Sorry for not responding sooner on this one. I would definitely recommend looking at the original marriage allegations if you get an opportunity. They can sometimes give vital clues which are not available from the entry in marriage register. Where the couple intended to marry by licence (and thereby avoid the delay and publicity of banns), or where there was a requirement to obtain a licence (if they wished to marry away from their normal place of residence), the procedure was to obtain a licence from the diocese. This required either the bride or (more often) the groom to swear an "allegation" (affidavit). The allegation will include:
- names of bride and groom
- occupation
- marital status e.g. spinster, widow etc.
- place of residence
- often a precise age
- parents' names if the person to be married was under 21
- where the marriage was to take place
I have found that the information given can often help distinguish which of several possible individuals a marriage relates to (e.g. the occupation might help you determine it was "John Smith the miller" rather than "John Smith the carpenter" who married. The exact age given is also obviously helpful in identifying individuals precisely, as is the place of residence. All of those details will often be missing from the marriage register.
The allegation could be sworn either at the Diocesan Registry in Gloucester, in which case you need GA series GDR Q3, or before a "surrogate" (i.e. someone working under delegated authority locally, such as the archdeacon), in which case you need GA series GDR Q2. See:
http://goo.gl/helz7http://goo.gl/9ncFxhttp://goo.gl/DdcBRhttp://goo.gl/nuMOyhttp://goo.gl/Vhg3Ehttp://goo.gl/d8lLsI believe there are indexes for some of these records, but I'm not sure they cover the years you're interested in. I suggest you ask at Gloucestershire Archives.
Bear in mind the possibility the licence might have been obtained from the Archbishop's Vicar-General (required if bride and groom resided in different dioceses within the same province) or the Archbishop of Canterbury's Faculty Office (if from different provinces). These are available at SoG or on FindMyPast
http://www.findmypast.co.uk/content/sog/faculty-vicar-general and there's is a free PDF of the latter online here
http://ia600304.us.archive.org/27/items/allegationsforma00cant/allegationsforma00cant.pdfAlso check the marriage bonds (see
http://genealogy.about.com/library/glossary/bldef-marriagebond.htm). These are at GA in GDR/Q1
http://goo.gl/mbe7EHere's an example I found useful recently. I would not have been sure the person marrying was the George Lock of Colesbourne I was interested in without this.
Gloucestershire Archives GDR Q3/55 P25
3 Feb 1755
On which Day appeared Personally George Lock of the Parish
of Colesbourn in the County and Diocese of Glocester, Miller
and, being sworn on the Holy Evangelists, Alledged and made Oath, That he is of the
Age of Twenty Three Years and upwards, and a Batchelor and
That he intends to Marry with Sarah Window of the Parish
Of Shipton Sollers in the County and Diocese of Glocester, Spinster
Aged Twenty Two Years and upwards; and that he knoweth of no lawful Lett,
Or Impediment, by reason of any Pre-contract entered into before the 25th Day of March
1754, Consangunity, Affinity, or any other Cause whatsoever, to hinder the said in-
tended Marriage; and that he prayed a Licence to solemnize the said Marriage in the
Parish Church of Shipton Sollers aforesaid; in which said Parish
of Shipton Sollers the said George Lock further made
Oath that the said Sarah Window hath had her usual Abode for the
Space of Four Weeks last past.
Georg Lock (signs)
