Gretna Green – Runaway Marriages | SCOTTISH TOURIST Gretna Green – Runaway Marriages Go to top Gretna Green – Runaway Marriages – is one of the world’s most popular wedding destinations, hosting over 5,000 weddings each year – one of every six Scottish weddings. It has usually been assumed that Gretna’s famous “runaway marriages” began in 1754 when Lord Hardwicke’s Marriage Act came into force in England. Under the Act, if a parent of a minor (i.e., a person under the age of 21) objected, they could prevent the marriage going ahead. The Act tightened up the requirements for marrying in England and Wales but did not apply in Scotland, where it was possible for boys to marry at 14 and girls at 12 with or without parental consent. It was, however, only in the 1770s, with the construction of a toll road passing through the thitherto obscure village of Graitney, that Gretna Green became the first easily reachable village over the Scottish border.

The Old Blacksmith’s Shop, built around 1712, and Gretna Hall Blacksmith’s Shop (1710) became, in popular folklore at least, the focal tourist points for the marriage trade. The Old Blacksmith’s opened to the public as a visitor attraction as early as 1887. Gretna Green Anvil Go to top The local blacksmith and his anvil have become the lasting symbols of Gretna Green weddings. Scottish law allowed for “irregular marriages”, meaning that if a declaration was made before two witnesses, almost anybody had the authority to conduct the marriage ceremony. The blacksmiths in Gretna became known as “anvil priests”, culminating with Richard Rennison, who performed 5,147 ceremonies. Gretna & Gretna Green Feature Page on Undiscovered Scotland Classic Postcard View of the "World Famous Old Blacksmith's Shop" Every year over 4,000 weddings take place in Gretna and Gretna Green, which amounts to around one in eight of all weddings that take place in Scotland.

And there seems every chance that the twin settlements are between them home to rather more than one in eight of all the anvils remaining in Scotland. Gretna Green lies either side of the A74(M) motorway, a mile across the border into Scotland from England. It forms one end of a village whose other end is called Springfield. Gretna Green became famous though a combined accident of history and geography. England in the early 1700s was facing serious social problems caused by large numbers of irregular marriages taking place around the country. The solution was an Act of Parliament introduced in 1754 by Lord Hardwicke. This restricted the number of places in which marriages could take place; it tightened up the regulations on recording of marriages; and, most significantly, it outlawed marriages in which either bride or groom were under 21 unless both sets of parents or guardians consented. The new law was rigorously enforced, and clergymen faced 14 years of transportation for breaking it. But the 1754 Act did not apply to Scotland. Here it remained possible for anyone of 16 or over to get married with or without their parents' consent.

And marriages could be carried out without prior notice and in a wide range of venues, without need for a clergyman to officiate. Gretna Green happened to be the first place you reached in Scotland when following the main route north from Carlisle, and so it became a centre for runaway marriages. These were often carried out by the village blacksmith as the most respected tradesman in the community. And they were often carried out with a sense of urgency driven by the knowledge that one or other set of parents was in hot pursuit. The act of marriage came to be marked by the striking of his anvil by the blacksmith. This could be seen as symbolising the joining together of two pieces of metal in the heat of the blacksmith's fire. Like them, the couples involved were joined together in the heat of the moment and bound together for eternity. An English Act of Parliament in 1857 meant that a marriage in Scotland would no longer be recognised in England unless one of the parties to it had been resident in Scotland for at least three weeks prior to the wedding. This slightly reduced the flow of such weddings, and killed off a similar "wedding industry" in Coldstream on the other side of the country.

But Gretna Green remained a considerable draw until 1940, when irregular marriages performed by someone other than a clergyman or official registrar were outlawed in Scotland. During the 13 years until 1940 the last "anvil priest" who officiated at the Old Smithy, Richard Rennison, is said to have performed 5,147 weddings. And for 37 years that was pretty much that. But in 1977 the three week residential requirement was removed; couples instead needing to give 14 days written notice of their wedding. And from 1994 anvil weddings outside church premises once more began to take place in Gretna and Gretna Green, albeit conducted by clergymen. Since 2002 Registrars have also been able to perform civil weddings in approved venues outside Registration Offices. The result has been the steady increase in the numbers of weddings taking place in Gretna and Gretna Green, a trend that shows no sign of diminishing. And the range of venues on offer is bewildering.

In Gretna Green the "World Famous Old Blacksmith's Shop", also called the Old Smithy, is perhaps the best known venue. This now has three wedding rooms, each with an anvil; and has developed a fascinating (and surprisingly extensive) museum. It has also transformed itself into a major tourist attraction with a range of shops and other facilities. Close by is the Gretna Hall Hotel, another popular wedding venue, complete with its own blacksmith's shop (and anvils), while a number of other wedding venues are also available in Gretna Green. See also our Marrying in Scotland page. Gretna Green is separated from Gretna by the dual carriageway A75 and by a few hundred yards of open fields. Gretna was built from scratch as a planned township during the First World War, to house workers from the huge munitions factories developed in the area. This has not stopped Gretna taking part in the wedding boom of the last decade. Key points of focus include the Registration Office, Scotland's busiest, and the magnificent Anvil Hall, a church converted for use specifically for weddings. Other churches and hotels in Gretna also offer wedding packages, each competing to provide an experience to remember.

