My great-grandparents participated in what I've been told was an 'irregular marriage' in Scotland. Does this mean that their children were illegitimate?

No, not in the eyes of the law. Such marriages took place when no banns (listing of names and addresses) were published in the couple's parish church. They were, nevertheless, legal and usually fell under one or more of the following categories:

- Marriage of habit and repute
- Pregnancy following a promise of marriage from the father
- A statement before witnesses that the couple were man and wife

These forms of irregular marriage were particularly common in the South West of Scotland - and they have helped to make the village of Gretna Green famous.