For other marriage-related legislation, see Marriage Act.
United Kingdom legislation
Act of Parliament
Parliament of Great Britain
Long title
An Act for the Better Preventing of Clandestine Marriage.
Citation
26 Geo. 2. c. 33
Dates
Royal assent
7 June 1753
Commencement
25 March 1754
Other legislation
Repealed by
Marriage Act 1823, s. 1
Status: Repealed
Text of statute as originally enacted
The Clandestine Marriages Act 1753, also called the Marriage Act 1753, long title "An Act for the Better Preventing of Clandestine Marriage", popularly known as Lord Hardwicke's Marriage Act (26 Geo. 2. c. 33), was the first statutory legislation in England and Wales to require a formal ceremony of marriage. It came into force on 25 March 1754. The Act contributed to a dispute about the validity of a Scottish marriage,[1] although pressure to address the problem of irregular marriages had been growing for some time.[2]
^Leneman, Leah (Spring 1999). "The Scottish Case That Led to Hardwicke's Marriage Act". Law and History Review. 17 (1). University of Illinois Press: 161–169. doi:10.2307/744190. JSTOR 744190. S2CID 144650291.
^Probert, Rebecca, Marriage Law & Practice in the Long Eighteenth Century: A Reassessment (CUP, 2009) chapter 5
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