Meanwhile both Gretna and Gretna Green are home to a number of local businesses supplying flowers, cakes, dresses, cars, photographers, accommodation and everything else you could possibly need to make that special day perfect. In talking about Gretna and Gretna Green, it is easy to overlook the fact that there is rather more to them than just their focus on marriage. Gretna's football club has become increasingly famous in recent years, both through its exploits on the field, and as a model of community involvement. Meanwhile, on the shopping front the Gretna Gateway Outlet Village provides a major attraction in its own right. And anywhere else, the WWI development of Gretna to serve what was the world's largest munitions factory would deserve a more in-depth look. On the north shore of the Solway a workforce of 30,000 people produced vast quantities of cordite, or devil's porridge. On an equally sombre note, on 22 May 1915 Gretna became the location of Britain's worst ever rail disaster, when a troop train taking troops of the Royal Scots to fight in Gallipoli ran into a stationary local train.

The wreckage of the two trains was then hit by a northbound express. At least 226 people were killed and a further 246 injured in the Quintinshill disaster. The Anvil Hall in Gretna Testimonials This page is a light hearted look at the history of Gretna Green and Gretna Green weddings and some of the characters who have helped to make Gretna Green the marriage mecca which it is today. Gretna Green first became popular for weddings after Lord Hardwicke introduced the 1754 Act of Parliament which stated 1) Any marriages performed in a church would have to be recorded in the Parish Records which in turn would have to be signed by both Bride and Groom. 2) Weddings which were carried out in places or at times which were deemed illegal in the 1604 canons were not legal ceremonies. 3) All weddings should be performed in a church and would be recognised legally while "verbal spousals" which were non-church ceremonies would not be deemed legal. 4) Bride and Groom must both be 21 or over to marry wihout their parents or guardians consent.

This law was introduced to prevent the thousands of marriages which were taking place illegally around the country, causing an outcry as these ceremonies were never properly recorded and led to many disputes where landowners daughters had married against their fathers wishes. To be married in this way all the Bride and Groom had to do was appear before a parson and two witnesses and declare their wish to be married. Irregular marriages were most commonplace around Fleet prison in London where there were over 50 marriage houses. These laws were enforced by secular courts and any clerygmen breaking these laws faced 14 years of transportation. However these laws only applied to England and as Scottish law has always been different to English and still allowed you to be married at 16, the result of this was that couples, where either Bride or Groom or both were under the age of 21 they would run away to Scotland to be married. With Gretna Green being the most southerly part of the Scotland and England border it is where many of these runaways arrived. Over the years many couples would runaway to Gretna Green for their marriages to take place.

The ceremonies were usually perfomed by one of the village blacksmiths who in those days were at the heart of the comunity and held in suitable regard. Even today, many of the Ministers refer, in their services, to the similarity of a blacksmith joining 2 metals over the anvil to the marriage ceremony joining 2 people as one.. Often the young couples would be chased by at least one pair of angry parents and legend has it that on occasions the ceremony would be halted and the young couple hustled into the nearest bed, so that when the angry father found the couple in bed together he would head home in disgust, thinking he was too late to prevent the wedding taking place. Once the Father had gone the couple would then continue with their wedding. 1977 saw yet another change in law which removed the three week cooling off period as there was no longer a residential qualification. The act stated that people must give a minimum of 14 days written notice before the date of their wedding. This law allowed couples to be married wherever they chose but it wasn't until 1994 when Ministers began to perform anvil weddings in Gretna Green (outwith the church premises) that the tradition of the anvil wedding was reborn.

The latest change in the law occurred in June 2002 whereby Registrars were allowed to perfom Civil ceremonies outwith the Registry offices, in approved venues. The first such ceremony in Scotland took place at The Mill Forge, Gretna Green on the 6th of August 2002 when Jo Shine and Nick Drummond were married. In 1857 Lord Brougham brought in a bill changing the law which meant that a couple must be in residence in the area for a minimum of 21 days prior to the proposed date, this became known as "the three week cooling-off period". This drastically reduced the number of marriages in Gretna Green but did not stop the more determined couples who came anyway and found work on farms or other local businesses for the three week cooling-off period. This state of affairs continued until 1940 when all "irregular marriages " were stopped. During a thirteen year period before 1940 an anvil priest named Richard Rennison is reputed to have claimed that he performed 5147 Gretna Green weddings.

The History Of Gretna Green Weddings British Ancestry - Articles "GRETNA GREEN MARRIAGE RECORDS" Cecil R. Humphery-Smith Many families have legends of their ancestors, unable or unwilling to be married under English Law, fleeing to the Toll roads into Scotland, to "the debatable lands" to be married by "priests" who performed marriages on the basis of common consent, co-habitation, and subsequent cunsummation under Scottish Law. After Hardwick's Act of 1754 until an Act of Parliament in 1856 such union were valid in Law. There are many later examples, but these registers are unique in containing more than 10,000 names of those involved in 18th and 19th century clandestine marriages. Border centres for clandestine unions were quite well known and were also commonly used for marriages by those members of the population of the northern part of England which objected the marriage in a church. Nonconformists of the Northern counties especially crossed the border to marry under the laxer laws of Scotland.

