Ruthin Gaol reopened in 2002 as a tourist attraction

Couples looking for a quirky wedding venue, as well as perhaps a “life sentence”, may soon be able to tie the knot at a former prison.

While a wedding meal of porridge may not be to everyone’s taste, Denbighshire council is applying to use Ruthin Gaol for ceremonies.

An application has been submitted and the council said it had already been approached by interested couples.

A jail, first built on site in the 17th Century, is now a tourist attraction.

A spokesman for Denbighshire council said: “The council has submitted an application to allow Ruthin Gaol to be used to solemnise marriages and civil partnerships.

“Two of the council’s heritage buildings, Plas Newydd at Llangollen and Nantclwyd y Dre in Ruthin, are already licensed for this and we are hoping that the Ruthin Gaol application will be successful.

“We have already had approaches from people interested in getting married at Ruthin Gaol.

“The location provides a historic backdrop - it’s unique, different and quirky. Some people want their ceremonies to be individual and the gaol really would offer that.”

The application will be discussed by the council licensing committee and is still the subject of consultation.

The gaol was taken over as a munitions factory in World War II

The first county house of correction was built at Ruthin in 1654 at the bottom of Clwyd Street on the same site as the present buildings.

An entirely new prison was designed by the architect Joseph Turner of Chester in the late 18th Century and the building served as the county jail until 1866.

Ruthin County Gaol became HM Prison Ruthin in 1878 and it remained open for 38 years until finally closing its doors in 1916.

Denbighshire council bought the buildings in 1926 and converted them for office and library use.

The gaol was taken over as a munitions factory in World War II but the council returned after the war.

The public has been able to explore the building as a tourist attraction since its reopening in May 2002 following a £2m restoration project.

The Chapel of St Mary in Parliament cannot be used

The Houses of Parliament will be available as a wedding venue to members of the public for the first time.

Westminster City Council has granted a licence approving two rooms in the Palace of Westminster to be used for marriages and civil partnerships.

Until now, only MPs, peers, certain parliamentary officials and their families could be married in conventional weddings there.

The rooms have been approved as venues for civil ceremonies until 2013.

The Jubilee Room, which overlooks Cromwell Green, has space for 80 people and the MPs’ dining room, with views of the Thames, has space for 150.

Historical settings

But as religious sites cannot be used for civil partnerships or civil marriages, the licence rules out the 14th century Chapel of St Mary in Parliament.

Alison Cathcart, who has been Westminster’s Superintendent Registrar for almost 20 years and has married celebrities including Sylvester Stallone, Joan Collins and Barbara Windsor, welcomed the move.

She said: “I’m delighted that this prestigious venue has been granted approval and very much look forward to conducting the first civil ceremony in such famous and historical settings.

“This will add to the rich repertoire of locations Westminster already has available for couples to tie the knot on what is one of the most important days of their lives.”

Since 1995, authorities have been able to authorise venues for civil marriages based on the criteria that they “must be satisfied that the approved premises - and its management - will support the dignity of marriage”.

In October, Prime Minister Gordon Brown urged Commons Speaker John Bercow to allow civil partnerships to be held within Parliament for the first time.

Father Paul Bayse says we live in changing times

As I am sure they must say in all ecclesiastical circles, would you Adam and Eve it!

The Anglican Church has been surveying people’s attitudes to marriage and the results suggest a significant amount of us don’t realise the Church of England is pro getting married! To my generation, that’s a bit like not knowing Manchester United play football or ships sail, it’s what they do!

However, if we take a step back and consider that attendance at formal religious events has declined and almost any location wanting to turn love into money offers you the opportunity to hold your special day with them, then you can see that generations are emerging who might wonder how those men and women they see on the streets with clerical collars actually stand on the subject of wedded bliss.

Many people seem to want to get married in some strange and eye-catching places. You must have seen or heard the stories of people who get married whilst harnessed to a parachute descending to earth.

Sitting in a beehive

Perhaps they fancy a congregation of passing hauliers as they pledge their future on the central reservation of the motorway or saying I do whilst sitting in a beehive. You name it and some enterprising person will fix it.

Do we live in a time when Elvis has performed more wedding ceremonies than concerts?

We are a diverse nation with diverse needs and our tastes reflect this. For many, a hotel on a sun-drenched beach has slightly more appeal than the draughty ancient building down the road.

The choice of vicar is just as catholic. We live in a time when Elvis has performed more wedding ceremonies than concerts.

Faith groups would argue that often lost in all of this is the underlying premise that marriage should be an important commitment made before God.

They would say it is the opportunity for two people who love each other, to share God’s love and to set out well prepared for one of life’s most important journeys. They would say marriage is for life and needs to be entered into seriously.

And then in later times, if the frying pans are flying, the doors are slamming or the language is less than courteous, we should remember above all else the sanctity implied in those marriage vows.

Changing times

That’s the serious bit, but recently at St. Cuthbert’s Church in Fulwood, the Church of England has launched a pilot project throughout Lancashire to ensure that wrapped around those religious vows, couples can experience a fun, romantic, happy occasion that will stay with them for life and bond them better to the church.

Clergy and officials from throughout the Blackburn Diocese gathered together to hear about The Weddings Project which offers a holistic approach to getting married in a C of E church.

Father Paul Bayse, the National Mission and Evangelism Advisor for the Church of England, led the day and explained to me that the church acknowledges we live in changing times.

It needs to keep pace with those around them. They want couples to use a new Weddings Project website to plan their whole wedding experience via the church. The website offers a selection of locations, hymns, catering, all the ingredients of a wedding. And then, after the church has waved the happy couple off on their honeymoon, they hope that same couple will keep in touch and find themselves more involved with church life.

