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:

( Read more... )

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.