Gretna Green Anvil Priests
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Gretna Green's Anvil Priests
Gretna Green's "anvil priests" were a colourful set of characters who set up shop in hostelries and Coaching inns in the village of Gretna Green, following the marriage act of 1754, and made their living from the marriage trade.
The most famous of these wedding venues is the World Famous Blacksmiths Shop.
Many Gretna Green Anvil Priests had other occupations - blacksmith, fisherman, weaver, saddler - none of them had any 'qualifications' to perform marriages and used Scotland's marriage laws as a way of earning extra money.
Some of the more unsavoury Gretna Green anvil priests moved to Gretna Green from London after Lord Hardwicke's act put them out of a job by making the irregular marriage trade illegal in England.
To perform a marriage, the 'anvil priest' simply asked the couple to plight their troth in front of two witnesses, and, quick as the bang of a hammer on an anvil, their word was law. If a couple had come unaccompanied, the anvil priest would often knock on a neighbour's door to ask them to come and serve as a witness.
If word came that the angry father was fast approaching Gretna Green and there was a risk of the marriage being interrupted, the anvil priest - so the story goes - told the lovers to nip into bed. When the pursuer arrived, he was shown to the bedroom. On seeing the couple in the bed, he assumed he was too late, as the marriage was well on the way to consummation!
In popular folklore, the village blacksmith and the blacksmith's anvil have become the enduring symbols of Gretna Green weddings.
As a 'forger', the blacksmith marries hot metal to metal, from the heat of the fire, over the anvil; in the same way the anvil priests, in the heat of the moment, forged a union between couples who had eloped in love.
Read more about Gretna Green's Anvil Priests...
- Joseph Paisley
- David and Simon Lang
- Robert Elliot
- Richard Rennison and the last of the Blacksmith Priests
Follow the tradition of Gretna Green Weddings...
Experienced Wedding Planners will advise you what dates are available and reserve a provisional date for you.
Contact Gretna Green Wedding Bureau online or telephone 01461 336001 to speak to one of our dedicated wedding planners.
Provisional bookings are held for 14 days.
