ABSTRACT
It was by no means unusual for couples considering marriage to arrange for it to be clandestine. This practice was quite common in Chester diocese, especially in the archdeaconry of Richmond, where there were facilities easily available. Such marriages were entered into to avoid the objections of parents, or to conceal the fact that the bride was pregnant, an event that could easily lead to a presentment charge of ante-nuptial fornication, or to avoid the restriction laid down in the Table of Kindred and Affinity in the Prayer Book.
