Gretna Green and the "Anvil Marriage"

Since today is Valentine's Day, let's talk about one of the most famous historical elopement practices: anvil marriage. 

Marriage today is a fairly simple affair.  You acquire a license and sign it in front of someone approved by the state.  There are plenty of other traditions that most people use, but for legal purposes, those are all you need.  Depending on where you live, there might not even be a waiting period to acquire the license!

In the days of George II of England, things were a little more complicated.  The first hurdle to overcome was the posting of the banns, a legal requirement for Church of England weddings equivalent to today's requesting of a marriage license. The names of those intending to marry were announced in the church for three Sundays in the three months before the wedding - and not just in your church but also in the church where you are intending to be wed.  There was good reason for this: to give opportunity for anyone to come forward with information on why the couple would not be able to legally wed.  Already married?  Too closely related?  In a pre-digital age there was no way to look this up efficiently - but never underestimate the speed of gossip!  If there was a problem, this gave the opportunity to "speak now or forever hold your peace."  The second hurdle, and the one most closely related to our interest, is Lord Harwick's Marriage Act, passed in the mid-1700s, that allowed parents to veto the marriage of a "child" under the age of 21.  With both of those in place, a quick and quiet marriage became impossible in England.

The solution for those rushed lovebirds was simple: Scotland.  Laws there allowed for irregular marriages to be performed by any respectable member of society AND by age 14 anyone could marry without parental consent.  If you've ever read Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, you might remember that when Lydia Bennet elopes with George Wickham, she leaves a note saying they plan to go to Gretna Green.  Since this was the first coach stop across the Scottish border, that note is an announcement that they intend to elope. 

When the coach stopped the happy couple could jump off, find two responsible townsmen, announce their intent to be married, and rush off to the marriage chamber.  Once consummated, the marriage could not be annulled by the English government.  In Gretna Green the canny blacksmith soon took up the role of 'Blacksmith Priest' and for nearly 200 years the blacksmiths at Gretna Green continued to marry couples over their now famous Marriage Anvil.

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Thanks to Ardas Photography for the beautiful photo at the top; the anvil marriage pictured is two of my apprentices who met in my forge and have now been happily married for several years.