The Records of the Parliaments of Scotland to 1707, K.M. Brown et al eds (St Andrews, 2007-2024), date accessed: 29 March 2024
[1584/5/54]1
Ratification of the infeftment made to Andrew [Keith], lord Dingwall
Our sovereign lord, with advice and consent of the three estates of this present parliament, ratifies, affirms and approves the charter and infeftment underwritten, made, given and granted to Lord Andrew Keith of Forsa, knight, his male heirs underwritten, in feu ferm, of all and sundry the lands specified therein, mills, multures, fishings, parts, pendicles and service of free tenants and all and sundry their pertinents specified therein, and declares the same to have full force, strength and effect in judgement and outwith in all time coming, of the which the tenor follows:
James, by the grace of God, gives greeting to all good men throughout his land, both clergy and laity. Let it be known that because our beloved kinsman Sir Andrew Keith of Forsa, born of the most ancient and noble family and blood of our beloved kinsman George [Keith], earl Marischal, lord Keith, baron of Inverugie etc., by the good character, prudence and fortitude in time of peace and war which have been granted to him by the very good grace of God, when far from friends and homeland in foreign parts, especially in the kingdom of Sweden, by the benevolence and liberality of our brother and kinsman the most serene king of Sweden, brought great honours and dignities upon himself, and thus performed very many duties for us and our subjects, and indeed was a credit to his fatherland and the family from which he is descended; while by condition of birth a subject most worthy of our favour and benevolence, he was promoted by our brother the king of Sweden, despite being foreign and alien, and was given many benefices, for loyal service given to us and to [Mary], our dearest mother, and for many other good deeds done for the good of us and our subjects, and for the stabilisation and conservation of the polity within our realm according to our laws and statutes of parliament carried and promulgated by us and our predecessors regarding the granting of lands by feu ferm or in perpetuity. Therefore, we have given, granted and conveyed, and by the tenor of our present charter, with the consent and assent of our comptroller, do give, grant and convey in favour of the said Sir Andrew Keith of Forsa, knight or knight aureate, and his male heirs as mentioned below in heritage and feu ferm respectively in the following manner, all and singly, our castle and manor, wards, superiority, fishing and the other things named below, namely, whole and complete our castle of Dingwall, with its houses, buildings and the wards of the same, together with all services, advantages and privileges which are usual and customary for the maintenance and repair of the same, the superiority of the town of Dingwall, with the burgh ferms, the dominical lands vulgarly known as Kyncardie, the lands of Glakkis which is a quarter of the foresaid dominical lands, all and singly the lands of Dalmalook, Inchevandie, Ochterneid, Drumglust, Wester Fairbarne, Cumrie, Artoun, Auchnaclerauch and the fishing of the water of Conon, with all the advantages, freedoms, services and other dues pertaining or capable of pertaining to the said fishery by use and custom, together with, all and singly, relating to the foresaid lands, the mills, multures, woods, groves, parts and pendicles, tenants, tenancies and services of freeholders and their pertinents, all in our earldom of Ross and lying within our sheriffdom of Inverness. He is to hold and have, whole and complete, our foresaid castle of Dingwall, with its houses, buildings, and the wards of the same, together with all services, advantages and privileges which are usual and customary for the maintenance and repair of the same, the superiority of the foresaid town of Dingwall, with the burgh ferms, the dominical lands vulgarly known as Kyncardie, the lands of Glakkis which are a quarter of the foresaid dominical lands, the foresaid mains, with, all and singly, their parts, particles, mills, multures, tenants, tenancies and services of freeholders, woods, groves and their foresaid pertinents, in favour of the foresaid Sir Andrew Keith and his present or future legitimate male heirs, whom failing any close and legitimate male heirs of his bearing the name of Keith and the arms of the principal house or messuage of the foresaid earldom of Marischal vulgarly called Dunnottar, from us and our successors in fee and heritage and free blench ferm forever; also all and singly the foresaid lands of Dalmalook, Inchevandie, Ochterneid, Drumglust, Wester Fairbarne, Cumrie, Artoun, Auchnacleurach and the foresaid fishing on the water of Conon, with all and singly the liberties, advantages, services and other dues properly and lawfully pertaining or justly and lawfully able to pertain to the foresaid fishing, together with all and singly the mills, multures, woods, groves, tenants, tenancies and other things mentioned above, in favour of the foresaid Sir Andrew Keith and his above-mentioned male heirs bearing the name of Keith and the arms of the foresaid house or messuage of Dunnottar, from us and our successors in heritage and free feu ferm, and in free lordship and barony in perpetuity, by all their correct ancient measures and divisions, as the castle with houses, wards and the forementioned lands, and the foresaid lands and fishing, with their mills, woods and groves, and other things mentioned above, lie in longitude and latitude, in houses, buildings, woods, plains and muirs, marshes, roads and paths, waters, pools and streams, meadows, bounds, fields, pastures and rough pastures, mills, multures and their consequents, fowling, hunting and fisheries, peat