[1705/6/133]*[print] [email] [cite] [preceding] [following]
Our soveraign lady, with advice and consent of the estates of parliament, ratified, approved and perpetually confirmed and does, by thir presents, ratifie, approve and perpetually confirm a charter under the great seal of the date at Kensingtoun, the twenty ninth day of April, jM vijC and four years, granted by her majesty, with consent of her commissioners of thesaury and exchequer for the time, and proceeding on the resignations and other conveyances therein mentioned, to and in favors of Sir William Anstruther of that ilk, one of the senators of the colledge of justice, and the heirs male lawfully procreat or to be procreat of his body, which failyieing to his heirs of tailyie and provision, to be named by him in manner therein specified, and failyieing of them to his heirs and assigneyes whatsoever heretably and irredeemably, of all and haill the lands, toun and barony of Anstruther, office of bailliary of the haill lordship and barony of Pittenweem and priviledge of commonty on the common muir thereof, and of the several other lands, teinds, mills and others expressed in the said charter, with all other lands and others whatsoever pertaining to the said barony of Anstruther and united thereto by the old rights and infeftments of the same. And sicklike, of all and haill the lands and barony of Ardross, comprehending the lands and others therein mentioned, and of all and haill the lands and barony of Ely, with the burgh of barony, port and harbour of Elie, and haill customes, anchorages, tolls, priviledges, liberties, casualities, profites, commodities and powers particularly specified by the said charter, and specially of keeping and holding in the said burgh a weekly mercat and two yearly fairs upon the dayes therein expressed, and of the office of searcherie of all prohibited and uncustomed goods comeing to or going from the said burgh of Ely or port thereof, and of the toun and lands of Carmuirie and several other lands, mills, patronage and others contained in the said charter, all formerly united in ane haill and free barony called the barony of Ardross in manner therein mentioned. And likewayes, of all and haill the east half of the toun and lands of the Newtoun of Rirus, and of all and haill the lands and barony of Dairsey, and likewayes of all and haill the superiority of these parts and portions of the lands of Innergelly, sometime pertaining to the abbacy of Dryburgh, and of the superiority of an house and three acres of land in Anstruther, sometime also belonging to the said abbacy, with the few duties payable furth thereof, together with the patronage of the kirk of Kilreny and kirklands thereof, and of several other lands, patronages and others specified in the foresaid charter, all lying within the sherifdom and steuartry of Fyfe respective. All which are, by the said charter, of new disponed to the said Sir William and his foresaids, and of new united and erected in an haill and free barony to be called the barony of Anstruther, for which one seasine by deliverance of earth and stone at the mannor places of Anstruther or Ely, or any other part of the said lands, is ordained to be sufficient in manner mentioned in the samen charter, which contains a disposition and ratification of the offices of one of her majesties' carvers and masters of household to the said Sir William and his heirs male succeeding in his lands of Anstruther, and a gift of the office of heretable and perpetual searchers of prohibited and uncustomed goods within the burghs of Anstruther and Elie and ports of the same, with power to intromet therewith and of keeping courts for cognosceing thereon, and also of haveing a cocquet in the said burghs, with priviledge of the seals of the same and of appointing keepers and clerks of the said cocquets and seals, with the haill fees, casualities, priviledges, casualties and powers belonging to the said several offices and expressed in the said charter, to be holden of her majesty for payment of the few duties of victual, capons and pultrie or prices thereof specified therein of the other few, blench and other duties mentioned in the samen, whereby also the waird, nonentry, relief and marriage of the heirs which were due and payable for the foresaid lands and barony of Anstruther and the lands of Burntshiells and Muir Cambus, with the pertinents, together with the respective duties to which the said ward, nonentry, relief and marriage were taxed, and all other profites and casualities of the same, are given and disponed to the heirs, successors and assigneyes of the said Sir William Anstruther succeeding to him therein, and further the holding of the said lands is changed from taxtward to blench, and the serveing, retouring and infefting therein the heirs and successors of the said Sir William at any time of their age, notwithstanding of their minorities, is allowed and dispensed with, and also the several rights and conveyances of the lands and others foresaid are confirmed in manner fully therein set down. And her majesty, with consent foresaid, does also ratifie, approve and perpetually confirme the precept of seasine contained in the foresaid charter, with the instrument of seasine following thereupon, in all and sundry points, articles, clauses and provisions of the said charter, precept and seasine. And her majesty, with advice and consent foresaid, statutes and ordains that the foresaid charter with the precept therein contained and infeftment following thereupon are and shall be conform to the tenors of the same, good, valid and sufficient rights to the said Sir William Anstruther and his foresaids for possessing and injoying the lands, offices and others thereby disponed, without any impediment in so far as concerns the interest of her majestie or her royal successors, and declares that the same shall never be quarrelled nor revocked by her majesty or her foresaids and that this present ratification is and shall be as valid and effectual, to all intents, as if every word of the said charter precept and seasine were at length insert herein, whereanent and with all other objections that may be proponed against the validity hereof or of the writs hereby ratified, her majesty, with consent foresaid, has dispensed and hereby dispenses for ever. Extract.
Lord Archbald Campbell, in name of her majesties' commissioner the duke of Argyll, protested against the said ratification, that it should not prejudge him of his office of master of household to her majesty.
Sir Robert Forbes, in name of the royal burrows, protested against the burgh of Ely, it's haveing by the charter ratified the same priviledges with royal burrows.