Well, this
weekend we’ll celebrate our second wedding this summer – another son is tying
the knot, and we are about to gain another wonderful daughter-in-law. My husband and I thrilled about the way our family is growing. That doesn't mean, however, that the weddings themselves aren't a bit overwhelming at times.
I believe
that there comes a point in every run-up to a wedding that a fond parent almost wishes their child would simply elope. No fuss, no muss, and no scores of hand-tied
wedding favors to make.
Today’s
couples who desire to skip an elaborate wedding may be tempted to flee to Las
Vegas. During the Regency there was a similar escape plan, one that involved a
town just over the Scottish border called Gretna Green.
The border crossing at Gretna Green, photo by Val Vannet |
Gretna
Green became an attractive wedding destination for English couples as result of
Lord Hardwicke’s Marriage Act, which became law in 1754. The purpose of the act was to prevent clandestine marriages, and it required a formal ceremony for a marriage to be valid. Other requirements included having the banns of marriage announced from the local church pulpit three Sundays in a row prior to the wedding, or the obtaining of a special license.
More
importantly, the Act required parental consent for the marriage of a minor (defined as under 21).
These rules didn't apply in Scotland, where boys as young as 14 and girls as young as 12 could be married without their parents’ consent. In addition, in Scotland no priests were required - virtually anyone could perform the ceremony.
These rules didn't apply in Scotland, where boys as young as 14 and girls as young as 12 could be married without their parents’ consent. In addition, in Scotland no priests were required - virtually anyone could perform the ceremony.
According
to Scottish law, all that was needed for an “irregular marriage” to be
performed was for the couple to make a declaration in front of two witnesses. And
the marriages were recognized as legal in England. No wonder
parents panicked when they learned their young daughters were headed to Gretna
Green with their impulsive suitors.
You might
think an eloping couple would head for the nearest Scottish church. But unlike
Las Vegas, where couples might choose a flower-bedecked wedding chapel and a
ceremony officiated by an Elvis impersonator, most English couples headed
for a blacksmith’s shop located just over the border.
The blacksmith's shop at Gretna Green, by Niki Odolphie
|
There they
would easily find willing blacksmiths (who became known as “anvil priests”) to perform
the ceremony. One Scottish blacksmith, Richard Rennison, is said to have
performed over 5,000 of these “over the anvil” ceremonies.
The drama
of a Gretna Green marriage is featured in many a Regency romance. Often the
plot will include a desperate attempt by parents to stop their daughter’s elopement.
A more sinister plot may involve a young maiden being abducted by the villain and taken to
Gretna Green for a forced marriage. The hero, who is also her one true love, naturally
races to save her.
In Pride and Prejudice, when the foolish
Bennet sister Lydia elopes with the dastardly Wickham, she left a note declaring they were on their way to be married at Gretna Green. Instead, the couple is found living
together in London without the benefit of matrimony. If this had become known, the
ensuing scandal would have forever ruined not only Lydia’s reputation but cast
a stain on her whole family, blighting her sisters’ marriage prospects. Fortunately the gallant Mr. Darcy was able to force Wickham to marry Lydia before any harm was done.
Signing the Register, painting by Edward Leighton |
In a story
set more recently, you may recall the scene in Season 2 of Downtown Abbey where Lady Mary and Lady Edith drive through the
night heading north to Gretna Green to prevent their sister Sybil from
marrying Tom Branson. The two sisters managed to intercept the couple and
convince them to go back to the manor to try to obtain their father’s
permission to marry. (And we know how happy Lord Grantham was about the
prospect of having the family chauffeur for a son-in-law.)
I can't say I'd blame them.
Images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons