Kitabı oku: «The Fleet. Its Rivers, Prison, and Marriages», sayfa 16
CHAPTER XXIX
KEITH'S written description of a Fleet Marriage is graphic, but a contemporary engraving brings it even more vividly before us. This was published Oct. 20, 1747, and gives an excellent view of the Fleet Market as it then was. It is called "A Fleet Wedding, Between a brisk young Sailor, and his Landlady's Daughter at Rederiff."
"Scarce had the Coach discharg'd it's trusty Fare,
But gaping Crouds surround th' amorous Pair;
The busy Plyers make a mighty Stir!
And whisp'ring cry, d'ye want the Parson, Sir?
Pray step this way – just to the Pen in Hand
The Doctor's ready there at your Command:
This way (another cries) Sir, I declare
The true and ancient Register is Here.
Th' alarmed Parsons quickly hear the Din!
And haste with soothing words t'invite them in:
In this Confusion jostled to and fro,
Th' inamour'd Couple knows not where to go:
Till slow advancing from the Coache's Side
Th' experienc'd Matron came (an artful Guide)
She led the way without regarding either,
And the first parson spliced 'em both together."
The Context to this is a companion Engraving of "The Sailor's Fleet Wedding Entertainment," which most aptly illustrates Keith's description, but the poetry attached to it will scarcely bear modern reproduction.
But, if a poetical account of a Fleet Wedding is needed, it may be found in "The Bunter's Wedding."
"Good people attend, I'll discover,
A Wedding that happen'd of late,
I cannot tell why we should smother,
The weddings of poor more than great;
'Twixt Ben of the Borough so pretty,
Who carries a basket, 'tis said,
And dainty plump Kent street fair Kitty,
A Coney Wool Cutter by trade.
The guests were all quickly invited,
Ben order'd the dinner by noon,
And Kitty was highly delighted,
They obey'd the glad summons so soon:
An ox cheek was order'd for dinner,
With plenty of porter and gin,
Ben swore on the oath of a sinner,
Nothing should be wanting in him.
Joe the sandman, and Bessy the bunter,
We hear from St. Giles's did prance,
Dick the fiddler, and Sally the Mumper,
Brought Levi the Jew for to dance.
Tom the Chanter he quickly was present,
And squinting black Molly likewise,
With Billy the Dustman quite pleasant,
And Nell with no nose and sore eyes.
Ned the drover was also invited,
Unto this gay wedding to come,
From Smithfield he came quite delighted,
Before that the market was done.
And Fanny the pretty match maker,
A sister to young bunting Bess,
She wished the devil might take her
If she was not one of the guests.
Dolly the rag woman's daughter,
From Tyburn road she did stride,
And Jenny the quilter came after
Whose nose it stood all of one side;
There was Roger the chimney sweeper,
No soot he would gather that day,
But, because he would look the compleater,
His soot bag and brush threw away.
There was bandy leg'd sheep's head Susan
We hear from Field Lane she did hie,
And draggle tail'd Pat with no shoes on,
Who pins and laces doth cry;
Ralph the grinder he set by his barrow,
As soon as he heard of the news,
And swore he would be there to-morrow,
Atho' he'd no heels to his shoes.
Sam the grubber, he having had warning,
His wallet and broom down did lay,
And early attended next morning,
The bride for to give away;
And Peggy the mop yarn spinner,
Her Cards and her wheel set aside,
And swore as she was a sinner,
She'd go and attire the bride.
Nan the tub woman out of Whitechapel,
Was also invited to go,
And, as she was 'kin to the couple,
She swore she the stocking would throw;
So having all gather'd together,
As they appointed to meet,
And being all birds of a feather,
They presently flocked to the Fleet.
But when at Fleet Bridge they arrived,
The bridegroom was handing his bride,
The sailors [? plyers] they all to them drived,
Do you want a Parson? they cry'd;
But as they down Fleet Ditch did prance,
What house shall we go to? says Ben,
Then Kitty, in raptures, made answer
Let's go to the Hand and the Pen.
Then into the house they did bundle,
The landlady shew'd them a room,
The landlord he roar'd out like thunder,
The parson shall wait on you soon:
Then so eager he came for to fasten,
He staid not to fasten his hose,
A fat bellied ruddy fac'd parson,
That brandy had painted his nose.
