| Royal Burgh |
Article Index for Royal |
Website Links For Royal |
Information AboutRoyal Burgh |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT ROYAL BURGH | |
| government of scotland | |
| history of scotland | |
| cities in scotland | |
| towns in scotland | |
| geography of scotland | |
| place names with royal patronage | |
| scots language | |
| royal burghs | |
|
Most royal burghs were sea ports, and each was either created by The Crown , or upgraded from another status, such as Burgh Of Barony . As distinct classes of burgh emerged, the royal burghs—originally distinctive by virtue of the fact they were on royal lands—acquired a monopoly of foreign trade. An important document for each burgh was its burgh Charter , creating the burgh or confirming the rights of the burgh as laid down (perhaps verbally) by a previous Monarch . Each royal burgh (with the exception of four 'ineffective burghs') was represented in the Parliament Of Scotland and could appoint Magistrates , called Bailie s with wide powers in civil and Criminal Justice . By 1707 there were 70 royal burghs. The Royal Burghs Act 1833 reformed the election of the town councils that governed royal burghs. Those qualified to vote in parliamentary elections under the Reform Act 1832 were now entitled to elect burgh councillors. Royal burghs were abolished in s established since 1975 have incorporated the term "Royal Burgh" in their title.† ORIGINS Before the reign of , Dunfermline , Perth and Scone , as well as Edinburgh . The conquest of Moray in that same year led to the establishment of burghs at Elgin and Forres . Before David was dead, St Andrews, Montrose , and Aberdeen were also burghs. In the reigns of Máel Coluim IV and William, burghs were added at Inverness , Banff , Cullen , Auldearn , Nairn , Inverurie , Kintore , Brechin , Forfar , Arbroath , Dundee , Lanark , Dumfries and (uniquely for the west coast) Ayr . New Lothian burghs also came into existence, at Haddington , Leith and Peebles . By 1210 , there were 40 burghs in the Scottish kingdom. Rosemarkie , Dingwall and Cromarty were also burghs by the Scottish Wars Of Independence . David I established the first burghs, and their charters and ''Leges Burgorum'' (rules governing virtually every aspect of life and work in a burgh) were copied almost verbatim from the customs of Newcastle Upon Tyne . He essentially imported the burgh into his "Scottish" dominions from his English ones. Burghs were for the most part populated by foreigners, rather than native Scots or even Lothianers. The predominant ethnic group were the Flemings , but early burgesses were also English, French and German . The burgh’s vocabulary was composed totally of either Germanic terms (not necessarily or even predominantly English) such as ''croft'', ''rood'', ''gild'', ''gait'' and ''wynd'', or French ones such as ''provost'', ''bailie'', ''vennel'', ''port'' and ''ferme''. The councils that governed individual burghs were individually known as ''lie doussane'', meaning the dozen. LIST OF ROYAL BURGHS , based on the maps in McNeill & MacQueen, ''Atlas'', pp. 196-8, supplemented with Rosemarkie and Leith, which the Atlas omits for unknown reasons; there seems to be two missing, if Barrow's account of things (40) is correct. G. S. Pryde, ''The Burghs of Scotland: A Critical List'', Oxford, 1965 By 1153 (royal)
By 1153 (Burghs passing between the king and other lords)
By 1153 (Burghs controlled by other lords)
By 1214 (royal)
By 1214 (Burghs passing between the king and other lords) By 1214 (Burghs controlled by other lords) By 1300 (royal)
By 1300 (Burghs controlled by other lords)
14th century
Burghs created by Robert III
Burghs created by James II
Burghs created by James III
Burghs created by James IV
Burghs created by James V
Burghs created by Mary, Queen Of Scots
Burghs created by James VI
Burghs created by Charles I
Burghs created by William III
20th Century
NOTES † Examples are Annan, Arbroath, Cupar, Elgin, Haddington and District, Jedburgh, Kirkcudbright and District, Lanark, Peebles and District, St Andrews; and Wick REFERENCES
SEE ALSO |
|
|