Another motive appears to have been to save expense, as with the Fleet marriages in London, but many English runaway marriages were performed by clergy of the Episcopalian Church and entered in their parish registers. As often as not, the "minister", or "priest", as many of them preferred to be known, were engaged in other trades and their sole function was to act as a witness, often keeping their own records of the events. There were several such centres on the main roads out of England into the east of Scotland at the Border Toll Bars at Mordington, Lamberton, Coldstream, Paxton, Chambridge, Ayton, Ladykirk, Norham Bridge, Springfield, Halidon Hill, Lambton Toll and Alison's Toll. However, such marriages were recorded further afield, even in Edinburgh. Lord Hardwicke's Marriage Act of 1753, which came into force the following year, stipulated that for a marriage to be legal it must be performed in a building licensed for the purpose. Couples therefore sped into Scotland where marriage by mere consent, given before witnesses and followed by co-habitation, constituted a legally valid act.

It was not until 1825 that Graitney or Gretna Hall was converted into an hotel and marriage centre for eloping couples. The popularity of Gretna was certainly increased by this but there were already other "successful" centres in Gretna. Dwellers on both sides of the border in the "debatable land" had over many centuries relied upon priests from the remote abbeys of Jedburgh and Kelso visiting the district to perform the rites, ceremonies and administer the Sacraments. After the Reformation, priests were replaced by the "ministers," or self-styled "priests," prepared to witness the irregular unions and keep registers of their own. One, called a forger of marriages or blacksmith (when he was in fact a weaver) in a Court case, gave rise to the legend of the "Blacksmith". The system was effectively brought to an end by Lord Brougham's Marriage Act, 1858; but it was not until 1939 that marriage by consent of the parties concerned was finally abolished. Even today, couples travel to Gretna Green to be married at "The Famous Blacksmith's Shop" simply for the romantic element.

One of the earliest of the Gretna "priests" was William Coulthard who taught Joseph Pasley (sometimes, erroneously, named Paisley) the "magic form of words" so that he could "sartfay all persons that may be concerned.....". Pasley was born about 1730 in the obscure Lennoxtown village of the parish of Kirkandrews-on-Esk in Cumberland, about a mile from Gretna. The son of a dissenting clergyman, he was a bound apprentice to a tobacconist but became a fisherman and smuggler under the guidance of "auld Watty" Coulthard near the port of Sarkfoot. Coulthard may once have been apprenticed to a blacksmith, but the smithy at Gretna was never a "marriage shop" until long after Brougham's Act, when it was converted to entertain tourists. When "auld Watty" went to the Isle of Man to fetch a cargo of contraband brandy, Joe Pasley was left to perform the necessary rites during his absence, and, being at the time under some pecuniary embarrassment, Pasley began business on his own account.

Joseph Pasley was a big rough hard-drinking Borderer, tall, spare and so strong that he could straighten a horseshoe with his bare hands. For the last forty years of his life, he drank a Scots pint of undiluted brandy every day. Whisky, he declared, was a woman's drink. Pasley followed part of the liturgy of the Church of England from his book and profited well from his marriage shop. He died in 1814 at the age of 82, according to the inscription on his tombstone in Gretna Green churchyard. He had become enormously stout and weighed some 25 stone. Pasley's marriage shop was at the inn kept by Willie Johnson and Peggy Morgan about 300 yards from the River Sark on the toll road at the entrance to Springfield town. Robert Elliott, a somewhat pugnacious man, was born at Galashiels Rigg in Northumberland in 1784, the son of a farmer, who joined the stagecoach proprietors, Wilson and Fairbairn, at their Springfield establishment and married Ann Graham, the granddaughter of Joseph Pasley.

Elliott set up his marriage house at "The Queens Head public house" and practised from 1811 to 1847. In a letter to "The Times" published 23 February 1843, he stated that his wife's grandfather was the "reputed Blacksmith" who appointed him to succeed him and that he had married 7,744 persons, as he could show from his registers. He claimed that Lang had started up sometime after him. David Lang (not Laing as it is often spelt) was born in 1755, his mother being a sister of Joseph Pasley. His father was an agricultural labourer but David became an itinerant pedlar of drapers' and household stuff along the Scottish border counties. While he was away peddling his goods in Lancashire, he was caught by a press gang and sent off to sea. He served some time in the Navy till his ship was captured by Paul Jones, the pirate. Lang became a member of the pirate crew and when the ship was near the Solway shore, Lang slipped away to his native Springfield.

At the age of 38, he settled down as a "priest", his marriage shop being in "The Maxwell Arms". It was in a trial as to the validity of a marriage that David Lang was addressed as "Mr Blacksmith" by counsel in Court. This led to the reporters of the event making Lang into a blacksmith by trade, which he was not. Simon Lang was born in Springfield in 1792 and on his father's death in 1827 took up the trade, though continuing his own occupation as a weaver, becoming a friend of John Linton, an innkeeper who managed the marriage shop at Graitney Hall. The Gretna Hall registers for the year 1826 were all signed by David Lang except six, two of which were signed by Elliott. David Lang signed all but one of the Gretna Hall register entries up to the 21st June 1827. From then on to the 31st May 1828 they were signed by Simon Lang, except for four signed by Robert Elliott. After 1828, all were signed by John Linton.

