“How far, how far to Gretna? ‘Tis years and years away,
And chaise and four will nevermore fling dust across the day;
But as I ride the Carlisle road, where life and love have been,
I hear again the beating hooves go through to Gretna Green.”
Anon.
Gretna Green wedding stagecoach © 2006 Scotiana
Bonjour Jean-Claude, Janice et Marie-Agnès! Hello again from Scotland! 🙂
Isn’t this an exciting time of year? Spring is not far off, for when I paid our milk bill last week, I learned from the farmer that his first lambs had been born. As soon as the shed is full, they’ll go out to the new grass, many to the big field that surrounds our house.
Gretna Green - Saturday 05 June 2004 - Arrival of a bride with her bridesmaids © 2004 Scotiana
It was good to hear, dear friends, that Scotiana is being read by more and more people, and pleasing for us to know that our post on St Valentine (‘St Valentine comes to Glasgow’) was the most popular on 14th February!
I do admire that line by my old schoolmate, Jim Gilchrist (of The Scotsman): “If ever a man – or a saint – could be said to amount to more than the sum of his parts, that man was St Valentine.” There do seem to be rather a lot of relics of the Saint about; on the other hand, there were in history at least two quite separate Valentines – so some room for confusion. But it’s a lovely idea, don’t you think, to have a patron saint of romance?
Gretna-Gretna Green-Carlisle-Edinburgh Scotiana modified Google map
The small Dumfriesshire towns of Gretna and Gretna Green – almost a mile apart – are particularly busy on 14th February (and also in high summer) for it’s possible to make a booking up to a year ahead to be married there. How different everything used to be, when young runaways would arrive at all hours wishing to be married instantly! For almost 200 years, couples travelling from England were able to take advantage of the Scottish practice of ‘Marriage by Declaration’; provided that they were both over 16, a couple had only to stand on Scottish soil and declare, in the presence of two witnesses, that they were husband and wife! And that was it – they were legally married, with no need to seek parental approval.
Welcome to Gretna Green © 2007 Scotiana
Until 1754, Gretna Green had been an unremarkable place, a tiny cluster of whitewashed cottages – including an inn – on the main road between London and Edinburgh. In that year, however, the marriage laws in England were changed, so that only those over 21 could get married without their parents’ consent. And all marriages had to be approved by the Church. Too many young people from rich families, it seems, had been choosing partners of whom their parents disapproved!
Lord Hardwicke's Marriage Act 1753 Scotiana adapted image from Wikipedia source
Soon Lord Hardwicke’s Act of Parliament brought a steady stream of young lovers north to Scotland. Most, of course, had run away from home. They travelled slowly and uncomfortably by stagecoach; the ‘Carlisle’ horses were changed at the inn at Gretna (11 miles further on, and the first stop on the Scottish side of the border). Anxious and fearful in case their parents should catch up with them, the young runaways would ask – please, can we be married here, now? Gretna Green’s romantic image was born!
Scotland Gretna Green Old Blacksmith's Shop © 2004 Scotiana
Today, we think of the Old Blacksmith’s Shop – the ‘smithy’ – whenever Gretna is mentioned; and, with the horses for the coach service being changed in the village, it was natural that there should be a blacksmith there from the earliest times. Yet the astonishing thing is that none of the first Gretna marriage ‘priests’ were actually blacksmiths by trade. (Strictly speaking, of course, there was no need to have anyone at all to conduct the wedding; but it seemed right to have ‘someone in charge’ – someone to take the part played by the priest or celebrant in a religious ceremony.)
George Gordon, the first ‘priest’, was a former soldier, and wore military uniform while performing marriages. Joseph Pasley (or Paisley) a smuggler and notorious drunkard, dressed up like a minister of the Church to conduct weddings in his cottage. On Pasley’s death in 1814, his nephew, David Lang, took over. Marriage was a profitable business!
Most memorable was the Gretna ‘Bishop,’ John Linton, who had married more than a thousand couples at Gretna Hall before his death in 1851. This was the inn favoured by the rich and the famous, and Linton, a refined and dignified man, knew exactly how to treat his aristocratic guests. Captains, generals, and gentlemen of all sorts married at the Hall. In 1846, an Italian prince came – Carlo Ferdinando, brother of the King of Naples – followed in 1847 by an Italian duke!
