Jep

[jepmortimer@hot]

Dear All
My mother lived with my father and officially changerd her name to his.
When he obtained a divorce from his wife, my parents married in 1935 in a Register Office. Can anyone tell me how I can obtain copies of the name change document andthe Marriage Licence, please? Jep

[pattenwalsh]

Hi Jep..Names would be a handy place to start with plus any other info regarding dates etc
ie: What was your Mothers name before she decided to take his name
What were your parents names?
How do you know they married in a register ofice in 1935, Have you got a copy of their marriage certificate?
Any litle snippets of info will help to possibly find what you are looking for .

[Pam Downes]

HI Jep,
Welcome to the forum.
I would presume that you didn't 'name names' because some of the people involved are still living. Which is the corrrect procedure. Alternatively, you perhaps feel that to give names would be giving away just that little bit too much of your personal history. Again, a valid reason to not enlarging with the details.
No problem, as we can still give you pointers as to where to look for relevant records.
Pam

[Pam Downes]

Good grief, no prizes for guessing who didn't check her grammar in the previous post. Though at least I had the sense to do some checking before I posted this information....

Firstly, in the UK you can call yourself what name you want as long as it isn't done with intent to defraud.
I think this TNA research guide covers most areas about changing your name. It seems to be a case of 'don't hold your breath' as regards hoping to find any official documentation for your mum changing her name.

Next, the marriage licence. Do you mean the licence which would be a document giving them permission to marry without the calling of banns? Or do you mean the marriage certificate. which is proof that the marriage took place? There's a bit about the history of mariage licences in England and Wales at en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marriage_licence#United_Kingdom. (Put https:// in front of it. It might be classed as a commercial site, and I'm therefore not allowed to give a direct link, like I can with the TNA guide.)

I'm assuming that all this happened in either England or Wales, by the way. If it was in Scotland, Ireland, Isle of Man, or the Channel Islands, then you will have to give us that information as the rules will probably be different.

So, marriage licence, again unlikely to be found. Marriage certificate should be fairly easy, as presumably you know the date of the marriage.
I was going to waffle on about finding the marriage on the GRO Index, but you may already have the marriage certificate, so I'll save the electricity for the moment. If you don't have the certificate, yell, and we can give you instructions on how to find the references you need to order it.
Pam

[jepmortimer@hot]

Dear Pam
Many thanks for your very helpful response.
Yes, I have the marriage certificate. I states that my father was the divorced husband of *** and they were married in the Register Office by Licence, and that is how I knew they were married by licence.
From your link to the TNA it rather looks as though I will not find a Deed Poll, even if there was one, nor the Marriage Licence.
Many thanks for your help
Jep

[jepmortimer@hot]

Dear Pam
Just found the change of Mother's name in the London Gazette. Brilliant
Jep

[Pam Downes]

Dear Pam
Just found the change of Mother's name in the London Gazette. Brilliant
Jep

Wow, that's brilliant.
As you've struck lucky once, it might just be worth contacting the Register Office where your parents married regarding the survival of the marriage licence.
To the best of my knowledge there is only one register office per registration district, and if your certificate is like one I have it says in the top line 'marriage solemnised at the Register Office xyz' and on the next line 'district of xyz' in the county of .....
This is an alphabetical list of the Registration Districts. Select the one you want, then scroll to the bottom of the page and there's a link to where the registers are now held. If there is more than one place listed then I would reckon on the register office weddings being held in the first named office.
If by chance you happen on one of the few offices without an email addy, if you PM me (click on my user name) with the name of office then I will phone them and ask about the survival of licences.
Pam

[Jillychris]

I came across my Grandparents Marriage Licence by going on the A2A site and searching under the local record office.
I didn't know they were married by licence. I photographed the licence it is quite attractive and put it in a book I wrote about their life.
They were married in a church and they gave all uncollected licence's to the Record Office I don't know if it would be the same for a Registry Office.
Regards
Jill

[Kerrywood]

When he obtained a divorce from his wife, my parents married in 1935 in a Register Office.

I don't know if you already have the divorce details, or even if you want them. But if you do, since it was before 1937 you might find that the records are at TNA.

On the TNA catalogue Search page:

In the Word or Phrase box, enter the surname. If it is a common surname you might want to add a first name too, but separate all names with AND (in caps), to allow for any intervening middle names.

You can enter a Year Range if you know it, to narrow down the results (but you can also leave it blank).

In the Department or Series code box enter J 77.

If you get a likely result, you can order copies of the documents from TNA by clicking the blue link in the middle, which takes you to the individual record. Then click Request This (top right) and follow the instructions.

Kerrywood

[pwholt]

For a marriage in a non-conformist church, and I presume at a register office, there are two options - by certificate and by licence. I've seen lots of certificates and they contain the information which ends up on the final official document which is evidence of the marriage. The only bit they don't is the names of the witnesses and the person who performs the ceremony. I was married by licence in a register office but I don't remember seeing the licence. I expect the registrar kept it. It cost more than a certificate and meant the event could take place sooner. PW