An image of the museum portion of the Blacksmith Shop

The Blacksmith Shop that is shown on the postcard still stands in the same location today with multiple wedding rooms, including the original one that remains virtually the same. However, now the shop is “part museum, part wedding venue” (Knowles, 2015). Although after 1940 couples were no longer legally allowed to be married in the shop, its popularity as a romantic wedding destination has once again increased (Knowles, 2015). Today, couples can be legally married over the anvil and the shop’s title of a romantic wedding destination has been restored. The museum part of the shop is not particularly impressive as it is fairly basic and simply contains “signboards telling the Gretna Green story, together with a couple of room sets … a few costumes and various documents displayed on the walls” (Knowles, 2015). In addition to being a wedding venue and museum, the Blacksmith Shop has obviously become a famous tourist destination. 

The Blacksmith Shop in Gretna Green, today

The shop can still be considered valuable for a few different reasons. First of all, it is still a location that couples can go to for a romantic wedding. Secondly, as previously mentioned, the museum contains information about the story of Gretna Green. This is valuable since it showcases the history and significance of the shop and the village as a whole. While the shop may still be considered valuable, the actual postcard is not as valuable. Although researching the postcard provides insight to the historical value of Gretna Green and the Blacksmith Shop, the postcard itself does not tell the viewer much. Simply looking at the postcard does not provide one any information about why the village and the shop are so well known. It is a fairly empty postcard with no information filled out. Therefore, the lack of information on the postcard and the need to do external research to determine the significance of the illustration on the postcard makes it significantly less valuable than other resources.