Gretna Green memorabilia French Chromo Chocolat Poulain © 2010 Scotiana
So, there was no blacksmith at Gretna who conducted weddings in the days of the stagecoaches. Yet even Charles Dickens, the novelist (who stayed at Gretna Hall in 1852) thought that the village blacksmith performed marriage ceremonies! The idea probably arose because the house of one of the ‘priests’ had a sign outside depicting a blacksmith’s shop; a young couple were shown joining their hands over the anvil, while the smith brought down his hammer to bless the union.
Gretna Green - Anvil Room Museum © 2007 Scotiana
A new railway service from Blackpool via the Lake District brought large numbers of tourists to Gretna Green in the early 1900’s, and the visitors simply refused to believe that the ‘smithy’ – the blacksmith’s shop – was not the special marriage place! Taking advantage of all this interest, its owner decided in 1907 to convert the smithy to a marriage museum – and, very soon afterwards, the first ‘anvil wedding’ finally took place there.
Richard Rennison was the best-known of the modern anvil ‘priests’, conducting over 5000 marriages between 1927 and 1940. Marriage by Declaration ended that year – amid the turmoil of the Second World War; perhaps there had been a rising tide of bigamy? The marriage ‘priests’ were swept away, to be replaced by professional registrars appointed throughout Scotland – only they and ministers of religion could now legally perform wedding ceremonies.
Gretna Registration Office with Mackintosh style rail Google Scotiana modified Google Map
A new registration office was opened, not at Gretna Green but in the town of Gretna. It was situated in a modest, single-storey building (which I once visited, although I didn’t get married that day!) The story of this little office is the story of its world-famous registrar, Miss Pat Bryden, MBE, who spent her entire working life there. (I seem to recall that the entrance was shared with a dentist’s surgery; you turned right for Miss Bryden’s, left for Mr Boon to have your tooth filled!) After marrying more than 10,000 couples, Miss Bryden herself got married – in church – at the age of 59, and retired soon afterwards. “I really didn’t think it would ever happen to me,” she said. “I am very, very happy.”
Miss Bryden’s small office could not cope with the demand for summer weddings, so a handsome new building was opened in 1991; containing three separate marriage suites, it is decorated and furnished in the Glasgow Style associated with the architect Charles Rennie Mackintosh.
Scotland Dumfries & Galloway Gretna Green Wedding Rolls-Royce © 2004 Scotiana
Some couples go on to visit one of the blacksmiths for the fun part of their wedding – to be ‘married’ again over the anvil; most today are in their 30’s, and many are marrying for the second time. A typical Gretna wedding is now quite a sophisticated affair; older couples have more money to spend, and often do things in style. About half the brides wear beautiful long dresses, and many arrive in Rolls-Royces or horse-drawn carriages.
Wedding stagecoach on its road to Gretna Green © 2006 Scotiana
The principal change in recent years is that (since Summer 2002) registrars are now able, by arrangement, to conduct wedding ceremonies outwith their own registration offices – but only in a number of ‘approved venues’, mostly hotels.
See the webpage: http://www.gretnaonline.net
05 June 2004 - Wedding Day at Gretna Green © 2004 Scotiana
Marie-Agnès, Janice, Jean-Claude, wouldn’t it be nice if some readers were to share with us their memories of being married at Gretna? 🙂
You know, we still have, lying around somewhere, a copy of the little green guide book ‘Gretna – Your Wedding’. The advertisers include a ‘trained soprano’ (the best kind, really!) and a poet. And one hotel has an interesting brass bed that ‘does not jingle’. Just the thing when you’re tired after a long and busy day!
Gretna Green Sculpture Garden 'The Lovers' man © 2007 Scotiana
Gretna Green Sculpture Garden 'The Lovers' woman © 2007 Scotiana
A bientôt, Chers Amis.
Iain.
