[Bell Historians] Peculiars

[Andrew WR Wilby]

JEC <When Andrew says that the church was 'licensed' under the 1857 Act, I
assume he means authorised as a place where banns can be called an a
marriage register kept (which are the only references in the Act to any
activity akin to licensing). The trouble is that the only person who can
authorise a church in this way is the diocesan bishop. And if Lundy
isn't in a diocese, then there's no-one who could have done the
authorising.>

I was busy quoting from the Island's history book!

That's interesting and potentialy more confusing because so far as I am aware, and this is hearsay, all weddings in the church recently have been by special license.
 I've also heard tell that Banns have been read at Hartland being the nearest Parish Church on the mainland. Am i right in thinking a Special License does does not involve Banns being read and since there's generally nobody on the island to read them then the special license route is used?


The trouble is that asking the current Priest-in-Charge would not likely produce an answer, well not in a hurry anyway!

So the likely scenario is that Lundy is Extra-Parochial,  the church is held in trust by the Church Commissioners but the Bishop is the ordinary. Whether or not it has a claim to be a Parish in its own right is unsettled.

Andrew

Ps: I told that a search for the nearest 10 bell tower to Lundy brings up St David's! Strange world!