Sexual hallucinations, adultery and impotence were all laid bare today in a scandalous collection of historic divorce papers.
The official records of almost 70,000 historic divorce cases have gone online shedding new light on high-profile scandals in the Victorian and Edwardian eras.
The documents contain the names of each husband and wife and other “involved parties” - and reveal grounds for divorce including adultery, mistreatment, or inability to consummate the marriage due to “malformation or impotency”.
The collection dates from 1858 when the Matrimonial Causes Act made divorce a civil issue no longer under church jurisdiction.
Before this, a full divorce required intervention by Parliament, which had only granted around 300 since 1668.
Baronet and Tory MP Charles Mordaunt filed for divorce in 1869 from his wife Harriet who was accused of adultery with various men.
The case earned notoriety when the Prince of Wales Edward VII was rumoured to be among her suitors.
But the rumour was never proved and Lady Mordaunt was eventually declared mad and spent the rest of her life in an asylum.
Businessman Henry Robinson sued for divorce in 1858 after reading wife Isabella’s diary which included in-depth details of her affair with a younger married man.
The diary was used as court evidence and became a huge scandal. But Isabella claimed the diary was a work of fiction, which led to her victory in court.
William and Teresa Yelverton wed twice in secret, once in Scotland and then in Ireland. But protestant William then married Lady Emily Forbes and had a child with her.
Catholic Teresa sued for divorce in 1861 but William claimed ignorance of the secret marriages, declaring the relationship was only sexual in nature.
William was portrayed as a bigamous cad and Teresa the wronged heroine. The nation rejoiced when she was granted a rightful divorce.
Admiral Henry Codrington, from Middlesex, sued for divorce in 1863 from his wife Helen claiming that “On numerous occasions Helen Jane Codrington has committed adultery with different persons and that she was habitually and frequently visited by David Anderson the Colonel of her majesty’s 22 regiment.”
Mum Cecelia Westmore gave birth to a son on August 7 1876 who died when he was 12 days old.
She sued husband Thomas Pine Westmore for divorce the same year, claiming he had three affairs while she was pregnant
The records show Cecelia claimed: “I am informed by one Alice Anderson and I believe that in and during the months July-December 1876, the said respondent frequently visited the said Alice Anderson and committed adultery with her.
“I am informed by one Jane Webb that in the month of April 1876 the respondent frequently visited the said Jane Webb and committed adultery with her.
“I am informed by one Annie Higgins and believe that from the month of Septmber 1875- April 1876... The said respondent frequently visited the said Annie Higgins and committed adultery with her.”
Divorces were relatively rare in the 19th century because of cost - with around 1,200 applications a year compared to current levels of 120,000.
The National Archives collection covers cases up to 1911 and includes civil court records on separation, custody battles, legitimacy claims and nullification of marriages
When the divorce laws first came into effect, men could divorce for adultery alone, while women had to supplement evidence of cheating with solid proof of mistreatment, such as battery or desertion.
Despite this double standard, roughly half of the records are accounts of proceedings initiated by the wife. Failure to consummate the nuptials was a common reason for the wife’s petition for a marriage to be nullified.
Frances Smith filed for divorce in 1893 on the grounds that the marriage was never consummated because her husband was incapable “by reason of the frigidity and impotency or other defect of the parts of generation” and “such incapacity is incurable by art or skill” following inspection.
The UK Civil Divorce Records for the period have been launched online by family history website Ancestry.co.uk.
Content manager Miriam Silverman said: “Just like the Victorians of the day, we couldn’t help but be fascinated by the accounts detailed within these divorce records.
“At the time, such tales often developed into national news stories, but now they’re more likely to tell us something about the double standards of the Victorian divorce system or help us learn more about the lives of our sometimes naughty ancestors.
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