When John Linton took over old Graitney Hall, he soon created it into an hotel and became known as the "Bishop" with the "priest", David Lang, often witnessing and signing for him at Graitney Hall. Many evil characters came in from elsewhere to settle at Gretna and practise in the marriage trade. There was no lack of men tempted by easy money willing to act as "priests", so reducing the dignity that had been maintained by Linton, the Langs and even by Murray in the "marriage offices". The Toll Houses were the property of the Road Trustees and sometimes several were leased to one person with power to sub-let, as Murray did. One of his tenants, or rather undertenant, at the Lamberton Toll was Simon Beattie who between 4 o'clock on a Saturday morning and Sunday evening, had married no less than 45 couples at the Sark Toll Bar in Gretna. He was the only one of the many "priests" who appears to have been in any way frugal or thrifty, making enough money to take on the tenancy of Shawrigg Farm on the Mossknowo estate.

Simon does not appear to have been any relation of James Beattie who was tenant of "The Queens Head" later in the hands of his grandson Joseph. Neither were "priests". Tom Little, Lang's rival was known as "Tom the Piper". He came from Bewcastle in Northumberland or possibly from Nicol Forest in Cumberland where he had worked as a blacksmith in his youth. He had outrun the constable and taken refuge in the Border Lands of Scotland after involvement in some quarrel. Apart from old Joe Pasley, he was probably the only one connected with the farrier's trade. Springfield was a well-known harbour for broken-down Cumberland men and a bankrupt got rid of his liabilities by crossing the border. It was easy to get a public house licence in Springfield and Tom, a huge man weighing 23 stones, was always ready for a joke and a drink. He took a two-storey house in the centre of the village called "The Gretna Wedding Inn" and his son painted a sign depicting a blacksmith's shop, though the blacksmith's myth predated Tom Little's arrival. A certain amount of trade came in from Brampton.

Tom set himself to develop this by making arrangements with the proprietor of "The Howard Arms" who supplied couples with a round-shaped gig to hold four persons with a driver's seat in front, called Brampton Tubs. They were well known driving to Springfield and the "Blacksmith's Shop", where Tom would entertain his wedding guests on Cumbrian bag-pipes. At Langholme Fair, "Tom the Piper" set up a table and chairs in a tent displaying the sign "The Gretna Wedding Inn" and further announced that music was in his charge. He was a contemporary of old Simon Lang and of John Murray. Tom was illiterate and his wife wrote the "lines" while Tom, in his own parlance, "said the ceremony". In the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, several commercial enterprises produced such things as tobacco jars and Staffordshire-ware representing the marriages at Gretna Green. Pasley was a tobacconist from 1790-1800 and while Tom the Piper's sign was not the first, it was the most popular.

Thomas Little confessed in 1843 that he knew his sign was all wrong "but then we know that our best customers, the English, whom we wish to attract and please, have taken such a notion into their heads". In 1907, the village smithy was converted into a shop for the sale of curios and marriages under Scottish Law which then required three weeks' residence in Scotland for a bona fide marriage. A similar house was established at the Star Bridge Toll Bar, both returning their records to the local registrar. Much publicity was given to the anvil. It had even been described as being 400 years old. But as likely as not it belonged to Mr Harkness who was the genuine blacksmith of Gretna for the period 1855-1865 and never carried on or had any connection with the marrying trade. He went to Carlisle, taking his anvil with him, and when he died, his son, weary of a blacksmith's trade, sold the anvil. In that way it came back to the smithy where Harkness had worked.

A verse from Lord Neeve's song published in 1868 (when it was all officially over) sums it all up, as "suppose that Jockie and Jennie say 'we two are husband and wife', the witnesses needn't be many, they're instantly buckled for life". With Linton at Graitney or Gretna Hall, Simon Lang returned to "The Maxwell Arms" for his performances and both were contending with the increasing numbers of "priests" taking advantage of the trade. Simon Lang tried to conduct his ceremony with dignity and decorum, as had David Lang before him. When summoned from his loom, Simon slipped into a long-tailed black coat and presented himself with his register wrapped in a red pocket-handkerchief. The trade was more or less defunct when Simon Lang moved to Felling-on-Tyne, Northumberland, where he died on 24th April 1872. He was buried in Gretna Churchyard.

His son, William Lang, succeeded his father as the accepted "priest" of the Blacksmith Shop as it now popularly called, though whether auld Watty Courthald was ever a blacksmith or a nailor still remains in doubt. William Lang (known as Auld Wullie) was a weaver like his father but for some time was also acting as district postman. Up to 1895, he maintained the registers. Apparently, The Times kept a correspondent at Gretna Green and in 1803 reported the following tale. The young son of a Mr S. Crookholm, near Brampton, resolved to wed. His father, equally firmly, resolved that no wedding should take place. The son was a minor, so a special licence was unobtainable. Mr S., tired of the old man's importunate solicitations, locked him into a room. This he was not able to endure. Only one method of escape was apparent and that a black one. Up the chimney went the bridegroom, off the roof and away to the house of Scarr where his lady-love dwelt.

Impatiently, he attracted Miss W's attention but alas, when she appeared, she did not recognise her own dear love under his covering of soot!. In a husky voice, he begged for soap and water. After some demure, cleansing materials were quietly provided. Overjoyed Miss W beheld her own true love in recognisable form. Plans were quickly made, and as rapidly carried out. Success attended their efforts and the two were married at Gretna Green in December 1803. In 1809, a lady came to Gretna who appeared to think she should have as many husbands as fancy might dictate. Certainly, some names reappear several times. In 1807, Sarah Dunn Gardner had married the 3rd Marquis Townshend. The following year she tried unsuccessfully to obtain a degree of nullity. The next year she appears at Gretna Green with John Margetts of St Ives and went through a form of marriage with him. The unfortunate Marquis, hating the whole thing, lived and died abroad in 1855.

