So, in which place was my relative married?

[Merry]

Nothing to add to BK6 from this thread

One of my relatives married at St Giles Camberwell in August 1844, according to the index of the LMA records on Ancestry. However, upon examining the actual certificate, the entry states:

1844. Marriage solemnized at the Parish Church of St George in the Parish of Camberwell in the County of Surrey, the Parish Church of St Giles having been destroyed by fire.

From googling, the fire seems to have destroyed the church on the night of 7th Feb 1841 and it took several years to rebuild St Giles, so on the face of it the entry for my relative seems reasonable. Sometimes I wish I would just leave things alone, but I had to prod a bit further......

First I looked back to 7th Feb 1841 and found two marriages on that day, both just stating the marriage was in the Parish Church of St Giles, so no surprises there. However, there was a marriage on the 8th, the day after the fire, also stating the marriage was in St Giles, as did the subsequent marriages. All entries continued to state the name of the church as the Parish Church of St Giles until 16th Dec 1841 when the church was recorded as the District Church of St George in the Parish of Camberwell. This was written against all marriages until 21st Dec 1843 when the details changed again to the Parish Church of St George in the Parish of Camberwell. Every entry has the bit about the fire destroying St Giles.

The replacement St Giles was consecrated in Nov 1844 and all entries after this date revert back to just stating the church as the Parish Church of St Giles, as would be expected. All through these years most marriages seem to have been celebrated by the Curate named Hyde.

Now, fair enough if my relative was married at St George rather than St Giles if St Giles wasn't in existence at the time, but there are also separate parish registers for St George in the Parish of Camberwell, with a different priest/curate and different marriages (not so many) so that has confused me further! Were there two churches called St George in Camberwell (both calling themselves the Parish church at the same time!) or did the two vicars insist on separate records for some reason?

And no, I've not looked at the baptisms or burials. I just want to know where my relative got married! lol

[Phoenix]

Surely, it means that they were parishioners of St Giles, so the register was that of St Giles, but the marriage was celebrated at St George because St Giles was just ashes? (I've seen entries like that where churches have ruined chancels etc and it's a few years before they are rebuilt)

[Merry]

I don't know. He was a parishioner in Edgbaston, Warwickshire!

So, because the bride had (perhaps) been a parishioner of St Giles Camberwell before the church burnt down 3½ years before the marriage, and they asked the priest from St Giles to conduct the marriage, the entry was made in the St Giles register, despite the marriage taking place in a church with it's own register? Seems very odd to me! But as you say, there can't really be any other explanation.

[Uncle John]

You could always ask the curate for an explanation!

[Olde Crone]

Merry

I've seen the same as Phoenix, two registers for the same church because one church was "borrowing" the church as their own had burnt down.

An extreme example of this was when a synagogue was destroyed by fire in liverpool and the local Roman Catholic Church allowed the Jewish people to use the church for their own worship. You can see in that case there would be two separate registers for the same church (building) and I think it's the same for your St Giles and St George.

OC

[Nell]

I have a baptism in 1770-something for husband's gt x a lot grandpa. It says its St John Zachary but the church was destroyed and the baptism was in the neighbouring church of St Agnes and St Anne, in the City of London. I guess different congregations used the same building - the churches are bang next door to eachother.

[Tom Tom]

I have something similar whilst St Helen's Church in Ashby De La Zouch was being refurbished during the late 1800s.

There is still a St Helen's marriage register, but the actual marriage took place in Holy Trinity Church.

Holy Trinity Church also had it's own marriage register.

[Jenoco]

I've also seen something similar while searching Colchester records - can't remember the churches involved now, but it seemed that two separate books were kept, although the ceremonies were held in only one church.

[Merry]

I hope the vicars managed to keep tabs on what the other was doing or I can imagine numerous double bookings etc!

[Phoenix]

Norfolk has three churches (one ruined!) in one churchyard, covering four parishes. The poor rector seems to have spent half his life crossing out entries put in the wrong book!