Are Singles To Spark UK Scilly Season?

Despite having a tiny population, the Scilly Isles are the UK’s top location for marriages, with 61 people married in every 1,000, according to 192.com, the UK’s most powerful people and business finder.

In contrast, remote districts in Wales and the south midlands had the fewest marriages per thousand people, with only 1 person married in every 1,000 in Machynlleth (Powys), Penllyn (Gwynedd), Kington (Herefordshire), Clun (Shropshire) and Warminster (Wiltshire).

Through cross-referencing its marriage records with electoral roll data, 192.com has calculated the UK’s ‘marriage index’ – the best and worst places for tying the knot in the British Isles:

- VERY LOW (1 person in every thousand): Machynlleth, Penllyn, Kington, Clun, Warminster and Ystradgynls

- LOW (2 people married in every thousand): Hay, Bangor, Cardigan, Redbridge, Halifax, mid-Powys, Leominster, Ledbury, Launceston and Dwyfor

- MEDIUM (10 people married in every thousand): Bromley, Rochdale, Bishops Stortford, Hounslow, Trafford, Ely, Petersfield, Falmouth, Chorley, Kettering)

- HIGH (20 people married in every thousand): Mansfield, Rushcliffe, Evesham, Durham, Bury St Edmonds, Kendal, Kensington and Chelsea, Ribble Valley, Chichester, Westminster, Cambridge

- VERY HIGH: Brentwood (36), North Surrey (38), West Surrey (39), Chiltern (39), London City (55) and the Scilly Isles (61)

“With the top location for marriages more than sixty times that of the lowest, it is obvious that where you live does have an impact on your prospects.” said Keith Marsden, managing director at 192.com. “However there are a few anomalies. In reality, people who live in the Scilly Isles are probably keen to marry and stay there. And while the population of London City is quite low, it’s not too surprising that due to the high number of beautiful churches in the area, the marriage rate is the second highest in the country.”

192.com found that in some cases, just a few miles make all the difference: Birkenhead has just nine marriages per thousand people, but South Cheshire has 26. 192.com was surprised to find that districts in Greater London ranked highly for marriages – despite the Archbishop of Canterbury’s comments about people in London being disinclined to marry, people in the City of London (55/1000), Westminster (27/1000), Watford (24/1000) and Kensington and Chelsea (24/1000) seem keen to make ‘honest men and women’ out of each other.

“But perhaps 192.com’s research has just highlighted a pattern of love migration, with younger couples marrying in the cities before moving out to the suburbs.

“We’re also encouraging people to look up lost loves this Valentines day using our people finder and mapping services. Hopefully we’ll see some movement in the marriage figures in the years to come!” concluded Marsden.

To find the locations of the more obscure districts mentioned, or to look up a lost love, please visit 192.com.