Ten days later, the extraordinary woman married again and there can be little doubt that the reputation together with a poor understanding of the laws of irregular marriages in Scotland contributed to much eccentric conduct and caused as much misery. In 1821, a young English lawyer on the northern circuit, seized the opportunity to visit Scotland and later recounted his amusing adventures in The Scots Magazine. "On the way from Dumfries to Carlisle we pass through Gretna and then was met by a chaise-and-four the horses all in a foam, the postilions whipping and spurring like the very devil, and a gentleman of interesting and manly appearance on the box cheering them on to still greater exertions and more unmerciful flagellations..... but the father had not caught up with his fugitive child who had become a wife at Johnson's Tavern." Johnson's Tavern was Paisley's tippling house and probably Elliott was the marriage monger. The tavern was pulled down in 1830 and the site destroyed by the Caledonian Railway in 1848. The railway improved the chances of runaway couples and the trade of Gretna.

As late as 1929, of 325 Gretna Green Marriages, on 62 were registered. Ten years later, the trade was brought to an end. While a musical play called "Gretna Green" was produced at The Haymarket Theatre in 1783 showing the farrier's shop and the blacksmith parson, there is little doubt that the term comes from a nickname for the witness who roughly forged the union between the couple by the long practiced Scottish mode of joining hands for life. Claverhouse devotes a whole chapter to discussing this title. Nevertheless, it is likely that since Graitney Hall became a coach and chaise stop, there would have been some means of correcting the shoes of horses and the remarks about the strength of old Joe Pasley suggests that the farrier's art was not unknown in Gretna Green, metaphorically or factually.

On the morning of the 11th December 1996, I received a telephone call from our colleague John Titford with the first information that Lot no.1273 was to be auctioned by Anderson and Garland of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, among a collection of paintings, furniture, stamp albums, postcards and cigarette cards. The Lot consisted of the registers of Gretna marriages from 1783 to 1895 formerly held by the solicitors, Robert Muckle, Son and Hall of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, who had succeeded W.H. Ord. A speedy and unilateral decision had to be made with some degree of courage. The whole collection is contained in a metal box lettered GRETNA GREEN MARRIAGE RECORDS. The catalogue describes this as the Lang Family Collection of Gretna Marriage Records from which the Langs derived their income from charging fees for their services and by which David Lang, in particular, became famous for his paid attendances at court cases throughout Britain involving legal disputes arising from his ceremonies.

Not without justification, the press has made much of the entry from the 1794 to 1834 register showing the entry of the marriage of the former Chancellor of England, Lord Erskine. It took place on the 12th October 1818 (not 1820, as so many state) at David Lang's shop in "The Maxwell Arms" on the Springfield Toll road. Lord Erskine had formerly been a sailor and soldier and seen much service abroad. In 1770, he married Frances Mary Moore and struggled through years of great poverty before his chance came in 1778. His wife died in 1805 leaving him with eight children but he had become enamoured of Sarah Buck, his housekeeper, of York Buildings, London, and had had several children by her. Scottish Law legitimated children by the subsequent marriage of their parents, which was not so in England until more than a century later. Erskine arrived in Gretna dressed in woman's clothes and a large leghorn bonnet and long veil, accompanied by Miss Buck and the several children.

There was an old superstition that children should be seen to be unborn and kept "under the mother's apron string" so Miss Buck went through the ceremony covering her children under her cloak. Lord Erskine's eldest son, the Hon. Thomas Erskine, drove up to try to prevent the marriage just as the couple were departing and although the family tried to induce their father to dissolve the marriage, it was proved to be valid and binding. Lord Erskine died aged 72 in 1723 leaving Sarah with his many children and very little money. The registers abound in references to such foolhardy efforts to circumvent the law. Through the kindness and verve of Mrs Elizabeth "Liz" Bregazzi and aided by donations from John Dayton, John Titford and "the estate of my late great aunt(!)", with further funds that I made available to Achievements Ltd to contribute, the collection was secured for the Trustees of the Institute of Heraldic and Genealogical Studies, because of the well substantiated rumours that it was destined to be purchased by others and leave for Australia or even America. Andrew McCould of the Newcastle Auctioneers expected the lot to fetch "tens of thousands of pounds".

Much was published in the Press after the auction. Any other genealogical or archive body had to seek advice of committees in order to bid and public notice had been far too short. The collection consists of four hard-bound marriage registers: 1794-1834, with one or two early references from 1783; 1825-1850; 1838-1974, and 1874-1895. Each register has a separate index volume, though cursory examination of these shows many discrepancies.

There are also two soft-bound registers for 1828 and 1834; 21 bundles of loose records relating to 1803-1825; 1820-1824; 1828-1829; 1830; 1832 through to 1837 (many of these are copies [or drafts] of certificates); two for 1841; 1842; two for 1843; 1844; two for 1845; 1839 1874; 1853; 1829-1846; six envelopes of correspondence, marriage record slips, certificates of marriage; invoices for search fees and so on. Most of the last are in original manuscript and cover a period from about 1850-1953. One envelope contains a receipt for a sum paid for collection to a family descendant, Simon Lang, by W.H.

