Solemnising of Marriage before 12 o’clock

[mightymads]

“It was twenty-five minutes to twelve, and of course it was clear enough what was in the wind...
“‘Come, man, come, only three minutes, or it won't be legal.” (SCAN)

This detail was perplexing to me for a long time. Why was it so important for Irene Adler and Godfrey Norton to marry before twelve o’clock? Reading The Victorian House by Judith Flanders, I stumbled upon the answer:

After 1886, weddings could be performed in the afternoon. Until then, twelve o’clock was the latest a marriage service could be performed...

This prompted more research, and here are the results:

Statute 26 by George II, Chapter 33 (1754, An Act for the better Preventing of Clandestine Marriages) first imposed the necessity of licenses and banns, forbade any marriage to be celebrated after twelve o’clock in the day...
—The Monthly Law Magazine and Political Review, Volume 2 (1838)

banns
pl.n.
An announcement, especially in a church, of an intended marriage.
[Middle English banes, pl. of ban, proclamation, from Old English gebann and from Old French ban]

Most English marriages ordinarily take place between 11 and 12 in the forenoon, those of aristocracy at half past one, although since 1886 they may take place up to three o’clock in the afternoon. Before 1886, no English marriage was valid unless completed before 12 o’clock noon.
—The Little Londoner. A concise account of the life and ways of the English, with special reference to London, by R. Kron (1911)

Prior to 1886 the permitted hours during which marriages might be solemnized were between eight o'clock and twelve o'clock... When the Bill of 1886 [The Marriages Act 1886] was introduced it was originally proposed that the permitted hours should be extended from twelve o'clock to four o'clock in the afternoon. Subsequently, however, when the Bill was passing through Committee, it was considered better that the time during which marriages might take place should be limited more or less to daylight hours, and therefore three o'clock was substituted for four o'clock.
—MARRIAGE (EXTENSION OF HOURS) BILL. (1934)

But Watson dates SCAN as 1888, so clearly Irene and Godfrey wouldn’t have had this problem then? So it means that the events of SCAN actually took place before 1886? Perhaps it was one of Holmes’s earlier cases which became his major breakthrough along with helping the royal family of Holland. After that he received the status of elite, and it ensured the flow of wealthy, upperclass clients.

Comments

[senmut]

This is a detail I had never come across and it is so interesting.

[mightymads]

I had been wondering but stumbled upon accidentally.

[smallhobbit]

We all know how good Watson was at smudging dates when he wanted to ...

Banns are still read in church, although they no longer serve much of a purpose. Originally it made sense to announce the forthcoming marriage and say 'if anyone knows any just cause or lawful impediment' when everyone knew everyone else, but now no-one would know.

Interestingly, although banns have to be read three times in the three months before a wedding they don't have to be read on consecutive Sundays except on ship.

Irene Adler and Godfrey Norton would have got married under a special licence, rather than by having the banns read.

[mightymads]

Can you tell more about marriage under a special license? It was mentioned in COPP and maybe somewhere else, and I’ve been wondering about it too.

[trobadora]

This is fascinating - thank you for the research and the write-up!

[mightymads]

Glad to be of help!

[sanguinity]

Thank you for this! I had always assumed there was some date-based deadline they had to meet (that for some reason was being measured from noon), but that only raised more questions.

[mightymads]

It's fascinating to discover such period details! One of the appeals of the Holmes fandom :)

[rachelindeed]

Oh, how interesting! I had no idea about that law, or that there were class connotations attached to the timing of the ceremony.

As for the date of their marriage, I think it makes perfect sense for it to be before 1886. Watson says that he uses discretion in his selection of cases, and I've always assumed that means that he habitually changes the dates and the names of the clients so that the real people whose lives were affected can't be too easily found by Watson's readers. It makes sense to me that the Adler case came early in Holmes's career and adjusted his views on women in ways that continue to be apparent through many of his later cases.

[mightymads]

This is why it's quite easy for me to imagine that Watson just made up his marriage (because I ship him with Holmes). If it was an earlier case Holmes had then Watson definitely lived at Baker Street, and didn't just come to visit as it's written in the story.

[orchid314]

Thank you for this post! Do you know of any ACD fics that deal with Holmes’s reaction to Watson becoming engaged, or getting married, to Mary Morstan?

There are so many stories on this topic in the BBC Sherlock fandom but I can’t remember an ACD treatment of it.

[mightymads]

Oh no, I didn't come across such fics yet. There's a similar prompt at the Victorian Holmes kinkmeme, by the way. Maybe someone will be interested to fill it :)