Richard Rennison 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 couple proclaimed that they were single and wanted to get married in front of witnesses. As "anvil priest", Rennison generally requested a fee of £1, but was known to earn up to £20 for a ceremony (approximately £3,030 in 2012). The popularity of the marriages grew whilst he was performing them, to the point that a special committee was formed
Gretna F.C. Gretna F.C. Gretna Football Club was a Scottish professional football club based in the town of Gretna, Dumfries and Galloway, close to the border between England and Scotland, that last competed in the Scottish Premier League, the then top flight of Scottish football. Nicknamed the Black and Whites or the Anvils the club was founded in 1946, and had rapid and continual success in the mid-2000s, and reached the Scottish Cup Final in 2006, but the club fell into severe financial difficulties when businessman Brooks Mileson, its main financial backer, withdrew funds due to ill health. The club was forced