'Too many restrictions could not be thrown in the way of divorce': attitudes to women's petitions for divorce by way of Act of Parliament 1801-1831

Daniell, Alison (2022) 'Too many restrictions could not be thrown in the way of divorce': attitudes to women's petitions for divorce by way of Act of Parliament 1801-1831. Institute of Historical Research: Parliament, Politics and People Seminar, Institute of Historical Research , London, United Kingdom. 21 Jun 2022. 16 pp .

Abstract

Before the 1857 Matrimonial Causes Act, the only way to dissolve an otherwise valid marriage was to obtain a divorce by way of Act of Parliament. It was, however, a remedy that had evolved purely for the use of men and was only available on the grounds of adultery. In total, only four women successfully ended their marriages this way. These were the cases of Addison in 1801; Turton in 1831; Battersby in 1840 and Hall in 1850. This paper examines the wider context surrounding divorce and adultery at the turn of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries and how this impacted (and limited) the few divorce applications brought by women at the time.

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