[1600/11/53]*[print] [email] [cite] [preceding] [following]
Our sovereign lord, with advice and consent of the estates of this present parliament, considering the long, true and thankful service done to his majesty these 24 years bygone by his beloved and domestic servant Sir Patrick Murray of Geanies, knight, gentleman of his majesty's chamber, not only in his daily and continual attendance upon his highness's most royal person during the space foresaid but also in his most faithful and diligent administration of his majesty's private and public affairs committed to his charge, and namely in the quieting and pacifying of diverse rebellions and seditions within the north part of this realm and reconciling of diverse great deadly feuds standing between diverse of his majesty's nobility, barons and gentlemen which were likely to have inflamed and burnt up the whole bowels of this country if his majesty, by the special providence of God, had not prevented the same by directing and employing of the said Sir Patrick to travail earnestly with the said parties for taking away of the said deadly feuds, in which his travail has succeeded so happily that the whole nobles, barons and gentlemen for the most part within the north are reconciled together by his singular care and diligence, to the great contentment of his majesty and common peace and quietness of the whole realm. Therefore his majesty and estates foresaid, considering the said Sir Patrick's service to have been very profitable to his majesty and to the whole lieges of this realm, have ratified and approved and by the authority of this present parliament ratify and approve the infeftment made by his majesty to the said Sir Patrick, his heirs and assignees of all and whole the barony of Geanies, comprehending the particular lands, teinds, mills, woods, fishings and others therein contained in all the heads, articles, clauses, provisions, conditions and all other circumstances thereof, with the erection of the same in a free barony to be called in time coming the barony of Geanies, for the yearly payment of the feu duty mentioned therein, which is of the date 1 February 1597 [1598], with his sasine following thereupon; and find and declare that the same is and shall be in all time coming a sufficient, lawful and effectual infeftment to him, his heirs and assignees for possessing and enjoying of all and sundry the said lands, woods, mills, fishings, with tenants, tenancies and service of free tenants particularly specified therein, and that the conversion of victual, custom and other duties in money mentioned in the said infeftment is no diminution of the rental of the said land, but that it was, is and shall be permissible to his majesty to have converted and to convert the ferms, victual, customs and other duties of the said lands in the said silver duty specified and expressed in the said infeftment notwithstanding of whatsoever acts of parliament or constitutions made or to be made in the contrary, and specially notwithstanding of the act of parliament made upon 10 December† 1585 ordaining all beneficed persons to leave their benefices as good as they find the same and discharging them of all conversion of victual in money; and also notwithstanding of the act of annexation of kirk lands to the crown nor any clause or condition therein contained, and of the act of parliament made in the year 1597 annulling all infeftments of feu ferms of feued lands, with the which acts and all other laws and constitutions which may be prejudicial to the said infeftment in any way his majesty, with advice foresaid, expressly dispenses and makes express derogation to the same in all times coming by this act. Moreover, his majesty, in consideration of the said Sir Patrick's most worthy service above-mentioned, and to give him the better occasion to continue therein, with advice foresaid, has suppressed and suppresses the monastery and abbey of Fearn to which the said lands were annexed as a part of the patrimony thereof, with the whole order of monks, friars and canons of the same. And to the effect the said Sir Patrick may be provided with a perfect and sufficient security and heritable title of the said lands, barony, mills, woods, teinds, fishings and others contained in his said infeftment, and that the said infeftment made to him already may be the more effectual and that his majesty, with advice foresaid, may convey the new infeftment underwritten of the said lands, barony and their pertinents, his highness, with advice and consent of the said estates, has dissolved and by the tenor of this present act expressly dissolves all and whole the said lands, baronies, mills, multures, teinds, fishings, with tenants, tenancies and service of free tenants and all others particularly mentioned in the said infeftment, from the annexation of kirk lands to the crown, to the effect his majesty may set the same of new again in feu ferm to the said Sir Patrick, his heirs and assignees, for the payment of the said yearly feu duty specified in his former infeftment made to him thereupon; and finds and declares that it shall not only be permissible to his majesty to set the same lands and barony and others above-specified to the said Sir Patrick, his heirs and assignees in feu ferm for the yearly payment of the feu duty contained in his said infeftment of the same and to convert the victual, kanes, customs and other duties of the said lands in money in the same way and as freely as any prelate or ecclesiastical person might have done before the making of the said act of parliament in the said year of God 1585, as that the said conversion of the victual and customs in money is no diminution of the rental of the said lands, but also that his majesty may