Ord on 13th March 1912 when the box was delivered into the custody of Mr Ord's solicitors - ï¿½45. This is equivalent to about ï¿½9,000 today. The total cost, around ï¿½14,000, which my colleagues and I incurred, is perhaps not unreasonable in the light of developments in interest in family history. In the 1870s, Auld Wullie Lang charged 2/6d to search each page of his registers (this equates to several hundred pounds for a full search). The solicitors have, of late, charged ï¿½25 a search. The Trustees of The Institute have agreed to a fee of ï¿½25 per search, pro.tem. (with certificated entry). Over the intervening years I have carried out the searches voluntarily, but it should shortly be possible to search on the Internet and to download images of the entries Thanks to the work of my grandson Michael.

Since 1st January 1855, most marriages recorded at Gretna should be found to have been made in duplicate, one being held by the local registrar, the other by the Registrar General for Scotland at New Register House, Edinburgh. This is far from the case, so making the Gretna Green Registers the more important for research. The parish registers of Graitney for the years 1730-1855 are also held by the Registrar General. These have been kept by the ministers, or session clerks, of the parish church but marriages which can be regarded as irregular may be found entered in the parish registers of many churches along the Scottish border and even in Glasgow and Edinburgh. The Lang Collection is but one of several sources, but it is undoubtedly one of the most important for genealogists of English families. The Lang Collection is by far the largest of all the collections of papers and registers of irregular Gretna Green marriages.

Messrs Wright, Brown and Strong, the solicitors of Carlisle, hold a later collectioon (1843-1865) by the "priests" John Murray, the stonemason, who with others set up his shop at the Sark Bridge Toll Bar often known as Allison's Bank Toll. While Gretna Hall attracted most of the "quality", Murray went for "quantity" and shortly before Lord Brougham's Act became law, he married more than sixty couples in a day. The Murray Collection is said to consist of six volumes and over six thousand entries. Our acquisition has more than 4,500 entries and thousands of certificates. There are some interesting statistics for those who regard these as essentially Scottish records. A collection of entries from the Lamberton Toll, 1833-1848, is held by The Society of Genealogists. Collections for Alison's and Sark Bridge are held by a solicitor in Carlisle, a small collection for Springfield by the registrar at Gretna and the Ewart Library in Dumfries also holds a small collection of records from Graitney Hall.

In 1949, the Scottish Record Society published the Gretna Hall Marriages 1829-1854 and their index shows that nearly 90% were couples from England and elsewhere, outside Scotland. This index has been published. A first analysis of the Lang Collection indicates that fewer than 3% of Scots were married in the Lang "shops". This is not surprising because Scottish couples were already free from the English legal constraints. The Trustees of the Institute intend, in due course, to publish the indexes and to make the collection more readily available to the public, probably in microform or CD-ROM. The Trustees will also consider where ultimately to deposit the collection. Details of other collections of border marriage records are available from: The Scottish Border Carnival Museum Service, 49 Newtown Street, Duns, Berwickshire, TD11, 3AU. County Records Office, Melton Park, North Gosforth, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, NE3 5QX. Berwick-upon-Tweed Record Office, Council Office, Wallace Green, TD15 1ED.

North British Trust Hotels, Gretna Hall Hotel, Gretna Green, Dumfrieshire, DG16 5DY. Mr A. Houston, The Old Blacksmith Shop, Gretna Green, Dumfrieshire, DG16 5EY. The Registrar, Central Avenue, Gretna, Dumfrieshire, DG16 5AQ. Wright Brown & Strong, Solicitors, 7 & 9 Bank Street, Carlisle, CA3 8HQ. Durham University Library & Archives, 5 The College, Durham City, ...... The Ewart Library, Catherine Street, Dumfries, DG1 1JB. John Gray, Orchard Cottage, Duns Road, Coldstream, Berkwickshire, TD12 4DW. General Register Office, New Register House, Edinburgh, EH1 3YT. D.J.

Steel deals fully with irregular marriages in Vol XII of the National Index of Parish Registers, Sources for Scottish Genealogy and Family History (1970) pp.97-107 and in Vol I, General Sources of Births, Marriages and Deaths before 1837 (1968, 1976) pp.315-317. There is a sound article, "Irregular Border Marriages" by G.S. Chrighton in The Genealogist's Magazine vol.20 no.8 pp.208, 264-266. To this may be added Miss Meliora C. Fowle Smith's Irregular Border Marriages published under the pseudonym of "Claverhouse" (1934) in which there is a fuller account of the Gretna marriage records made by David, Simon and William Lang. The Lang registers and papers were acquired by the Institute in December 1996 from an auction house in Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Let it be clearly understood that the evidence of these is that Gretna registers are incomplete and many certificates have been lost or destroyed.

Matters of bigamy are discussed in Lawrence Stone's Road to Divorce, England 1530-1987 (1990). As the total cost of the exercise was approaching ï¿½40,000, the Trustees consider that they have carried out one of the purposes of the foundation, but must also make every effort to recover funds for future projects of this kind. As transcribers, indexers and others whose enthusiasm has built up these collections wish to retire or otherwise come to the end of their lives, they or their beneficiaries often put them on the open market and they may be lost for generations. The efforts of the Trustees of the Institute to rescue such collections and to direct them to permanent repositories are to be commended to benefactors. The Trustees are immensely grateful to those who have come to their aid on these occasions. * For some 45 years I have depended upon private income to support my voluntary work for the Institute; this has also included the acquisition of additions to the library and collections.