I love your website. I am the editor of the Jane Austen Society of North America’s newsletter, a non-profit organization with 4,500+ members in the U.S. and Canada. I am writing to ask if we can reprint some of your pictures in our newsletter? I’m writing an article on running away to Gretna Green, and your pictures are wonderful. Could you please send me as email attachments your picture of the blacksmith’s shop, the horse carriage and perhaps the one of the couple with the bagpiper? We will, of course, give you photo credit.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Sheryl Craig
Good day Sheryl,
Nice to meet you. Thank you very much for your good words about our website.
It will be a pleasure for us to assist you illustrating an article in upcoming Jasna.org newsletter with our photography.
Looking forward to read your newsletter!
Until next, all the very best.
Janice
on behalf of Scotiana’s team
I was married in 1965 in Gretna ,by mr Hastings the then registra we stayed 3 weeks in ww1 hutthat was in a wood yard .we are true runaways not like the ones now .52 years later my husband has wrote our storie for our grandchildren to pass on to the future genarations to read .we were 17 and 18 when we married and had a blessing in the blacksmith shop 2015 .brought back wonderful memories
[…] Beste Gretna Green Hochzeit von Married at Gretna Green. Quellbild: https://www.scotiana.com. Besuchen Sie diese Site für Details: https://www.scotiana.com […]
Do you know where that poem “How far, how far to Gretna ….” comes from please. Is it copyrighted?
[…] reading Iain’s such informative article “Married at Gretna Green!“, I simply could not resist to google away in search of philatelic collectibles about this very […]
We were married in Gretna Green by Pat Bryden on 21.12.1972, we’ve been happily married now for 51 years, they said it wouldn’t last, they were so wrong.
We went back for our 25th wedding anniversary,we took my mum and dad, so glad we did and we were lucky to have met Pat again while we were there x
Hello Vicky,
Thank you for kindly sharing with our readers your meetings with Miss Pat Bryden, the famous Registrar at Gretna. By the time of your 25th Wedding Anniversary (in 1997), Miss Bryden must have been retired for some years – but, even more importantly, she had also unexpectedly married and become Mrs Smith!
The tale of Pat Bryden’s and Archie Smith’s wedding in 1990 received huge publicity – even in the USA – and this was partly for a tragic reason, linked to the Lockerbie Air Disaster, the worst terrorist crime ever to have been committed on British soil.
I notice, Vicky, that the date of your wedding was 21 December 1972. It was at about 19.03 on 21 December 1988 that Pan Am Flight 103 was destroyed by a bomb hidden onboard when it exploded above Lockerbie, Dumfriesshire. All 259 passengers and crew were killed, along with 11 citizens of the small town, as it was showered with burning debris and tons of aviation fuel. Dozens of houses were destroyed, including that belonging to Mr Archie Smith, the man that Pat Bryden would marry.
Pan Am Flight 103 was destined ultimately for Detroit, Michigan, with a stop at New York; 190 of the passengers were US citizens. Pat’s and Archie’s wedding was of particular interest to American readers on account of its connection to the Lockerbie bombing. I have reproduced, below, the first part of a report that appeared in The Washington Post of 23 August 1990, so that you can read their account of how Pat and Archie came together. 🙂
……………………………………………………………………..
GRETNA, SCOTLAND — Pat Bryden has performed thousands of marriages, but yesterday’s ceremony was different. It was her own.
Miss Bryden, 58, is the marriage registrar at Gretna, the Scottish village known worldwide as the place where eloping couples crossed
the English border to tie the knot.
For her marriage to ex-policeman Archie Smith, however, she chose to walk down the aisle in nearby St. Andrew’s Church.
“Although I’ve married thousands of couples over the years, I never thought it would happen to me. I’m very, very happy,” said the bride,
who wore a blue suit with a pleated skirt and a pink hat.
About 100 well-wishers greeted the couple outside the church, which was filled with 200 guests.
“I was hoping for a quiet wedding, but it wasn’t to be. Pat is too well known,” said Mr Smith, 59.
Mr Smith’s first wife died in 1988, and a few weeks later his home in the Scottish town of Lockerbie burned down in the wreckage of Pan
Am Flight 103, blown up in flight by a terrorist bomb. Miss Bryden, a longtime family friend, went to console him and his two children, and
love blossomed ..
…………………………………………………………………….
It is recorded online that Miss Pat Bryden MBE – Mrs Smith – died in hospital at Dumfries on 1 August 2012.
Iain.