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 Green Both are accessed from the A74(M) motorway and are near the border of Scotland with England. Gretna Green is one of the world's most popular wedding destinations, due to its romantic wedding traditions dating back over centuries, which originated from cross-border elopements stemming from differences between Scottish marriage laws and those in neighbouring countries. It has usually been assumed that Gretna's "runaway marriages" began in 1754 when Lord Hardwicke's Marriage Act came into force in England. Under the Act, if a parent of a person under the age of 21 objected to the minor's marriage, the parent could legally veto