Thanks Frances
My ancestor James Kerridge was from Suffolk and after he married on the Isle of Man, he ended up in Manchester which is where I come from.
I think he was in the army: the 1861 Census desctribes him as a Chelsea Pensioner and the War records show a listing for him from about 1816-1840, being discharged from the 80th foot. In a general search of the Web for the 80th foot I came across a biography of a Maltese recruit in the 80th foot, whose career showed they were posted back to England in the 1820s, serving in Belfast and Manchester; there's also a mention of 8oth foot soldiers in Manx jail in 1826(on the Manx Notebook, I think), suggesting they were on the IOM at the time of my James Kerridge's marriage to what I must assume was a "local" girl, Margaret Shimmin.
Unfortunately, Kerridge was common in Suffolk in the early 1800s and I'm hoping if I can find out his parents names from his marriage entry, it might help. It would also be interesting to explore the Shimmin connection and his army career, but although I've been at this a while, I haven't been to Kew yet.
Any further tips or help would be much appreciated.
Thanks
Laura