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Nov 29, 2009
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Dictionary of Phrase and Fable—F

Fleet Marriages

Clandestine marriages, at one time performed without banns or licence by needy chaplains, in Fleet Prison, London. As many as thirty marriages a day were sometimes celebrated in this disgraceful manner; and Malcolm tells us that 2,954 were registered in the four months ending with February 12th, 1705. Suppressed by the Marriage Act in 1754. (See Chaplain of the Fleet, by Besant and Rice.)

Source: Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, E. Cobham Brewer, 1894
Fleet Street
Fleet Book Evidence
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

More on Fleet Marriages from Infoplease:

  • Fleet Marriages - Fleet Marriages Clandestine marriages, at one time performed without banns or licence by needy ...
  • Fleet Prison - Fleet Prison Fleet Prison, former jail in London, England. Rebuilt after it was destroyed in the ...
  • Dictionary of Phrase and Fable: F - Definitions, origins, and illustrative excerpts for words, phases, and literary allusions starting with "F"
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