Royal burgh: Difference between revisions
Move abolition section to end, rather than before "origins"! |
|||
Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
A '''royal burgh''' was a type of [[Scotland|Scottish]] [[burgh]] which had been founded by, or subsequently granted, a [[royal charter]]. Although abolished in 1975, |
A '''royal burgh''' was a type of [[Scotland|Scottish]] [[burgh]] which had been founded by, or subsequently granted, a [[royal charter]]. Although abolished in 1975, the term is still used in many of the former burghs.<ref name="priv">[http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld199899/ldselect/ldprivi/108i/10811.htm Select Committee on Privileges Second Report, September 1999]</ref> |
||
Most royal burghs were [[seaport]]s, and each was either created by [[Scottish monarchy|the crown]], or upgraded from another status, such as [[burgh of barony]]. As discrete 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. |
Most royal burghs were [[seaport]]s, and each was either created by [[Scottish monarchy|the crown]], or upgraded from another status, such as [[burgh of barony]]. As discrete 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. |
||
Line 6: | Line 6: | ||
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. |
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 [[1975]] by the [[Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973]]. Article XXI of the [[Act of Union 1707]] which states "That the Rights and Privileges of the Royal Boroughs in Scotland as they now are Do Remain entire after the Union and notwithstanding thereof", has been deemed by [[Her Majesty's Government]] to be abrogated by the 1973 Act.<ref |
||
⚫ | |||
⚫ | |||
⚫ | |||
⚫ | ''The title which may be used by a community council is a matter for the district council to decide when drawing up the scheme for community councils in its area. Section 23 of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 governs any change of name of region, islands or district councils. There is no statutory ban to the continuance of historic titles for other purposes.''<ref>''Hansard'', 6 December 1977, Columns 693 - 694</ref> |
||
⚫ | Accordingly a number of [[community council]]s established since [[1975]] have the term "Royal Burgh" in incorporated their title.<ref>Examples include [[Annan, Dumfries and Galloway|Annan]], [[Arbroath]], [[Cupar]], [[Elgin]], [[Haddington, East Lothian|Haddington]] and District, [[Jedburgh]], [[Kirkcudbright]] and District, [[Lanark]], [[Peebles]] and District, [[St Andrews]], and [[Wick, Highland|Wick]].</ref> |
||
==Origins== |
==Origins== |
||
Line 173: | Line 162: | ||
*[[Elie and Earlsferry]] (1930) (formed by union of royal burgh of Earlsferry and police burgh of Elie) |
*[[Elie and Earlsferry]] (1930) (formed by union of royal burgh of Earlsferry and police burgh of Elie) |
||
*[[Kilrenny, Anstruther Easter and Anstruther Wester]] (formed by union of three royal burghs 1930) |
*[[Kilrenny, Anstruther Easter and Anstruther Wester]] (formed by union of three royal burghs 1930) |
||
⚫ | |||
⚫ | Royal burghs were abolished in [[1975]] by the [[Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973]]. Article XXI of the [[Act of Union 1707]] which states "That the Rights and Privileges of the Royal Boroughs in Scotland as they now are Do Remain entire after the Union and notwithstanding thereof", has been deemed by [[Her Majesty's Government]] to be abrogated by the 1973 Act.<ref name="priv"/> The towns are now sometimes referred to officially as "former royal burghs", for instance by the [[Local Government Boundary Commission for Scotland]]. |
||
⚫ | |||
⚫ | |||
⚫ | |||
⚫ | ''The title which may be used by a community council is a matter for the district council to decide when drawing up the scheme for community councils in its area. Section 23 of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 governs any change of name of region, islands or district councils. There is no statutory ban to the continuance of historic titles for other purposes.''<ref>''Hansard'', 6 December 1977, Columns 693 - 694</ref> |
||
⚫ | Accordingly a number of [[community council]]s established since [[1975]] have the term "Royal Burgh" in incorporated their title.<ref>Examples include [[Annan, Dumfries and Galloway|Annan]], [[Arbroath]], [[Cupar]], [[Elgin]], [[Haddington, East Lothian|Haddington]] and District, [[Jedburgh]], [[Kirkcudbright]] and District, [[Lanark]], [[Peebles]] and District, [[St Andrews]], and [[Wick, Highland|Wick]].</ref> |
||
==Notes== |
==Notes== |
Revision as of 12:54, 8 May 2008
A royal burgh was a type of Scottish burgh which had been founded by, or subsequently granted, a royal charter. Although abolished in 1975, the term is still used in many of the former burghs.[1]
Most royal burghs were seaports, and each was either created by the crown, or upgraded from another status, such as burgh of barony. As discrete 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'[citation needed]) was represented in the Parliament of Scotland and could appoint bailies 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.
