This electronic thesis or dissertation has been downloaded from Explore Bristol Research, http://research-information.bristol.ac.uk Author: Smith, Heather Title: Women and marriage in the eighteenth century : evidence from the London church courts, 1730-1780. General rights Access to the thesis is subject to the Creative Commons Attribution - NonCommercial-No Derivatives 4.0 International Public License. A copy of this may be found at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/legalcode This license sets out your rights and the restrictions that apply to your access to the thesis so it is important you read this before proceeding. Take down policy Some pages of this thesis may have been removed for copyright restrictions prior to having it been deposited in Explore Bristol Research. 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WOMEN AND MARRIAGE IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY: EVIDENCE FROM THE LONDON CHURCH COURTS, 1730-1780 Heather Smith A dissertationsubmitted to the University of Bristol in accordancewith the requirementsof the degreeof Doctor of Philosophy in the Faculty of Arts May 2000 80,000 words ABSTRACT Women and Marriage In The Eighteenth Century: Evidence From The London Church Courts, 1730-1780 HeatherSmith, Trinity College, Bristol D. Phil, May 2000 This thesis examines the meaning of marriage for women in the eighteenth century by considering what actually constituted `marriage' from both a legal and a social perspective. The thesis argues that evidence from the church court records suggest an overall continuity in social standards and practice in relation to marriage, despite the introduction of the Hardwicke Marriage Act in 1753. Whilst the Act played an important role in redefining the standards by which men and women were legally able to resolve their domestic disputes, it did not have a corresponding impact (at the same time) on social practice. For this reason, this thesis asserts that the standards represented in court after 1753 should only be read as evidence of a specific legal culture of marriage, and problematises the consequenceof interpreting court evidence as an indicator of social change. The thesis draws together the evidence of premarital disputes, adultery, domestic violence and testamentary causesto examine attitudes towards marriage over the course of the eighteenth century. It finds that the first half of the century was characterised by disputes relating to the legal definitions of marriage, but later casesfocused more on personal behaviour. Thus, the Hardwicke Act reformed ecclesiastical authority, but at the same time the courts began to rely more on personal interpretations of unacceptable behaviour. This suggeststhat although the judicial process played an important role in reforming litigants' expectations of their marital rights, it was also forced to address the changing experiences of an urban population. The influence of kin and other community members are seen as particularly important in shaping this process. They regulated and imposed standards (through opinions based on factors such as space, dress, gendered behaviour and reputation) that were malleable and open to interpretation. This produced a whole range of norms that, combined with legal conventions, defined in court the varied experience of matrimony for women. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Thanks To: Ruth Goldbourne and Laura Gowing, my supervisors, whose encouragement and stimulating supervision has guided me through each stage of this project. I am grateful to them for their support and kindness, which has made the writing of this thesis a thoroughly enjoyable and rewarding experience. Thanks also to Tim Meldrum whose constructive comments along the way have beenmost helpful. For Use Of Resources: I am grateful to the staff at the London Metropolitan Archives, the Guildhall Library and the Guildhall Muniments Room for their help and enthusiasm in my research. I would also like to thank the librarians and archivists at the Institute of Historical Research, the British Library and the Public Record Office. Special Thanks To: to my husband, Assad, whose unswerving enthusiasm and encouragement has inspired me throughout. Il AUTHOR'S DECLARATION I declare that the work in this dissertation was carried out in accordance with the Regulations of the University of Bristol. The work is original except where indicated by special reference in the text and no part of the dissertation has been submitted for any other degree. Any views expressed in the dissertation are those of the author and in no way represent those of the University of Bristol. The dissertation has not been presented to any other University for examination either in the United Kingdom or overseas. SIGNED: DATE llt CONTENTS List of Illustration, Graphsand