But before (he) the couple did fasten
He look'd all around on the men,
My fee's half a crown, says the parson, —
I freely will give it, says Ben:
Then Hymen he presently follow'd
And the happy knot being ty'd
The guests they whooped and hollow'd,
All joys to the bridegroom and bride.
Like Malt horses home they all pranced,
The bride she look'd not like the same,
And thus thro' the City they danced;
But, when to the Borough they came,
The bride to look buxom endeavour'd,
The bridegroom as brisk as an eel;
With the marrow bones and cleavers,
The butchers they rang them a peal.
And, as they were homewards advancing,
A-dancing, and singing of songs,
The rough music met them all prancing,
With frying pans, shovels, and tongs:
Tin Canisters, salt boxes plenty,
With trotter bones beat by the boys,
And they being hollow and empty,
They made a most racketting noise.
Bowls, gridirons, platters, and ladles,
And pokers, tin kettles did bruise,
The noise, none to bear it was able,
The warming pans beat with old shoes:
Such a rattling racketting uproar,
Had you but have heard it, no doubt,
All hell was broke loose you'd have swore,
And the devils were running about.
The Mob they all hollow'd and shouted,
In the streets as they passed along,
The people to see how they scouted,
Together in clusters did throng;
They made all the noise they was able,
And thus they were ushered in,
But e'er they all sat down to table,
They each had a glass of old gin.
Dinner being decently ended,
The table was cleared with speed,
And they to be merry intended,
So strait did to dancing proceed;
But Harry the night man so jolly,
With madness he almost cry'd,
And all the night sat melancholy,
For he had a mind for the bride."
There are four more verses, but they are not worth transcribing – besides, there is a very good prose account of the doings at the Fleet, which, certainly, bears the impress of truth. It is in No. 270 of the Grub Street Journal, Feb. 27, 1735: —
"Sir, There is a very great evil in this town, and of dangerous consequence to our sex, that has never been suppressed, to the great prejudice, and ruin, of many hundreds of young people, every year; which I beg some of your learned heads to consider of, and consult of proper ways and means to prevent for the future: I mean the ruinous marriages that are practised in the liberty of the Fleet, and thereabouts, by a sett of drunken, swearing parsons, with their Myrmidons that wear black coats, and pretend to be clerks, and registers to the Fleet. These ministers of wickedness ply about Ludgate Hill, pulling and forcing people to some pedling alehouse, or brandy shop, to be married, even on a sunday, stopping them as they go to church, and almost tearing their cloaths off their backs. To confirm the truth of these facts, I will give you a case or two, which lately happened: —
"Since midsummer last, a young lady of birth and fortune, was deluded and forced from her friends, by the assistance of a very wicked, swearing parson, married to an atheistical wretch, whose life is a continual practice of all manner of vice and debauchery. And, since the ruin of my relation, another lady of my acquaintance had like to have been trapanned in the following manner: —
"This lady had appointed to meet a gentlewoman at the Old Play-house in Drury Lane; but extraordinary business prevented her coming. Being alone, when the play was done, she bade a boy call a coach for the City. One drest like a gentleman helps her into it, and jumps in after her. 'Madam,' says he, 'this coach was called for me: and since the weather is so bad, and there is no other, I beg leave to bear you company; I am going into the City, and will set you down wherever you please.' The lady begged to be excused; but he bade the coachman drive on. Being come to Ludgate hill, he told her his sister, who waited his coming, but five doors up the Court, would go with her in two minutes. He went, and returned with his pretended sister, who asked her to step in one minute, and she would wait upon her in the coach.
"Deluded with the assurance of having his sister's company, the poor lady foolishly followed her into the house, when, instantly, the sister vanish'd; and a tawny fellow in a black coat and black wig appeared. 'Madam, you are come in good time, the doctor was just a going.' 'The doctor,' says she, horribly frighted, fearing it was a madhouse; 'What has the doctor to do with me?' 'To marry you to that gentleman: the doctor has waited for you these three hours, and will be payed by you or the gentleman before you go.' 'That gentleman,' says she, recovering herself, 'is worthy a better fortune than mine.' And begged hard to be gone. But doctor Wryneck swore she shou'd be married; or, if she wou'd not, he would still have his fee, and register the marriage from that night. The lady, finding she could not escape without money or a pledge, told them she liked the gentleman so well, she would certainly meet him to-morrow night, and gave them a ring as a pledge: which, says she, 'was my mother's gift on her deathbed, injoining that if ever I married, it should be my wedding ring.' By which cunning contrivance, she was delivered from the black doctor, and his tawny crew.
