Gretna Green and the significance of a snow globe with an anvil in it.
- Kelvin
- 2 days ago
- 2 min read
Decided to go over the border from England into Scotland to celebrate my Mother's 90th birthday.
Gretna Green is a small but famous place for marriages a mile over the border between England and Scotland.
Gretna became a marriage centre back in 1753 when an Act of Parliament, Lord Hardwicke's Marriage Act, was passed in England this now meant that consent to the marriage had to be given by the parents if both parties were not at least 21 years old in England. The new law was rigorously enforced and carried a sentence of 14 years transportation to the colonies for any clergyman found breaking it.
However this Act did not apply in Scotland, which allowed boys to marry at 14 and girls at 12, with or without parental consent. This led to young English couples fleeing across the border to Scotland and the first place they came to was Gretna.
Scottish law allowed for simple marriages", where as long as you had two witnesses, almost anybody had the authority to conduct the marriage 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 services at all the Gretna venues were always performed over an iconic blacksmith's anvil. These were performed in the blacksmith shops but other "priests" went to inns and small holdings
Ceremonies were as simple as saying Are you of marriageable age? Yes.
Are you free to marry? Yes.
You are now married.”
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 even today. 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.
We had a very nice time in Southern Scotland celebrating my mothers' special birthday. She had last been to Gretna about 50 years ago when it was just the blacksmiths shop, without all the Scottish clothes shops, souvenier shops, cafes and museum that now form the Gretna experience
Lucky Horseshoes have traditionally been handed to happy couples by blacksmiths down the years,
We came across an 8th century Saxon cross within a church and saw ruins of abbeys and castles including Caerlaverock Castle.
We love our football as much as our snow globes and took the opportunity to watch the local match where Caledonian Braves beat Gretna 3-2
This is a more traditional snow globe from Scotland, Edinburgh Castle and a piper which we obtained on a previous visit North of the border