interpose the said Sir Patrick, his heirs and assignees as superiors to all and sundry the feuars of any part of the said lands who had obtained and purchased sufficient feus and infeftments of the same duly and lawfully confirmed before the said act of annexation, and that notwithstanding of the said act of annexation and of the said act annulling the infeftments of feu ferm of feued lands or of any laws or constitutions made in the contrary. And also his majesty, for the said Sir Patrick's better security of the said lands, with consent foresaid, ordains a new infeftment to be made under his highness's great seal giving, granting and conveying to the said Sir Patrick, his heirs and assignees heritably in feu ferm all and whole the said lands, mills, woods, fishings and others after-mentioned, namely: the manor place of Fearn, called of old the monastery or abbey of Fearn, with houses, buildings, yards, orchards, wards, meadows, parts, pendicles and all their pertinents, the lands and mains of Fearn with their pertinents, the towns and lands of Easter and Wester Fearn with their pertinents, the mill of Fearn with the mill lands, astricted multures and all their pertinents, the ridge of Fearn, upon the east side of the mains of Fearn, with their pertinents, the kiln of Fearn with the pertinents, the lands of Badfearn with the pertinents, the lands of Invercarron, with the alehouse croft of the same and their pertinents, the lands of Downy and Downy Wester, with the alehouse croft thereof and their pertinents, the lands of Muldarg with the teinds thereof included and their pertinents, the lands of Kirkidaf with their pertinents, the lands of Knokadae with the pertinents, the lands of Mylntoun with the teind sheaves of the same and their pertinents, the lands of Balmochre and Balmuchy with the teind sheaves thereof and their pertinents, the lands of Middilgray with their pertinents, the lands of Pitcorne and Pitchene with the pertinents, the lands of Easter Ganie, Midganie and Wester Ganie with the pertinents, the lands of Meikle Ranie with the pertinents, the lands of Ballowblair, with the alehouse and teind sheaves of the same, with the pertinents, the lands of Dowcroft with the teind sheaves and their pertinents, the lands of Brighouse with the alehouse and teind sheaves of the same and their pertinents, the lands of Mylncroft with the teind sheaves thereof included and their pertinents, the lands of Weitlandis with the teind sheaves of the same, together with the fishing of Bruach and their pertinents, the lands of Cadboll-Fisher with their pertinents, the lands of Bathleweth with their pertinents, the lands of Tulloch with the teind sheaves thereof included and their pertinents, the lands of Lachlavege and the alehouse croft thereof with their pertinents, the lands of Little Rany, the lands of Aydowie with the pertinents, the lands of Annollie with their pertinents, the lands of Rallony with their pertinents and four alehouses in Fearn with their pertinents, the lands called Smythislandis or Smythiscroft, with the teind sheaves thereof and their pertinents, the Barncroft with the pertinents, the croft called Robesones croft with the pertinents, the croft called Balnafcrath, the cottars' portions and eight acres of land occupied by the fishers of Fearn, with the teind sheaves thereof and their pertinents, the lands of Cullen with the teind sheaves and their pertinents, the lands of Amott with the pertinents, the fishing of Bonacher with the pertinents, together with houses, buildings, yards, mills, multures, woods, fishings, wards, meadows, muirs, marshes, tofts, crofts, outsets, parts, pendicles, annexes, connexes, tenants, tenancies and service of free tenants of all and whole the foresaid lands and others whatsoever, as well generally as particularly above-written, with all their pertinents, lying within the sheriffdom of Inverness. Ordaining all and whole the said lands and others above-expressed to be erected in a free barony to be called in all time coming the barony of Geanies, and with power to him and his foresaids to reduce, quarrel and impugn all and whatsoever infeftments, feus, tacks and assedations of the said lands and others above-mentioned which are not lawfully set according to the laws of this realm, according to the privileges and conditions of his said former infeftment granted to him thereupon, to be held of our sovereign lord and his successors in feu ferm heritably for the payment yearly to his majesty, his highness's successors and others having right to the feu mails of the said lands the feu ferm duties particularly after-mentioned, namely: the sum of £215 15s 7d usual money of this realm at two terms in the year Whitsunday [May/June] and Martinmas [11 November] by equal portions, 30 chalders, 6 bolls, 2 firlots, 2 pecks of barley; 1 chalder, 6 bolls of oats yearly between Yule and Candlemas [2 February], 54 mutton, 5 cows, 24 dozen capons, a dozen poultry, 20 loads of turf, 20 loads of straw, 60 loads of peat, 14 loads of fir, together with the hens used and wont and all other duties and services contained in the said old rental of the said lands at the yearly terms thereof used and wont, or else the sum of 4 merks for each chalder of the said barley and oats, the sum of 6s 8d for each mutton, the sum of 20s for each cow, the sum of 18s for each dozen capons, the sum of 12s for each dozen hens, the sum of 8s for each dozen poultry, the sum of £12 for each load of turf, the sum of 2s for each load of straw, the sum of 8d for each load of peat, the sum of 2s for each load of fir, at the option of the said Sir Patrick, his heirs and assignees, extending in the whole to the sum of £405 2s money foresaid, together with 20s in augmentation of the rental.