had a liking for Frances but the Townshend family had set a trap to force him to marry the unattractive Fanny. This story illustrates how parents sometimes used clandestine marriage to trap an unwary man or woman into an unwanted marriage alliance with their child.

This chapter presents a case study on clandestine marriage conducted in the Fleet Prison in England in April 1691. The marriage was between Moll Hawkins and John Vyse, who was then still no more than eighteen years old and an undergraduate at Cambridge University. In 1713, Mary filed a suit in an ecclesiastical court asking the Fleet parson Reverend John Vyse to provide financial support for their children and requested a separation on grounds of his adultery with Jane Robbins. The court ruled in favour of Mary.

This chapter presents a case study on valid clandestine marriage in England, focusing on the court case Northmore v. Northmore which was filed in 1664. The case involved commoner Edward Northmore and Elizabeth Locke. Northmore married Locke in a clandestine marriage in a private house in October 1664. When Locke became pregnant, she openly proclaimed their marriage. Northmore denied the marriage, and in September 1667 he was installed as vicar or Newton St. Cyres with an income of about eighty to one hundred pounds a year. When Locked learned about Northmore's good fortune, she filed a lawsuit against him and had their marriage declared valid.

This chapter presents a case study on valid clandestine marriage in England, focusing on the court case Griffin v. Griffin which was filed in 1712. The case involved Edward Griffin and Elizabeth Harpur who were married secretly in April 1712 in Fleet Prison. When their fathers learned about the courtship, but not the marriage, Lord Griffin and John Harpur took the news very badly. Because of parental disagreement, Edward ended the relationship with Elizabeth and married Mary Welden in 1713. Just a few months after the marriage, Elizabeth filed a lawsuit designed to prove the validity of his marriage to Edward.

This chapter presents a case study on forced clandestine marriage in England, focusing on the court case Bentley v. Bentley which was decided in 1727. The case involved the twenty-three-year-old Charles Bentley who was the son of a wealthy businessman and the twenty-three-year-old widow Elizabeth Dent who was the daughter of sugar refiner Richard Wilkinson. The two were allegedly married secretly in April 1716. However, Charles later learned than there was no register of their marriage and decided to marry Penelope Tyrrell. Elizabeth filed a lawsuit but failed to prove her alleged marriage to Charles Bentley and the suit was dismissed.

This chapter presents a case study on valid clandestine marriage in England, focusing on the court case Harcourt v. Harcourt which was filed in 1707. The case involved Norfolk country gentleman John Harcourt, Anne Jermy, and Frances Hunt. In March 1708, Harcourt allegedly married Hunt in a clandestine wedding. After about five or six weeks in the alleged marriage, Harcourt left Hunt to return to his old flame Anne Jermy. When Hunt learned about this, she filed a bigamy suit but she lost the case for failing to establish proof of a legal marriage.

This chapter presents a case study on forced clandestine marriage in England, focusing on the court case Mordaunt v. Mordaunt which was decided in 1711. The case involved Reverend George Mordaunt and Susan Forbes, the latter who had a reputation for living a lewd and scandalous life. George had a relationship with Susan and later a son, who died shortly after birth. Soon afterwards George abandoned Susan and married the wealthy widow Catherine Dormer. Susan filed a lawsuit to get a share of George's fortune but George also filed a counter lawsuit. The litigation lasted from 1707 to 1712 in three different types of courts, including civil, criminal, and ecclesiastical.

This chapter presents a case study on valid clandestine marriage in England, focusing on the court case Morland v. Morland which was filed in 1686. This case involved public official and inventor Samuel Morland and Mary Bartlitt. Bartlitt pretended to be an heiress so that Morland would marry her. Their clandestine marriage was held in Knightsbridge in 1686. When Morland learned the truth, he filed a case to annual the marriage, which he won because of his court connection and royal help.