Marriage stone

A marriage stone, nuptial stone or lintel stone is usually a stone, rarely wood, lintel carved with the initials, coat of arms, etc. of a newly married couple, usually displaying the date of the marriage. They were very popular until Victorian times, but fell out of general use in the 20th century. Many survive for aesthetic value, particularly where well carved or of historic value. Many are part of or in the grounds of a listed building or in conservation areas.
Marriage stones serve as a record of a marriage, the joining together of two families, although in Jersey, where they are probably more common than elsewhere in the British Isles, they rarely, if ever, bear the date of a marriage, but mostly the names of the occupants of a property at the time it was built, restored or extended, or when it was acquired by those whose initials appear on the stone especially important in aristocratic families and also sometimes practised amongst the newly established and monied middle classes. They were sometimes added to a building which was constructed specifically as the new family home for the married couple, especially when the dowry was large, or were carved into a pre-existing lintel over the main entrance or over a fireplace. The stones also clearly indicated the ownership of the building to onlookers at the time as well as serving as a record for posterity of both marital bliss and often also of social advancement.
Datestones are a subtly different category in that they primarily commemorate the construction of a building rather than record a marriage. They may do both and such symbolism as entwined hearts indicates that they serve to perform both functions. Date stones are far more common than marriage stones and are found on most types of vernacular buildings, indeed they are in vogue again today (2007), partly through the influence of the significance of the 2000 millennium year. Some buildings have both marriage stones and datestones, such as 'The Hill' at Dunlop, which has a date stone on the 'mansion house' and even the gateposts are dated.
The stones were placed where they would be easily and frequently seen by visitors, usually on the lintel above the front door of a house, above a fireplace or in a prominent position facing the entrance or in the gardens, such as above a doorway in wall. Many are no longer visible having been covered over in some way such as when older buildings have been extended, porches built, etc. Often the husband's initials were on the left and the wife's were on the right.
Usually carved into stone or sometimes wood, they can be very detailed, with usually only the initials of the married couple, the date of the marriage and sometimes the coat of arms of the two families, just those of the husband and very rarely the combined coats of arms of both families. In some cases the adornment was religious in nature, such as at 'The Hill' farm mansion house (see photograph) or an artistic design simply placed there as an ornamentation. The designs are found cut into the stone or standing proud of the rock face. Originally some of these stones would have been brightly painted and adorned with gilt.
A two-ton Scottish granite Marriage stone was created for the wedding of Prince Charles and Camilla Parker-Bowles, 9 April 2005. Unusually this has carvings on both sides.
Many synagogues in Germany featured a Treustein, or "marriage stone" at which a goblet was shattered at the culmination of the wedding ceremony.
In Hinduism, it is customary in a marriage ceremony for the bride to stand on a stone slab or millstone to symbolise her commitment to the marriage during times of difficulty, in a practice known as Shila Arohan (Ascending the stone).
On the crest of a hill near the village of Doagh in County Antrim, Northern Ireland, sits a Bronze Age standing stone or 'holestone'. It is 1.5 metres high, with a 10 cm diameter hole cut into it. It is not known why the Holestone was created, but has attracted visitors seeking external love and happiness since at least the 18th century. Upon reaching the Holestone couples undertake a traditional ceremony where the woman reaches her hand through the circular hole and her partner takes it, thus pledging themselves to love each other forever. There is a legend regarding a black horse that inhabits the field in which the holestone is situated. According to this legend a young couple were married at the stone, but the groom committed an act of adultery on their wedding night. For this act he was cursed by the stone to spend eternity as a horse, never dying, and never able to leave that field.