The Rennison Room
Accommodates up to 10 wedding guests

The Rennison Room is an intimate wedding room, accommodating up to 10 guests. The room is named after the last Anvil Priest, Richard Rennison. Rennison arrived in Gretna Green in 1926 and started "marrying the folk" as he called it, almost immediately. A showman with the gift of the gab, he had the right knack for the job.

Rennison was once asked what hours he kept, to which he replied "Doctor's hours" carrying on the tradition of Gretna Green priests of being ready to answer a marriage call at any hour of the day or night.

Like his predecessors dating back to Jospeh Paisley in 1753, he lived in the blacksmiths cottage still seen today and by the time the law was changed in 1940 he had conducted 5,147 marriages. He continued to work in the now World Famous Old Blacksmith's Shop until 1962.

Traditions of an Anvil Wedding…

The hammering of the anvil to seal the marriage has become synonymous with Gretna Green and although many more wedding venues now exist, both in Gretna Green and nearby Gretna, venues within the World Famous Old Blacksmiths Shop are the premier venues having continued to operate since 1753.

It is said that like the metals the blacksmith forged in the heat of the fire, couples were joined together in the heat of the moment and bound together for eternity.