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.
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 'inactive burghs') 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
Burghs by 1153.
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)
Early 14th century
Burghs created by James
II
- 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
- 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)
20th Century
Abolition and status since 1975
Royal burghs were abolished in 1975 by the
Local Government 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. The towns are now sometimes referred to
officially as "former royal burghs", for instance by the
Local
Government Boundary Commission for Scotland.
The issue of the future status of royal burghs was discussed during
debate on the Local Government Bill.
In the Commons
on 4 December 1972 Ronald Murray (MP for Edinburgh,
Leith) stated
Most of the well-known cities and towns
of Scotland became royal burghs by
Charter.
The Bill does not say that those Charters are
removed or are of no legal effect, but Schedule 24 repeals the
legislation upon which they appear to stand.
I hope that the Government do not intend to abolish
entirely the ancient rights of royal burghs, at least to be royal
burghs.'
In June 1973,
David Steel (MP for
Roxburgh,
Selkirk and Peebles), unsuccessfully introduced an amendment
that
the title of "Provost" shall attach to the chairman
of any community council which is based on any existing burgh .. to
.. carry forward a title which appears, for example, in the Royal
Charters of those burghs".
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.
Accordingly some
community
councils established since 1975 have the term "Royal Burgh"
incorporated in their title. Lord Lyon has permitted the
armorial bearings of a number of royal burghs
to be rematriculated by community councils.
Notes
- Select Committee on Privileges Second Report,
September 1999
- George S Pryde, The Burghs of Scotland: A Critical
List, Oxford, 1965. The four inactive burghs were
Auchtermuchty, Earlsferry, Falkland and Newburgh
- , 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.
- R M Urquhart, Scottish Burgh and county Heraldry,
London, 1973
- Hansard, December 4, 1972, Col.1030
- Hansard, 18 June 1973, Col.118
- 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.
- R M Urquhart, Scottish Civic Heraldry 2, Hamilton,
2001
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)
See also
(before 1124)
(before 1153 had been granted to Walter Fitzalan,
High Steward of Scotland, reconfirmed as royal burgh
1397)
(now part of Edinburgh)
(made a
Royal Burgh by King William I of
Scotland, 'The Lion')
(1222)
(status had been lost by 1707)
(had ceased to exist by 16th
century)
(became a
royal burgh 1445)
(became a royal burgh 1372)
(never became a royal burgh)
(a royal burgh by 1447)
(never became a royal burgh)
(became a royal burgh in 1631)
(short-lived)
(by
1327)
(1342)
(1373; suppressed by William Douglas, 1st Earl
of Douglas, current charter 1568)
(1400/1)
(1455)
(1538/9) (status confirmed)
(1517)
(1541)
(1541)
(1628)
(1648)
(1644) (although de facto since
1574)
(1630)
(1700)
(1930) (formed by union of royal burgh of
Earlsferry and police burgh of Elie)
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