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, Virginia Gretna, Virginia Gretna is a town in Pittsylvania County, Virginia, United States. The population was 1,257 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Danville Metropolitan Statistical Area. The Gretna Commercial Historic District and Yates Tavern are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Gretna is located at (36.953190, -79.362769). According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 1.1 square miles (2.8 km²), of which, 1.1 square miles (2.8 km²) is land and 0.04 square miles (0.1 km²) (1.83%) is water. As of the census of 2000, there were 1,257 people, 569