Blacksmithing returns to Gretna Green after more than 150 years

Blacksmithing has returned to Scotland's wedding capital for the first time in more than 150 years with the opening of a new forge.

Couples have married at the anvil in Gretna Green for centuries, but the traditional craft had disappeared from the village.

The new forge will offer visitors the chance to practise the skills involved and even allow newly-weds to create a keepsake of their own.

Resident blacksmith Joe Shevelan said it was "incredibly special" to be part of seeing the craft of shaping and joining metal return.

Gretna Green became a popular wedding venue due to its location in the south of Scotland.

The Marriage Act - passed in 1754 in England - outlawed marriages without parental consent if either party was under 21.

However, eloping couples could pop over the border and be married simply by stating their intent in front of witnesses - usually at the blacksmiths.

They would strike the anvil as part of the wedding ceremony - a tradition which has continued to this day.

Over time, blacksmithing gave way to the more lucrative marriage business with about 18% of all Scotland's weddings taking place in Dumfries and Galloway - the majority at Gretna Green.

Joe said he was fulfilling a long-held ambition.

"I decided I wanted to be a blacksmith when I was about 10, I think, I remember telling my mum that that's what I was going to be," he said.

"They didn't let 10-year-olds run around in dangerous workshops - so I had to wait a little while before I could go and study down in Hereford."

He said he had always been fascinated by the craft.

"I think I've always liked the characters in movies and films and books and stuff, not the hero of the story, but the guy who made the hero's sword," he said.

He said the blacksmith always held an "important place" in the local community.

Although modern equipment has made things easier, he said they still struck the anvil and worked in traditional ways.

"Being able to be the blacksmith returning to Gretna after 150 years really is an honour," he added.

Joe said there were more blacksmiths than people might expect, with about 1,800 members of the British Artistic Blacksmithing Association.

He added that he hoped his work at the new forge might add a few more to their number.

"I think inspiring just one person to pick up the craft would be enough for me," he said.

"I'd love the site to develop into something so important to the future of blacksmithing that it lives way longer than I do."

For Michelle Henry, head of attractions and events at Gretna Green Ltd, it is a "full circle moment" for a business which has been family-run since 1825 and will allow couples to create a very special memento.

"Every piece that Joe crafts in the forge is unique so everything they make is unique to them and their marriage," she said.

"So it's really significant that they get to take a piece of Gretna Green away with them as well."

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