Richard Rennison led to the Marriage (Scotland) Act 1939, which outlawed the process of "irregular marriages". When the new law came into force in 1940, Rennison had performed 5,147 marriages. His role then changed to a symbolic one, "blessing" marriages and acting as caretaker of the forge. He also regularly appeared at court to ensure the marriages he performed were judicially recognised. Richard Rennison Richard Rennison (29 October 1889 – 5 August 1969) was the last "anvil priest" at Gretna Green, Scotland. Between 1926 and 1940, he performed "irregular marriages" of couples over the anvil at the Old Blacksmith Shop, where the
Gretna, Dumfries and Galloway Gretna, Dumfries and Galloway Gretna () is a town in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. Because they are near the Anglo-Scottish border, nearby Gretna Green, and to a lesser extent Gretna, are traditionally associated with eloping English couples because of the more liberal marriage provisions in Scots law compared to English law. "Gretna" has become a term for a place for quick, easy marriages because of this. Gretna is part of the historic county of Dumfriesshire. Gretna means "(place at the) gravelly hill", from Old English "greot" "grit" (in the dative form greoten (which is where the -n comes from) and