The picturesque little village came to fame in the mid-1700s after the English government enacted the Marriage Act, which forbade persons under 21 years of age to marry without parental consent.
Scotland, however, did not recognise or enforce this legislation. In their own peculiar way, and keeping with long-standing Scottish custom, any couple over the age of 15 who were not closely related were permitted to wed without yea or nay from anyone.
Gretna Green was just north of the English/Scottish border so many ‘runaway’ couples went up there to tie the knot.
In Gretna, the local…