"Some time after this, I went with this lady, and her brother, in a coach to Ludgate Hill, in the day time, to see the manner of their picking up people to be married. As soon as our coach stopt near Fleet Bridge, up comes on of the Myrmidons. 'Madam,' says he, 'you want a parson.' 'Who are you?' says I. 'I am the clerk and register of the Fleet.' 'Show me the Chapel.' At which comes a second, desiring me to go along with him. Says he, 'That fellow will carry you to a pedling alehouse. Says a third, 'Go with me, he will carry you to a brandy shop.' In the interim, comes the doctor. 'Madam,' says he, 'I'll do your jobb for you presently.' 'Well, gentlemen,' says I, 'since you can't agree, and I can't be married quietly, I'll put it off 'till another time,' so drove away."
Some of the stories of Fleet Marriages read like romances, yet they are all taken from contemporary accounts. Here, for instance, is a fact, scarcely to be believed nowadays: – "Jan. 5, 1742. On Tuesday last two Persons, one of Skinner Street, and the other of Webb's Square, Spittle Fields, exchang'd Wives, to whom they had been married upwards of twelve Years; and the same Day, to the Content of all Parties, the Marriages were consummated at the Fleet. Each Husband gave his Wife away to the other, and in the Evening had an Entertainment together."
Or this from the Whitehall Evening Post, July 24, 1739: – "On Tuesday last a Woman indifferently well dress'd came to the sign of the Bull and Garter, next Door to the Fleet Prison, and was there married to a Soldier; in the afternoon she came again, and would have been married to a Butcher, but that Parson who had married her in the Morning refused to marry her again, which put her to the Trouble of going a few Doors further, to another Parson, who had no Scruple."
Here is another story indicative of the Manners and Morals of those days: – Oct. 1739. "Last Week, a merry Widow, near Bethnal Green, having a pretty many Admirers, not to be over Cruel, she equally dispensed her Favours between two, who were the highest in her Esteem. The one, a Butcher, meeting the good Woman, took the Advantage of the others Absence, and pleaded his Cause so successfully, that they tuck'd up their Tails, trudg'd to the Fleet, and were tack'd together. Home they both jogg'd to their several habitations, the Bridegroom to his, and the Bride to her's. Soon after came another of her Admirers, an honest Weaver, who, upon hearing of the Melancholy News, had no more Life in him for some time than one of the Beams of his Loom; but, recovering himself a little from the Surprize he was seized with a sudden Delirium, swore his Loom should be his Gibbet, and he'd hang himself pendant at the End of his Garter, if he also was not tack'd to his comfortable Rib: The good Widow, considering that the Butcher had not bedded with her, and desirous of preventing Murder, consented, and away she jogg'd to be coupled to the Weaver. On their return home, to Bed they went, and the Butcher coming to see his dear Spouse, found her in Bed with the Weaver; upon which a Quarrel ensued, and the Butcher being the best Man, she left the Weaver and went to the Butcher, being willing to please them both, as well as she could."
CHAPTER XXX
THERE are several instances of Committal to the Fleet for meddling with Marriages. One or two will suffice: – 1731. "Thursday, the Master of the Rolls committed a Clergyman to the Fleet for marrying a young Gentleman about 17 years of Age at Eaton School, and intitled to an Estate of £1500 per Annum, to a Servant Maid: and at the same time committed the person who gave her in Marriage. His Honour had some days since sent as Prisoner to the Fleet, the Person who pretended to be the Youth's Guardian, and who had given a Bond to indemnify the Parson."
1735. "Two Sisters were committed to the Fleet prison, by an order of the high Court of Chancery, for drawing a young fellow into marriage, he being a ward of the said Court."
