THE MARRIAGE ROOM
- 73, HIGH STREET
TD12 4AE COLDSTREAM, BORDER REGION
Phone: 01890 883156
E-mail: Send messagewww.coldstreamweddings.co.uk
| Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Closed | 2:00 PM-4:30 PM | Closed | 2:00 PM-4:30 PM | Closed | Closed | Closed |
Short profile:
Such marriages were held mostly in the Marriage House but also in public houses like the Newcastle Arms. They were conducted for a fee by so-called ‘priests’ (shoemakers, mole-catchers and the like), who had no qualifications but saw an opportunity to make a lucrative living out of the practice. They provided witnesses and entered their names in ‘registers’, comparatively few of which have survived.
Detailed description:
The most celebrated ‘priests’ at Coldstream were William Armstrong and William Dickson; it is known that no less than 1, 466 couples were married by Dickson alone over a period of 13 years. It is said that five earls and at least two Lord Chancellors of England took advantage of this legal loophole before the law was changed in 1856. Ironically, the Parliamentary Bill that did this was sponsored by Lord Brougham, a Scot who had himself been married at Coldstream under the previous law. Coldstream Bridge, with a its magnificent span of five arches, bears a plaque commemorating the time that Robert Burns, Scotland's national poet, returned to Coldstream from Northumberland in 1787. Burns is, of course, famous throughout the world as the author of not just Auld Lang Syne but also of some of the most romantic poems and songs ever written, notably My Love Is Like A Red, Red Rose.
Keywords:
Marriage House, Weddings Business, commitment renewal ceremonies, wedding parties, children naming ceremony, civil partnership ceremonies, civil marriage, Scottish Wedding Traditions