When Was The Marriage Bar Introduced In Uk?

Marriage bars were commonplace in the 1920s and 30s, operating in various sectors such as the Civil Service, teaching, banking, and large companies like Cadburys. The British Broadcasting Corporation introduced a marriage bar in 1932, stemming from an enlightened attitude towards married women employees. The first formal marriage bar was introduced by the Post Office in 1876, but concerns about continuity of employment arose.

The Sex Disqualification (Removal) Act of 1919 was expected to end marriage bars, but it failed to remove barriers for women, such as requiring women to leave paid employment upon getting married and preventing them from joining a profession. The civil service did not lift this bar until 1946.

Marriage bars were widespread in the inter-war years, operating in occupations such as teaching and the civil service. In most countries, marriage bars were in place for three to five decades, with most being abolished by the 1950s. In the UK, the Marriage Bar was introduced in 1894 and abolished in 1946. In the Netherlands, it was introduced in 1904 and abolished in 1957.

The BBC followed the establishment and introduced its own marriage bar in 1932, during the Great Depression, which claimed to be the worst economic downturn in the history of marriage. Today, the marriage bar is no longer in use in the UK, and legislation ending the marriage bar in the Irish civil service became law in 1973.

When were female teachers allowed to marry in the UK?

It was not until 1944 that the law was finally repealed in R A Butlers landmark Act. But that was too late for women who had been prevented from marrying, many of whom faced poverty in old age as they had no family to support them.

When was bigamy outlawed in the UK?

Penalties for Bigamy in England and Wales. For a considerable period of time in England, a person could be sentenced to death for bigamy. In 1604 The Bigamy Act made entering into marriage with one person while still married to another a capital offence.

Since 1861 though, Section 57 of the Offences Against the Person Act deems bigamy an offence punishable by a maximum of seven years imprisonment and/or a fine. However, there are some exceptions.

Seven Years. If a person has had no contact with their spouse for a period of seven years or more, and has no knowledge of their whereabouts or their state of health it may be possible to remarry without penalty.

Marriage Abroad. If someone has married more than one person in a country where it is legal to have more than one spouse, then often they will not be prosecuted if they come to England unless they marry again here.

Could Victorian servants marry?

‘Followers, as servants sweethearts were called, were seen as a nuisance and discouraged. In Victorian times, romance and marriage between servants in the same house was rare – it was considered disruptive to work – but it became more common in the Edwardian era when servants were harder to keep and therefore more indulged. Ivys marriage to Eddie, the chauffeur in The Buttonmakers Daughter is a good example. Their wedding is welcomed by the family, and once married, they will live together in Eddies rooms above the ‘motor home (the garage).

Despite its rigours, going into service at ‘the big house could mean a job for life: the 1901 census recorded 1.3 million workers as indoor domestics. Domestic and estate work was less likely to result in injury than factory or farm work, and the tasks involved were within the capabilities of most men and women, many of them under-fed and under-educated. For women, it was almost the only work open to them – cooking and cleaning were traditionally female occupations – and domestic service was by far the largest employer of women right up to the First World War.

Servants enjoyed relative job security, but there were other reasons, too, for taking up the work. Staff most often came from the local neighbourhood and their parents and grandparents had served the same family for generations. Many servants were proud of the jobs they did and had an emotional stake in the estate – they felt the house belonged to them as much as to their masters. In addition, there was a hierarchy they could climb. The butler and housekeeper were the highest ranking members of the household, with the ladys maid and valet just below them, and these upper servants could themselves have servants looking after them. In a very large house, the lowliest servants might clean their clothes, make their beds and prepare their food.

When were teachers allowed to marry in the UK?

History in the United Kingdomedit. In the UK, the marriage bar was removed for all teachers and in the BBC in 1944.151617 The BBC had a marriage bar between 1932 and 1944, although it was a partial ban and was not fully enforced due to the BBCs ambivalent views on the policy.18 Lloyds Bank utilized a marriage bar to classify married women as supplementary staff rather than permanent until 1949, when the bank abolished its marriage bar.14.

Several other jobs in the UK had marriage bars until sometime in the 1970s, for example the British Geological Survey until 1975.19 The marriage bar prohibited married women from joining the civil service. It was abolished in 1946 for the Home Civil Service and in 1973 for the Foreign Service; until then women were required to resign when they married.20 Having a marriage bar was made illegal throughout the UK by the Sex Discrimination Act 1975.

History in the United Statesedit. The practice of marriage bars arose in the United States in the late 1800s. Marriage bars were often seen in the teaching and clerical industries. While many women hid their marital status in efforts to keep their jobs, marriage bars were not banned by law until 1964 when Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibited discrimination in employment on the basis of race, color, sex, or ethnic origin.21.

What is the marriage bar in teaching UK?

The authorities used marriage bars to prevent married women working as teachers. This rule meant that if a woman teacher married, she had to resign from her job; if she was already married, she was sacked.

In July 1922, Rhondda Education Authority got rid of 63 married women teachers. The teachers took the authority to court, but they lost their case.

Some women found a way around the marriage bars by marrying in secret and then living apart from their husband, or by having a very long engagement. Marriage bars in teaching werent lifted until 1944.

When was the marriage bar lifted in the UK?

The marriage bar prohibited married women from joining the civil service, and required women civil servants to resign when they became married (unless granted a waiver). It was not abolished until October 1946 for the Home Civil Service and 1973 for the Foreign Service. A film by Alun Parry for the PCS union provides a revealing view of the frustration felt by many able women before the marriage bar was lifted.

I am very grateful to Sue Randall for sending me copies of two delicious letters to her grandmother, 33 year old Edith Mary Buckthorp, née Hollingworth, who married in 1938. The first (extract above) accepts her (forced) resignation. The second confirms her marriage gratuity. (The second letter also confirms return of Mrs Buckthorps marriage certificate which she in fact never received, to her considerable and lasting annoyance.)

A younger Edith Hollingworth is in this photo of the female staff of the Bolton Ministry of Labour taken around 1929. (Employment Exchanges had separate entrances and separate staffing for men and women well into the 1960s.)

What was the legal age to get married in the UK in 1800?

This, together with the fact that it was very difficult for women to find ways of making an independent living, meant that securing a husband was a matter of great importance. Theoretically, it was possible for two people to marry very young. The minimum legal age was 12 years for women and 14 years for men.

What was the legal age to get married in the UK in 1850?

The age of marriage under civil law was 14 for boys and 12 for girls (the age of puberty); however this was inconsistent with criminal law which set the age of consent at 16.This remained the situation in England & Wales and Scotland until 1929.

There were also restrictions on apprentices marrying (normally until 21 years old).CheersGuy.

As we have gained from the past, we owe the future a debt, which we pay by sharing today.

When did the marriage bar start in Ireland?

The Irish government introduced a marriage bar in the 1920s. The 1924 Civil Service Regulation Act said that: Female civil servants in established posts must resign on marriage.