Professional witnesses?

[Ykskiwi]

Yesterday I was looking through some transcriptions of marriages taken from parish records of the early 1800s. What struck me was how often the same names appeared as witnesses. Sometimes there would be three names, with two of them obviously having a connection to the bride or groom ( same surnames) and the other name was one which appeared on many of the records. Judging by the number of times these names appeared it seemed as though it was a regular occupation. Does anyone know why this was done?

Joan

[Wirral]

The "professional" is usually a local church official, such as a verger, or church clerk. It seems to have been the custom at some churches. What you have found demonstrates the importance of looking at the original church records. If you just have a copy of a marriage certificate, you would not know that the same person is the witness on numerous marriages.

[Ykskiwi]

Thanks Wirral. I must be slow, I never thought about it being a church official.