Dec. 28, 1734. "Last Saturday Night Mr. D – late Valet de Chambre to a certain Noble Lord near Soho Square, went away, as was suspected, with his Lordship's Niece, a young Lady not yet of Age, and a Coheiress to a very large Estate. It seems they took a Hackney Coach soon after they got out of Doors, and upon strict Enquiry, the Coachman was found out, who declared that he took a Gentleman and a Lady up at such a Place, and set them down at the Fleet, and by the Description he gave it appeared to be the two Lovers, who may therefore be supposed to have been married and bedded that Night. A Warrant was immediately obtained for apprehending the Supposed Bridegroom, and he was accordingly taken in Bed with his Lady, at a house in Queen Street near Guildhall, on Wednesday Morning last, and immediately carried to Poultry Compter, and the Lady was carried off by her Friends. In the Afternoon he was examined, and afterwards re-committed to the same Prison. So that it seems he is to suffer for endeavouring to get himself a Rich Wife, which is a Practice followed by all the young Gentlemen of Quality in England; but the Difference is, That this young fellow has married, or endeavoured to marry an Heiress without the Consent of her Friends, whereas the other generally marry or endeavour to marry Heiresses without their own Consent. It has since been found out that they were married by a Roman Catholic Priest."
There was a faint-hearted protest on the part of the Fleet authorities, against the Marriages, but I can find no attempt at prosecution, other than for marrying without a stamped licence, in spite of the following advertisement: —
"September, 1743. Whereas the Methods hitherto taken to prevent clandestine Marriages at the Fleet have prov'd ineffectual, though legal Notice hath been given by the Warden of the Fleet to such of his Tenants in whose houses it is reputed such Marriages have been suffer'd, to quit the Possession thereof; therefore, and as such Warning cannot immediately have the desir'd Effect, this Publick Notice is given, that, whoever shall make it appear to the Warden's Satisfaction that any of his Prisoners, shall at any time hereafter clandestinely marry, or be, in any manner however, concern'd in any clandestine Marriage, or suffer such Marriages to be performed in his, hers, or their Houses, or Lodgings, such Person or Persons making such Discovery, shall receive a Guinea Reward from the Turnkey of the said Prison.
"William Manning, Turnkey."
There were several people of fortune married by Fleet parsons vide Grub Street Journal, September 18, 1735, "Married yesterday Will Adams, Esqr., to Miss Eleanor Watkins, a beautiful young lady, with a fortune of £15,000." And in the Gentleman's Magazine, May 6, 1735, "Married the Lord Robert Montagu, to Mrs. Harriet Dunch of Whitehall, with a fortune of £15,000."
Somewhat of a curiosity is recorded in "Notes and Queries," 4 series, vol. xii. p. 295. "I have before me an engraved medal, bearing the following inscription, about which I should be glad of information. 'May ye 3, 1761. Thos. Wisely Maried Sarah Boswell in the Fleet Prison.'" This, in all probability, was a half-crown with one side made smooth, and the above engraved upon it.
There is no doubt but that, with a duly stamped licence and until they were specially done away with by Lord Hardwicke's Act of 1753, these marriages were legal; still there is an instance recorded in the General Evening Post, June 27/29, 1745, in which a Fleet marriage was ruled to be illegal. "Yesterday came on a cause at Doctor's Commons, wherein the plaintiff brought his action against the defendant for pretending to be his wife. She, in her justification, pleaded a marriage at the Fleet the 6th of February, 1737, and produced a Fleet Certificate, which was not allowed as evidence. She likewise offered to produce the minister she pretended married them, but he being excommunicate for clandestine marriages, could not be received as a witness. The Court thereupon pronounced against the marriage, and condemned her in £28, the costs of the suit."
The Registers in which these marriages were entered have mostly had an eventful and chequered career. Many have, doubtless, disappeared for ever, and it is extremely probable that some are in private hands, one being in the Bodleian Library. They were to be bought by any one interested in them, and the present collection cannot be considered as being at all perfect. We learn the adventures of some of them through the evidence of a Mrs. Olive, who produced one at a trial at Shrewsbury in 1794. This woman was originally a servant to Joshua Lilly, and used to "ply" or tout for him, and at his death married one Owens, who succeeded to one of Lilly's marriage houses, and who, probably, bought his Registers from his representatives. At this Trial she said: "My first husband was Thos. Owens. I had the Register Books of Fleet Marriages in my possession from my Marriage in 1761 till I went to America eleven years ago. I then sold them to Mr. Panton. My husband Owens died about 1773. My husband made a will. I had the possession of the books myself, as my husband had other business. I heard my husband say he purchased these books. He had a Marriage House in Fleet Lane. I used the books to grant certificates upon parish affairs."
