3-077-699 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

Sketches at the General Register Office, Somerset House: The Old Maid’s Claim, 1890. In 1837, following the establishment of civil registration in the United Kingdom, the Registrar General of Births, Marriages and Deaths set up his office in the North Wing of Somerset House in central London, establishing a connection that lasted for over 130 years. This office held all birth, marriage and death certificates in England and Wales until 1970. The derogatory term 'old maid' was used to describe a woman who had never married, the implication being that she not attractive enough to receive proposals of marriage. From "Illustrated London News", 1890.