• Parliament attempted to stop the practice, but it was not until the statute of 26 Geo. 2, ch. 33, declaring marriages performed outside public chapels or churches to be void and punishable as a felony, that the practice ceased.
Fleet marriage
Hist. 1.A clandestine ceremonial marriage performed in the 17th or 18th century in the Fleet prison in London by a chaplain who had been imprisoned for debt. 2. A clandestine ceremonial marriage performed by unscrupulous itinerant clergymen in the area in London near the Fleet Prison.