Much of the funding has come from hard work in other fields, as an agricultural chemist and an archivist abroad, as a lecturer for several universities, from writing, and joint efforts with my wife and family Hoever, I have also had the advantage of gifts and endowments that ultimately derived from my great Aunt Hilda Louise Humphery Smith who died in 1944. In 1987, this enabled me to negotiate and purchase for the Institute a large collection of transcripts of Sussex parochial material and to arrange for its microfilming. In exchange for a quantity of copies of my Atlas and Index of Parish Registers, The LDS Genealogical Society contributed funding and we were able to donate the original collection to the East Sussex Record Officer at Lewes. The microfilms have now been converted to fiches and are available for purchase. A catalogue may be obtained, price ï¿½5 (post paid), from the Registrar of the Institute, 7 July 2003 Gretna Green Gretna Green By Ellen Castelow , Contributing Writer | Comments Gretna Green in Dumfries and Galloway is possibly the most romantic place in Scotland, if not in the UK.

This small Scottish village has become synonymous with romance and runaway lovers. In 1754 a new law, Lord Hardwicke's Marriage Act, was brought into force in England. This law required young people to be over 21 years of age if they wished to marry without their parents’ or guardian’s consent. The marriage was required to be a public ceremony in the couple’s parish, with an official of the Church presiding. The new law was rigorously enforced and carried a sentence of 14 years transportation for any clergyman found breaking it. The Scots however did not change the law and continued with their centuries-old marriage customs. The law in Scotland allowed anyone over the age of 15 to enter into marriage provided they were not closely related to each other and were not in a relationship with anyone else. This marriage contract could be made wherever the couple liked, in private or in public, in the presence of others or no-one at all. The ‘irregular marriage’ ceremony would be short and simple, something like: “Are you of marriageable age? Yes Are you free to marry? Yes You are now married.” A marriage in the Scottish tradition could take place anywhere on Scottish soil.

Being so close to the English border, Gretna was popular with English couples wanting to marry but when in the 1770s a toll road was built running through the village making it even more accessible from south of the border, it soon became renowned as the destination for eloping couples. Forbidden romance and runaway marriages were popularised in the fiction of the time, for example in the novel ‘Pride and Prejudice’ by Jane Austen . English couples usually preferred to keep some English marriage traditions and so looked for someone in authority to oversee the ceremony. The most senior and respected craftsman or artisan in the countryside was the village blacksmith, and so the Blacksmith’s Forge at Gretna Green became a favourite place for weddings. The tradition of the blacksmith sealing the marriage by striking his anvil led to the Gretna blacksmiths becoming known as ‘anvil priests’. Indeed the blacksmith and his anvil are now symbols of Gretna Green weddings. Gretna Green’s famous Blacksmiths Shop, the Old Smithy where lovers have come to marry since 1754, is still in the village and still a wedding venue.

There are now several other wedding venues in Gretna Green and marriage ceremonies are still performed over a blacksmith’s anvil. Gretna Green remains one of the most popular places for weddings and thousands of couples from all around the world flock to this Scottish village to be married each year. Relatively Speaking: Gretna Green marriages - Victoria Advocate - Victoria, TX Relatively Speaking: Gretna Green marriages June 9, 2010 at 1:09 a.m. Scotland's Gretna Green is noted for runaway marriages. By Martha Jones BY MARTHA JONES Have you ever heard of a "Gretna Green" marriage? If you work with genealogy marriage records for any length of time, you will learn about Gretna Green. In Scotland, there is a village located in the Dumfries and Galloway Region, along an old coach route just across the English border called Gretna Green. It is noted for runaway marriages performed there for couples in England who wanted a quick marriage. They eloped to Gretna Green. All they needed was to make their wedding vows to a clergyman in the presence of witnesses.

In 1753, the English Parliament passed a marriage act that stated if both parties in a marriage were not at least 21 years old, then consent to the marriage had to be given by the parents. The act did not, however, apply in Scotland were it was possible for boys to marry at age 14 and girls at age 12 without parental consent. Therefore, for the next hundred years, many English couples rushed across the northern Scotland border into the first town they came to and married without parental consent. But, in 1856, another act of Parliament abolished the practice begun in 1753. Gretna Green was the first village encountered by elopers from England when they crossed the border. The first shop they came to was the Old Blacksmith's shop built around 1712. Folklore claims the blacksmith shop was the focal point for the marriage trade. The blacksmith and anvil became symbols for Gretna Green marriages because Scottish law allowed for "irregular marriages," meaning that if a declaration was made before two witnesses, almost anyone had the authority to conduct the marriage ceremony.

Blacksmiths became known as "anvil priests," and the symbol of the blacksmith and his anvil became known for Gretna Green marriages. Today, any town where couples go to marry in haste is called a "Gretna Green" and the marriage is referred to as a Gretna Green marriage. As Gretna Green's popularity soared, so did the establishment of countless inns serving as backdrops for the wedding. Today, Gretna Green, Scotland, is one of the world's most popular wedding destinations, hosting more than 5,000 weddings each year, one out of every six Scottish weddings. The lore attached to Gretna Green has made the site much more enticing for a wedding than a local city hall. Are there any Gretna Green cities in the U.S.? Yes. Cities such as Elkton, Md., Reno, Nev., and later, Las Vegas, are included in the count. In years past, many couples up and down the Ohio River, and within a wide circle of counties in Indiana and Kentucky, married in Cincinnati in haste.

