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
Charles Ferdinand, Prince of Capua of the Two Sicilies that members of the blood-royal of the kingdom, whatever their age, were required to obtain the consent of the sovereign to marry and that marriages made without this consent should be deemed to be null and void Defying his brother's will, Charles married morganatically Penelope Smyth on 5 April 1836 in Gretna Green. Gretna Green was the first stagecoach stop in Scotland after the border city of Carlisle. It was a popular place for young lovers to marry. There it was sufficed for couples to declare their wish to marry before witnesses. A residence requirement or