After her Marriage with Olive she still made use of these Registers, for we read in an Advertisement that "All the original Register Books containing the marriages solemnized at the Fleet, May Fair, and the Mint, for upwards of one hundred years past, may be searched by applying to George Olive, at the Wheat Sheaf, in Nicholls Square, near Cripplegate. The great utility of these Collections prevents any encomiums."
About 1783 a Mr. Benjamin Panton bought of Mrs. Olive some five or six hundred of these books, weighing more than a ton, and used to produce them occasionally on trials at law, and they were always accepted as evidence.
At his death in 1805 he left these to his daughter, who still utilised them as her father had done, as a handbill shows. "All the original Register Books of the Marriages in the Fleet, May Fair, and Mint, are now in the possession of M. Panton (Register Keeper), No. 50, Houndsditch, by whom they are examined, and Certificates of Marriages granted."
In 1813 she sold them to a Mr. William Cox, who, in 1821, sold them to the Government for £260 6s. 6d., and the following letter shows us what became of them.
"Whitehall, April 25, 1821.
"Sir, – It having been judged expedient to purchase a set of books containing the original Entries of Marriages solemnized in the Fleet Prison, and Rules thereof, from the year 1686 to the year 1754. I have been honoured with his Majesty's commands to desire that you will receive the said books from Mr. Maule the Solicitor to the Treasury, and give him a receipt for the same, and deposit them in the Registry of the Consistory Court of London.
"I have the honour to be, Sir,"Your most obedient humble Servant,"Sidmouth.
"The Registrar of the Consistory Court of London, or his Deputy."
Here they remained until the abolition of the Court in 1840, by Act of Parliament, 3 and 4 Vic. cap. 92, when they were declared inadmissible as evidence in law. Sec. 6 says, "And be it enacted That all Registers and Records deposited in the General Register Office by virtue of this Act, except the Registers and Records of Baptisms and Marriages at The Fleet, and King's Bench Prisons, at May Fair, at the Mint in Southwark, and elsewhere, which were deposited in the Registry of the Bishop of London in the Year One Thousand Eight Hundred and Twenty One, as hereinafter mentioned, shall be deemed to be in legal Custody, and shall be receivable in Evidence in all Courts of Justice, subject to the Provisions hereinafter contained."
And Section 20 provides thus, "And be it enacted, That the several Registers and Records of Baptisms and Marriages performed at the Fleet" (&c., &c., as in Section 6) "shall be transferred from the said Registry to the Custody of the Registrar-General, who is hereby directed to receive the same for safe custody." And it recapitulates that they shall not be received as evidence at law.
They are kept at Somerset House, where they can be examined for a small fee. A great number of them are memorandum books, and Burn, when he examined them at Doctors Commons, in 1833, did not much like his job. "It is to be wished that they were better arranged and indexed. There are several very large indexes, which only requires a little time and attention to ascertain to what Registers they refer. The Pocket books also, might be bound together, and preserved from dust and dirt; and if Government would give about £300 these objects might be attained. It was a labour of many months to go through so many hundreds of dusty, dirty, and sometimes ragged books."
The entries in the pocket-books are quainter than those in the registries, as they are the first impressions, and the others are polished up. We find from them that it was not infrequent to antedate the Registers, and Lilley did so on one occasion, "there being a vacancy in the Book suitable to the time." And, again, "These wicked people came this day, Peter Oliver, of St. Olave's, carpenter, and Elizabeth Overton, would have a certificate dated in 1729, or would not be married if it was not to be dated to this time – went to Lilley's and was married."
Perhaps the most extraordinary entries in these books are those of two women going through the ceremony of marriage with each other —
"20 May, 1737. Jno Smith, Gent. of St James Westr Batchr & Eliz. Huthall of St Giles's Spr at Wilsons. By ye opinion after Matrimony, my Clark judg'd they were both women, if ye person by name John Smith be a man, he's a little short fair thin man, not above 5 foot. After marriage I almost c'd prove ym both women, the one was dress'd as a man, thin pale face, & wrinkled chin."
"1734 Dec. 15. John Mountford of St Ann's Sohoe, Taylor. B., Mary Cooper. Ditto. Sp. Suspected 2 Women, no Certif."