If there is no marriage record in a nearby county where a couple may have lived, chances are good the entry may be found in the Cincinnati marriage records, although they are often incomplete. One last note: There is an anvil in Gretna, Manitoba, Canada, to symbolize the blacksmith and the source of its name; Gretna Green marriages lives on. Happy Researching. History Of Gretna Green Weddings and Marriages Gretna Green Accommodation Offers History of Gretna Green Weddings and Marriages You are here: The Mill Forge ï¿½|ï¿½ About The Mill Forge > ï¿½|ï¿½• Gretna Green Wedding History History Of Gretna Green Weddings Many couples have chosen to runaway to Gretna Green for their wedding. Here we look at how this tradition started. In 1754 Lord Hardwicke introduced an act Parliament which basically prevented anyone in England marrying under the age of 18 without their parent's approval.

Nothing would stand in the way of young love, so when the brides and grooms learnt they could marry in Scotland provided they were over 16 they flocked to the nearest Scottish wedding venue , which more often than not was Gretna Green. In the early days the most important person in the village was the blacksmith and he also doubled as the local minister. Such was the volume of weddings taking place, he soon got tired of constantly having to change before conducting a wedding. Instead he took the couples into his workshop and performed a religious wedding ceremony over the anvil which is where the history of anvil weddings comes from. Gretna Green Wedding History 1857 brought another change to the law when Lord Brougham introduced a three week cooling off period. Couples must reside in the parish of Gretna Green for the three weeks and to fund their stay they usually worked on local farms for a minimal fee. The next change to the law occurred in 1940 when all "irregular marriages" were stopped.

However in 1994 the ministers once again started performing weddings outside of churches and in 2002 a change in Scottish law meant that registrar's could perform a civil wedding ceremony at an approved venue. The first such wedding in Scotland took place at The Mill Forge on the 6th of August 2002. The tradition of Gretna Green weddings holds strong to this day, with as many as 5000 couples choosing to get married in Gretna Green each year. So why not runaway to Gretna Green and be on the receiving end of some marvellous Scottish hospitality as you become part of our history. There are many places in Gretna Green to choose from for your wedding ceremony venue , your ensuite accommodation and also your wedding reception . Gretna Green Weddings at The Gretna Wedding Bureau Including your Bridal Suite for 2 nights, meals and drinks packages for you and all 40 of you! About The Coachhouse at Gretna Hall Gretna Hall's celebrated Blacksmiths Shop and Gardens is one of the areas most iconic and romantic wedding venues.

Marry over the famous blacksmiths anvil in the candlelit Blacksmiths shop and join countless thousands of couples who for over 250 years, have been running away to Gretna Green. Many places in and around the small village of Gretna Green can lay claim to being marriage venues, but Gretna Hall was the first official stop in Scotland for travelling stagecoaches and private carriages which made it the first choice for a "Blacksmith's Wedding", a hastily performed ceremony according to the Laws of Scotland.Built in 1710, the historic Blacksmiths shop is steeped in the traditions of Gretna Green and houses Gretna Hall's marriage records dating back to the early 1700's. The gardens at Gretna Hall are extensive and provide an ideal backdrop for photographs, featuring a purpose built pond, Gazebo, kissing gate and 'Gretna Green' sign alongside the large lawns and woodland. Gretna Wedding Bureau Gretna Green Weddings - Romantic Gretna Green Wedding Venue.

History Gretna Green weddings became popular in 1754 when Lord Hardwicke intorduced an Act of Parliament which stated firstly that any marriages performed in a church would have to be recorded in the parish records which both bride and groom have to sign, secondly that weddings carried out in places or at times which were deemed illegal in the 1604 canons were not legal ceremonies, thirdly that only weddings performed in a church would be deemed legal and finally that both bride and groom must be at least 21 years of age to marry without parental consent. This law was introduced to prevent the thousands of marriages which were taking place illegally around the country, causing outcry as these ceremonies were never properly recorded and led to many disputes where landowner's daughters had married against their father's wishes. To be married in this way all that the bride and groom had to do was appear before a parson and two witnesses declaring their wish to be married. Irregular marriages were most common around Fleet prison in London where there were 50 marriage houses. Over the years couples would runaway to one of the Gretna Green wedding venues for a marriage over the anvil.

The ceremonies were performed by the local blacksmith who was at the heart of the community. When angry fathers appeared before the ceremony was complete the young couple would be ushered into the next room where they would climb into bed and the father would then think he was too late to prevent the ceremony and ride off in disgust, after a suitable wait proceedings would then recommence. 1857 brought another change in the law when Lord Brougham's bill stated that the bride and groom must take up residence for a 3 week "cooling off" period prior to the wedding, while this reduced the number of Gretna Green weddings the more determined came anyway and sought temporary work on the local farms. The next change in the law occurred in 1977 when the 3 week cooling off period was abolished and a new system was brought in whereby couples must give a minimum of 14 days written notice to Gretna Registry Office of their wedding. Anvil weddings started becoming popular again in 1994 when Ministers began to conduct ceremonies over the anvil for many couples.

In 2002 the law changed yet again allowing Registrars to come out of the office and perform a civil wedding ceremony over a Gretna Green anvil. The first civil ceremony in Scotland to take place outside a Registration Office took place here at the Mill Forge. So why not join with the runaways who have had their weddings in Gretna Green and elope for your special day.

Question: Which tradesman performed most of the runaway marriages in Gretna Green?
Answer: Blacksmith