Officials at Minster Abbey were puzzled by a special marriage licence they uncovered during a tidy-up of old files.

The document from July 1988, which bears the seal of the then Archbishop of Canterbury the Most Rev Robert Runcie, gives permission for the marriage of Thomas Michael Nordgren and Louis Annette Skold, both of Stockholm, Sweden.

It is around 40cm square and features the prominent, embossed seal of the Archbishop.

Abbey secretary Andrew Parr was surprised by the find and he said that the licence would only be issued if both parties had no connection to the parish.

He said a period of just two weeks’ residence in the area would have enabled the marriage to go ahead without the licence, which suggests the couple did not even meet that qualification.

He said: “I’m hoping that someone will remember the marriage – perhaps they supplied flowers for the wedding or had some connection to it.

“The abbey would like to contact the couple and give them the licence to keep.”

It was uncovered as the storage area beneath the tower was being cleared in preparation for opening up the west door of the abbey.

The aim of the work is to expose the Anglo-Saxon part of the Grade I listed building, which dates back to 665AD.

Mr Parr, a former electrical project engineer at Sheerness steel mill, said during the 1980s Swedish experts helped install complex electrical drives at the plant, but he did not recall a Thomas Nordgren.

The specialist were employed by a company called ASEA, which is now part of the ABB Group.

He said: “I knew the all Swedish people at the mill and didn’t recall any of them mentioning that they had relatives coming to stay from the country, or talk of a marriage.”

If anyone can shed light on the mystery, they can contact Mr Parr on 01795 875835.