The Reverend Linda Macluskie from Holy Trinity Church in Bolton-Le-Sands said her church doors are open for everyone and a warm welcome awaits them.

Church dream

Holy Trinity is a typical village church, the idyllic kind you imagine in Ambridge. The Lancaster Canal forms the back border and around the church grounds enough greenery and history to make for some excellent wedding pictures.

Holy Trinity Church (c) Lancashire OnLine Parish Clerks

Inside the stone building is a splendid majestic church that dates back to 1500. Records say they have been performing weddings there since 1642. The oldest part of the building is its tower, which powerfully beckons down to those villagers who want to live the romantic wedding day country church dream.

What, I asked, if the happy couple have never previously darkened the church porch and have little intention of returning once the confetti has been swept up? Would they still be welcome? Most definitely, assured Linda, the church wants to walk through life with its community and be there when required.

There was a time when some vicars required so many boxes ticked before they granted access to their buildings that often prospective couples just didn’t trouble to ask. Now, we are assured by those who gathered together from throughout the county at St. Cuthbert’s, it’s different and nobody should be turned away from their local Anglican church without a really good reason.

Once again, Lancashire leads the way with another initiative gently nudging the churches into the modern day and hopefully making it clearer for a happy couple to choose between Presley and a priest.

Spencer and Ms MacFayden have been allowed to speak again

A groom-to-be has been allowed to speak to his fiancee again after a court overturned a ban on them communicating.

Robert Spencer, 55, from Perth, was banned from contacting fiancee Jacqueline MacFayden as part of bail conditions.

The order prevented him talking to Ms MacFayden until August - more than two months after they plan to marry.

A sheriff has removed the ban after hearing it was making it impossible for the couple to plan their wedding.

Spencer had admitted breaching the peace by shouting and swearing during an argument with his fiancee over their wedding finances last December.

Earlier this month, Sheriff Lindsay Foulis granted him bail until August, but on the condition that he did not approach or contact 49-year-old Ms MacFadyen during that time.

The parties wish to get married, and also it is her 50th birthday coming up, and they wish to make arrangements for both events Billy Somerville Lawyer

However, the sheriff has now agreed to remove the special condition after hearing the couple had been unable to finalise plans for their June wedding.

Solicitor Billy Somerville told the court: “The parties wish to get married, and also it is her 50th birthday coming up, and they wish to make arrangements for both events.

“Because they are not able to discuss matters at present it is making arrangements impossible.”

He added: “The bail conditions are having a fairly detrimental effect on her. She is signed off work.”

Mr Somerville gave the court a letter from Ms MacFadyen saying she wanted the “no talking” bail condition imposed on Mr Spencer to be removed by the court.

Fiscal depute Julie McAra confirmed she had spoken to the bride-to-be, who had stated she was happy for Mr Spencer to move back into her home in Perth.

‘Good relationship’

The couple declined to comment as they left court together after the ban was lifted.

But speaking outside court before the hearing, Spencer said: “It seems bizarre and unusual. I’m not supposed to talk to her in any way until August, but we are supposed to be getting married in June.

“It was just an argument but now I’ve not to contact her or enter the street where we lived together. We just argued because we had been out and spent a fair bit.

“We have had our moments like anyone else, but on the whole it has been fantastic and a good relationship. We met five years ago in Falkirk through mutual friends.

“It’s going to be very difficult because will have to communicate through third, fourth and fifth parties. I still want the wedding to go ahead.”

A petition against the Bill has been handed in to the government

Plans for civil partnership ceremonies in churches could result in some clergy being prosecuted, a former Archbishop of Canterbury has warned.

In a letter to the Times newspaper, Lord Carey suggests ministers could face claims of discrimination if they fail to conduct the ceremonies.

Legislation for England and Wales, which also covers other places of worship, is part of the Equality Bill.

Supporters say ministers would not have to act against their conscience.

Lord Carey’s letter was prompted by Labour peer Lord Alli’s amendment to the bill to allow civil partnerships on religious premises.

The legislation had its third reading in the House of Lords on Tuesday and it will now go back to the Commons for final approval.

‘Clear distinction’

In his letter, Lord Carey says: “How long will it be before church ministers are threatened with legal proceedings if they perform marriages between a man and a woman, but not civil partnerships?”

If there is a genuine need for a change in the law this should be done properly by revisiting the Civil Partnerships Act Lord Carey

He says the amendment risked blurring the “clear distinction” between homosexual partnerships and heterosexual marriage.

Lord Carey says the plans were being “tacked on” to an existing bill “without a proper chance for scrutiny”.

“If there is a genuine need for a change in the law this should be done properly by revisiting the Civil Partnerships Act,” he writes.

Lord Carey’s intervention is not the first time he has spoken on the subject of civil partnerships.

This time, he is being supported by groups such as Christian Concern for our Nation, which on Tuesday handed in a 6,000 protest petition to the Equalities minister Harriet Harman.

It calls on the government to vote down the amendment because it threatens religious freedom.

Before the introduction of civil partnerships in 2005, Lord Carey told Christians not to be suspicious of the new legal entities, but insisted that they should not be the first step towards gay partnerships being classed as marriages.

Lord Alli has insisted that the proposals in his amendment are entirely voluntary, with ministers, rabbis or imams who object to homosexuality being able to legally refuse to conduct the ceremonies.

He is supported by other Church of England clergy, including the Bishop of Salisbury, and the leaders of Liberal Judaism and the Quakers, who say they want to help gay couples celebrate their unions.