Piecharts page vi Introduction 1 Methodology And Sources 3 Contextualisation Of London Sources 6 Historiographical Perspectives On Sexuality And ReputationIn The Early Modem Period 10 Overall ThemesOf This Work 15 1. Courtship And Extra-Marital Relationships 18 The Legal Meaning Of Marriage 21 Symbols Of Binding Relationships 28 Standards And Expectations Of Courtship 33 The Role Of The Family 39 Space 43 Social Boundaries 49 2. Adultery And Expectations Of Marriage 57 Introduction 57 The Legal Construction Of Illicit Sexual Behaviour 59 Social Interpretations Of Acceptable Behaviour 68 Social Networks 80 The Role Of Servants 83 Reputation And Hearsay 94 3. DomesticViolence 104 Introduction 104 The Legal Meaning Of Domestic Violence 106 The Structure And Nature Of Domestic Violence Causes 110 Space 117 FemaleViolence 123 Violence Involving Children 127 Community Intervention 132 MediationAnd Reconciliation 136 4. Wills and Widowhood 143 Introduction 143 The Legal Dynamics Of Widowhood 147 Community Intervention 152 RespectabilityAnd Propriety page 161 Space 168 Conclusion 177 Bibliography 184 Conventionsand Abbreviations 210 Appendix One : The Jurisdiction Of The Lower Ecclesiastical Courts 211 Appendix Two : The Workings Of The Lower Ecclesiastical Courts 213 AppendixThree 217 LIST OF ILLUSTRATION, GRAPHS AND PIECHARTS ILLUSTRATION page 1. A Map Showing The Parishes of London 8 GRAPHS 1. A Graph Showing The Total Number Of Matrimonial Causes Heard Each Decade In The Consistory Court of London 218 2. A Graph Showing The Number Of TestamentaryCauses Heard In The Consistory Court of London, 1730-1779 218 3. A Graph Showing The Number Of Wills Left By Men And Women In The CommissaryCourt, 1733-1780 220 4. A Graph Showing The Number of Men And Women Recorded As Dying Intestate 222 PIECHARTS 1. A Piechart Showing The Proportion of SeparationCases Heard By DecadeIn The Consistory Court From 1730-1779 219 2. A Comparison Of The Executorship Allocated In Men And Women's Wills 221 Vl INTRODUCTION Woman was intended to be our Companion and Friend - to share in our pleasures and Afflictions - to heighten our Joys, and Distresses, by her Participation To alleviate our .... superintend over our Families - pay attention to our Interests - and render Home delightful, by her Society, Tenderness, and Affection. ' [Men who] have no Senseof the Matrimonial Obligation can have no Senseof the conjugal Duty; they marry to lie together; and they satisfy the Appetite in the Pleasures of the Marriage Bed. But when that's over, all the rest, which they had no View of before, is a Force, a Bondage; and they as heartily hate the state of Life as a Slave does his Lot in Algier or Tunis. ' This study examines the meaning of marriage for women in the eighteenth century. It uses the records of the London church courts to determine what constituted `marriage' from both a legal and a social perspective. It argues that the standards represented in court throughout the course of the century demonstrate a specific legal culture of marriage, indicative of an overall continuity in popular practice rather than a process of radical social change. The thesis focuses particularly on the introduction of the Hardwicke Marriage Act and examines its impact on the way in which men and women were able to present their domestic grievances in court. As Chapter One shows, the Hardwicke Act laid down clear guidelines that stipulated the legal definition of sexual relationships, and meant that litigants were compelled to adapt their disputes in order to comply with these standards. The thesis considers whether these changes also influenced the way in which men and women expressed their understanding of intolerable behaviour in court. It examines markers such as space, dress and reputation to determine whether standards that were articulated can be said to have changed in meaning over this period. The introduction of the Hardwicke Act meant that the authority of the church courts was significantly reformed in an attempt to unify a wide range of social standards that related to matrimony. It was one of a variety of institutions (such as the establishment of the Foundling Hospital [in 17411; the first Lying In Hospital [1749]; the Lying In Charity for Poor, Pregnant Women [1757]; and Magdalen House [ 1758] for restoring repentant prostitutes back into society) that all played a part in influencing and redefining sexual standards in a wider social context. Historians who have previously identified changes in the pattern of sexual relationships over this period (see below) have often relied on 'F. Foster Thoughts on the fines but Chiefly on the Profligacy of our Women (1779), 14. 'D. Defoe Conjugal Lewdness, or, Matrimonial Whoredom (1727), 37. 1 evidence that has been particular to London and to the mid-eighteenth century.