Origins
Before the reign of David I Scotland had no towns. The closest thing to towns were the larger than average population concentrations around large monasteries, such as Dunkeld and St Andrews, and regionally significant fortifications. Scotland, outside Lothian at least, was populated by scattered hamlets, and outside that area, lacked the continental style nucleated village. David I established the first burghs in Scotland, initially only in Middle-English-speaking Lothian (note:Tain claims a charter dating from 1066 under Malcolm III). The earliest burghs, founded by 1124, were Berwick and Roxburgh. However, by 1130, David had established burghs in Gaelic areas: Stirling, 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
By 1153 (royal)
- Aberdeen
- Berwick-Upon-Tweed (before 1124)
- Edinburgh
- Dunfermline
- Elgin
- Forres
- Linlithgow
- Montrose
- Peebles
- Perth (took precedence over all other burghs except Edinburgh)
- Rutherglen
- Roxburgh (has since had royal burgh status revoked: the original settlement no longer exists as more than a hamlet)
- Stirling
- Tain
By 1153 (Burghs passing between the king and other lords)
- Haddington (passed temporarily to Ada, Countess of Northumberland before 1178)
- Renfrew (before 1153 had been granted to Walter Fitzalan, High Steward of Scotland, reconfirmed as royal burgh 1397)
By 1153 (Burghs controlled by other lords)
- Canongate (now part of Edinburgh)
- St Andrews
By 1214 (royal)
- Ayr
- Auldearn
- Cullen
- Dumfries
- Forfar
- Inverkeithing
- Inverness
- Jedburgh
- Kinghorn
- Kintore
- Lauder (made a Royal Burgh by King William I of Scotland, 'The Lion')
- Leith (has since had royal burgh status revoked; in 1636 it was re-erected as a burgh of barony. Part of Edinburgh since 1920)
- Nairn
By 1214 (Burghs passing between the king and other lords)
By 1214 (Burghs controlled by other lords)
Burghs created by Alexander II
- Dingwall (1226) (later became a burgh of barony of the Earl of Ross 1321, re-established as a royal burgh in fifteenth century)
- Dumbarton (1222)
By 1300 (royal)
- Auchterarder (status had been lost by 1707)
- Cromarty (appears to have become a burgh of barony under the Earl of Ross 1315, re-established as a royal burgh 1593)
- Fyvie
- Kilrenny
- Lanark
- Rosemarkie
- Selkirk
- South Queensferry
- Wigtown
By 1300 (Burghs controlled by other lords)
- Crawford (had ceased to exist by 16th century)
- Dunbar (became a royal burgh 1445)
- Inverurie (became a royal burgh 1558)
- Irvine (became a royal burgh 1372)
- Kelso (never became a royal burgh)
- Lochmaben (a royal burgh by 1447)
- Newburgh, Aberdeenshire (never became a royal burgh)
- Newburgh, Fife (became a royal burgh in 1631)
- Urr (short-lived)
Early 14th century
- Cupar (by 1327)
- Inverbervie (1342)
Burghs created by Robert II
- Banff (1372)
- North Berwick (1373; suppressed by William Douglas, 1st Earl of Douglas, current charter 1568)
Burghs created by Robert III
- Rothesay (1400/1)
Burghs created by James II
- Dunbar (1445)
- Falkland (1458)
- Kirkcudbright (1455)
- Lochmaben (date unknown)
- Tain c 1439
Burghs created by James III
- Elgin (1457) (royal burgh status lost in 1312 restored)
- Kirkwall (1486)
- Nairn (1476) (royal burgh status lost in 1312 restored)
Burghs created by James IV
- Dingwall (1497/8) (re-established)
- Forres (1496) (charter restored royal burgh status lost in 1312, although it may have been a de facto royal burgh)
- Kintore (1506/7) (re-erected as a royal burgh)
- Whithorn (1511)
Burghs created by James V
- Annan (1538/9) (status confirmed)
- Auchtermuchty (1517)
- Burntisland (1541)
- Pittenweem (1541)
Burghs created by Mary, Queen of Scots
- Inverurie (1558) (restored lost royal burgh status)
Burghs created by James VI
- Anstruther Easter (1583)
- Anstruther Wester (1587)
- Arbroath (1599)
- Cromarty (1593) (re-established). Disenfranchised by Privy Council 1672. Later re-established as a burgh of barony in 1685.
