How old were
they when they married?
The average
age for marriage nowadays is 36 years for men and 33 years for women, a
figure which includes first and subsequent marriages. Most couples marry now for the first time between
their 25th and 29th birthday.
We tend to
think that our ancestors married at a younger age than us but how much younger
were they?
Peter
Laslett's study of marriage licences applied for at Canterbury for couples
marrying for the first time between 1619 and 1660 found that the average age for
grooms was 26 years and for brides was 23 years, although when he limited the
marriage licences to those of the gentry he found the age dropped to 24 years
for grooms and 19 years for the brides.
He did find the occasional marriages with particularly young brides
including one 13 year old and four 15 year olds.
I did a
similar study of marriage licences issued at the Archdeaconry of Lewes between
1772 and 1837 (based on 250 marriage licences), and found that the average age
for marriages at this time was 25 years for men and 23 years for women.
There are some limitations to using marriage
licences to determine the average age for marriage. Marrying by licence was more expensive than marrying
by banns so it tended be the gentry, those who aspired to better status and
those who needed to marry quickly who used marriage licences. The wording on the marriage licence says "aged
x years and upwards" we are only
given their youngest possible age and given the increasing number of couples
who married in the 1830s where both were 21 years and upwards it is unlikely
that they were all 21 years old when they married.
George
Battcock and Mary Patterson Paine married on the 25th March 1813 in
Brighton and according to their licence both were 21 years old and upwards. George was baptised in Storrington on the 19th October 1784 so he was actually 29 years old when he married Mary whilst she
was baptised in Brighton on the 10th May 1787 which meant she was 26
years old.
Richard
Bannister married Ann Roots on the 2nd April 1778 in Framfield and
again their marriage licence gives both their ages as 21 years and upwards.
Based on their age when they died they were born in 1739 and 1745 so they were
actually 39 years and 33 years old when they married.
It seems
more likely that the age given is more accurate when the couple were younger
than 21 years. Anyone marrying under the
age of 21 years needed parental (or other responsible adult) permission and
their details should be included on the licence. John Avis married Ann Ovenden on the 17th November 1776 in Withyham, according to their marriage licence they were "20 years or
thereabouts" but they were actually about 16 and 15 years old. The minimum age for marriages since 1753 had
been 14 years for men and 12 years for women but it was unusual for couples to
marry that young. John and Ann's
daughter was baptised the month after their marriage so it would seem that they
'had' to get married.
William Bean
married Ann Farncomb on the 1st October 1778 in Wivelsfield when they were 19 years
and 28 years old, the marriage licence gave their ages as 19 years (William had
the permission of his father, William) and Ann's as 25 years plus.
The 17th century average age of marriage is 26 years for grooms and 23 for brides whilst
I found the average in the late 18th/early 19th century
to be the same. Looking at specific
examples I found they were generally older than the age given in the marriage
licence which would raise the average age for the latter period. Rather than being much younger when they
married it seems that in most cases couples married at a similar age as we do
today.
Sources
The World we have Lost Further Explored Laslett, Peter Routledge 1983
Sussex
Record Society Volume 25 Marriage Licences at Lewes 1772-1837 A-L
