Main content
Sorry, this episode is not currently available

14/05/1957

First transmitted in 1957, Tonight features an item about the town of Gretna Green, where Scottish law permits marriage at the age of 16 without parental consent.

First transmitted in 1957, Tonight features an item about the town of Gretna Green, where Scottish law permits marriage at the age of 16 without parental consent. This has resulted in an influx of English teenagers crossing the border to get married. However, couples need to have lived in Scotland for a minimum of 15 days to qualify, causing English couples to live together before marriage, thus 'endangering their morals'. Derek Hart reports for the current affairs programme.

40 minutes

Last on

Tue 14 May 1957 18:05
91热爆 Television Service

More episodes

Next

09/08/1957

See all episodes from Tonight

Clip

Did You Know?

In 1754, a change in English marriage law resulted in more couples travelling north from England to marry at Gretna Green. There, a couple were usually married by the blacksmith, although any person could adopt the task, while the ceremony might take place in the local tollhouse, inn or hall. Today, many weddings are still carried out in the Old Blacksmith's Shop (known as the 'Old Smithy') in Gretna Green.

Archive

Archive programmes available on iPlayer reflect the broadcast standards and attitudes of their time, which may not accord to some current 91热爆 editorial guidelines. We aim to select programmes which can be shown in their entirety but in some cases edits are required. In these cases, edits are kept to a minimum and are made only for technical reasons.

Broadcast

  • Tue 14 May 1957 18:05
    91热爆 Television Service

Marriage in the 1950s and 60s Collection

Clips from this programme are part of the Marriage in the 1950s and 60s Collection