- Culross (1592)
- Earlsferry (1589) (charter confirmed status since time immemorial)
- Glasgow (1611) (had been a de facto previously)
- Fortrose (1590) became part of royal burgh of Rosemarkie 1592
- Kilrenny (1592) (The burgh was included in roll of royal burghs by mistake and continued to enjoy that status, despite attempting to resign it)
- Rosemarkie (1592) by union of royal burgh of Fortrose and burgh of barony of Rosemarkie re-established as royal burgh of Fortrose 1661
- St Andrews (1620) (confirmation of de facto status)
- Sanquhar (1598)
- Wick (1589)
Burghs created by Charles I
- Brechin (1641) (de facto status ratified by parliament)
- Dornoch (1628)
- Fortrose (1661) (reforming of royal burgh of Rosemarkie)
- Inveraray (1648)
- Kirkcaldy (1644) (although de facto since 1574)
- New Galloway (1630)
- Queensferry (1636)
- Newburgh, Fife (1631)
Burghs created by William III
- Campbeltown (1700)
20th Century
- Auchterarder (1951) (reinstated as a royal burgh)
- Elie and Earlsferry (1930) (formed by union of royal burgh of Earlsferry and police burgh of Elie)
- Kilrenny, Anstruther Easter and Anstruther Wester (formed by union of three royal burghs 1930)
Abolition and status since 1975
Royal burghs were abolished in 1975 by the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973. Article XXI of the Act of Union 1707 which states "That the Rights and Privileges of the Royal Boroughs in Scotland as they now are Do Remain entire after the Union and notwithstanding thereof", has been deemed by Her Majesty's Government to be abrogated by the 1973 Act.[1] The towns are now sometimes referred to officially as "former royal burghs", for instance by the Local Government Boundary Commission for Scotland.
In 1977 Alick Buchanan-Smith MP for North Angus and Mearns asked Frank McElhone, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Scotland: why a community council for a former Royal burgh is not able to use the words "Royal Burgh" in its title; and what scope there is for the continuance of historical titles under the present organisation of local authorities.
In reply McElhone stated: The title which may be used by a community council is a matter for the district council to decide when drawing up the scheme for community councils in its area. Section 23 of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 governs any change of name of region, islands or district councils. There is no statutory ban to the continuance of historic titles for other purposes.[4]
Accordingly a number of community councils established since 1975 have the term "Royal Burgh" in incorporated their title.[5]
Notes
- ^ a b Select Committee on Privileges Second Report, September 1999
- ^ , 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
- ^ Hansard, 6 December 1977, Columns 693 - 694
- ^ Examples include Annan, Arbroath, Cupar, Elgin, Haddington and District, Jedburgh, Kirkcudbright and District, Lanark, Peebles and District, St Andrews, and Wick.
References
- Barrow, G.W.S., Kingship and Unity: Scotland, 1000-1306, (Edinburgh, 1981)
- Donaldson, Gordon & Morpeth, Robert S., A Dictionary of Scottish History, Edinburgh, 1977; page 31 re monopoly of foreign trade
- Lynch, Michael, Scotland: A New History, Pimlico 1992; page 62 re origin of burgh charters
- McNeill, Peter G.B. & MacQueen, Hector L. (eds), Atlas of Scottish History to 1707, (Edinburgh, 1996)