"1 Oct. 1747. John Ferren, Gent, Ser. of St Andrew's Holborn Br and Deborah Nolan. Do Spn. The supposed John Ferren was discovered after ye Ceremonies were over, to be in person a woman."
There is one entry, "The Woman ran across Ludgate Hill in her shift." In the Daily Journal of November 8, 1725, a woman went to be married in that sole garment, at Ulcomb, in Kent; and in the Parish Register of Chiltern All Saints in October 17, 1714, it says: "The aforesaid Anne Sellwood was married in her Smock, without any clothes or head gier on." This was a vulgar error, but the idea in so acting was that the husband was not liable for any of his wife's pre-nuptial debts.
The candidates for matrimony were occasionally not over-honest, as – "Had a noise for foure hours about the Money." "N.B. Stole a Silver Spoon."" Stole my Cloathes Brush." "N.B. Married at a Barber's Shop next Wilsons viz., one Kerrils for half a Guinea, after which it was extorted out of my pocket, and for fear of my life delivered." "They behaved very vilely, and attempted to run away with Mrs Crooks Gold Ring."
But then, again, these Fleet parsons had customers of a higher grade, as "Dec. 1, 1716. Dan Paul, St James's, Captn in ye Horse Guards."
"March ye 4th 1740. William – and Sarah – he dress'd in a gold waistcoat like an Officer, she a Beautifull young Lady with 2 fine diamond Rings, and a Black high Crown Hat and very well dressed. "
"Nov. ye 24, 1733 att ye Baptized hed Tavern to go to Mr Gibbs for to marry him in ye countrey – Wife worth £18,000."
"Septr5, 1744 Andrew Mills, Gent. of the Temple, & Charlotte Gail lairdy of St Mildred, Poultry at Mr Boyce's, King's head. N.B. One gentleman came first in a merry manner to make a bargain wth the Minister for the marriage, and immediately came the parties themselves, disguising their dress by contrivances, particularly buttning up the coat, because the rich wastecoat should not be seen, &c."
The Church of England Marriage Service was generally used, but, in one instance, as shown by a pocket-book, it was somewhat modified, as when the ring is given the Trinity is not mentioned, but the words are altered to "from this time forth for evermore. Amen;" and when the couple promise to hold together "according to God's holy ordinance," it was rendered "according to law." There seems to have been but one example of the officiating Clergyman administering the Sacrament at a Marriage, and that was done by the Rev. W. Dan, who describes himself as "priest of the Church of England." >"October 2nd 1743 John Figg, of St John's the Evangs Gent. a Widower, and Rebecca Woodward, of Ditto, Spinster, at ye same time gave her ye Sacrament."
The Scandal of Fleet Marriages remained unchecked until 1753, when the Lord Chancellor brought forward and passed "An Act for the better preventing of clandestine marriages" – 26 Geo. III. cap. 33 – which, in its different sections, provides that the Banns of Matrimony are to be published according to the rubric, &c., the marriage to be solemnized in one of the churches where the banns had been published. Marriage by licence could only take place in the church or chapel of such parish, &c., where one of the parties should have resided for four weeks previously.
This was the death-blow to the Fleet Marriages, as any contravention of the law was made punishable by transportation "to some of his Majesty's plantations in America for the space of fourteen years, according to the laws in force for the transportation of felons."
The Act came into force on March 26, 1754, but people took advantage of the Fleet Marriages until the last moment, and that in great numbers, for in one Register alone there is a list of 217 weddings celebrated on the 25th of March!
The last Fleet Wedding is recorded in the Times of July 10, 1840: "Mr. John Mossington, aged 76, and a Prisoner in the Fleet, more than 15 years, was, on Wednesday, married to Miss Anne Weatherhead, aged 62, at St. Bride's Church. The Lady had travelled 36 Miles to meet her bridegroom, who is, without exception, one of the most extraordinary men in this County. He takes his morning walks round the Fleet prison yard, which he repeats three or four times a day, with as much rapidity as a young man could do of the age of 20. The Road from Farringdon Street to the Church, was lined with Spectators who knew of the event, and the Church was equally filled to hear the Ceremony performed. The Courtship first commenced 41 years ago, and Mr. Mossington has now fulfilled his promise."