mosses, turfbeds, coals, coalworkings, pigeons and dovecotes, rabbits, warrens, workshops, breweries, brewhouses, whins, woods, groves and thickets, wood, timber, stoneworkings, stone and lime, with courts, appeals, inheritance payments, bloodwit and marriage of women, amercements, escheats of the foresaid courts, with furca et fossa, soke and sak, toll and theame, wrack, wair and waith, infangthief, outfangthief, pit and gallows, with common pasture and free entry and exit, and with, all and singly, the other freedoms, advantages, profits and easements and any just pertinents whether named or not, under or above ground, far and near, relating or justly capable of relating in any way in future to the foresaid castle, lands, fishing, and other things specified above, with all their pertinents, freely, quietly, fully, completely, honourably, well and in peace, without any revocation, contradiction, impediment or obstacle. In return, annually the foresaid Sir Andrew Keith of Forsa, knight and aureate knight, and his male heirs as mentioned above shall render to us and to our successors for the foresaid castle of Dingwall, houses, [buildings and the] wards of the same, and the customary services, advantages and privileges for their maintenance and repair, and the superiority of the said town of Dingwall and its burgh ferms with the said dominical [lands] vulgarly called the Mains of Kyncardie, the said lands of Glakkis, with tenants, tenancies and services of freeholders and other things of theirs mentioned above, one silver penny of the usual money of our realm at our said Dingwall Castle at Easter in blench ferm, if asked. Also paying to us and our comptrollers, chamberlains and factors for the time, for the foresaid lands of Dalmalook, £6 13s 4d, and 60s for bond money and seven reek hens, for the foresaid lands of Inchevandie £4, and for bond money 8s, three reek hens, for the foresaid lands of Ochterneid, £6 13s 4d, four muttons, for bond silver 16s and nine reek hens, for the foresaid lands of Drumglust, £6 18s 8d, one chalder and two bolls of barley, one chalder and two bolls of oats, six marts, six muttons and for bond silver 24s and 13 of the foresaid hens; for the foresaid lands of Wester Fairbarne, £4 10s for bonds and one of the foresaid reek hens; for the foresaid lands of Cumrie, 53s 4d, for bond 8s and one of the foresaid hens; for the foresaid lands of Artoun, £4 4s 4d and 12 bolls of barley, 12 bolls of oatmeal, six bolls of oats, two marts, two muttons and for bond silver 8s and eight of the foresaid hens and two loads of pine, 60 girthstings,2 60 loads of turf or sods commonly called fail as sufficient as the 100 loads of the foresaid fail of the land of Ardmannoch,3 for the foresaid lands of Auchnaclerauch 43s 4d, one of the foresaid hens and as bond 4s, and for the foresaid fishing on the water of Conon, with its freedoms, privileges, advantages and foresaid services and dues of the same, 6s 8d as ferm, feu ferm, dues and due services for the foresaid lands, fishery and other things stated above, with their pertinents, included in our rental, to be paid annually as due and customary at the usual and customary payment terms, together with the sum of 10s in respect of increase of our rental; the male heirs of the foresaid Sir Andrew shall double the said feu ferms and dues of the foresaid lands, fishery and other things stated above, granted and leased to them in feu ferm as has been said, in the first year of their entry to them, as is the custom with feu ferm. Wishing for the good reasons mentioned above that Andrew Keith of Forsa, knight or aureate knight, should be promoted to such dignities and honours as we have judged him worthy of, we have elevated, created, unified, annexed and incorporated, as by the wording of the present charter we do unify, elevate, create, annex and incorporate, all and singly, the foresaid castle, lands, superiority, burgh ferms, fishery and other things stated above in detail, with any of their foresaid parts, pendicles, mills, woods, tenants, tenancies, services of freeholders into a free lordship and barony to be known as the lordship of Dingwall for all time to come, and we decree and ordain that the said Sir Andrew Keith and his male heirs specified in the said infeftment shall be known as lords and barons of Dingwall, with the entitlement to the place and dignity of one of our lords of parliament, in all our parliaments, congregations and other conventions with everything appropriate to them; we grant them in their entirety the rights, dignities and preeminences customary to a lordship of parliament, without prejudice to the dues contained in this present charter of ours and due to us. We ordain and establish that the said Dingwall Castle is the principal messuage of the said lordship, and on behalf of ourselves and our successors we will and ordain that a combined sasine at his foresaid castle of Dingwall (and this applies to his heirs) shall stand and shall for all time shall extend and shall be a sufficient sasine for, all and singly, the foresaid castle, wards, burgh ferms, lands, fishery and all their pendicles and pertinents, woods, groves, tenants, tenancies and services of freeholders and other things specified above, now as has been said created and incorporated as the lordship and barony of Dingwall, notwithstanding that the foresaid lands and other things specified above do not lie contiguously together, in respect of which, by the wording of our present charter, we make permanent dispensation. In testimony of this we have instructed that our great seal be applied to this present charter of ours. Witnesses were our beloved kinsman Colin [Campbell], earl of Argyll, lord Campbell and Lorne, our chancellor and justiciar general, the most reverend and venerable fathers in Christ Patrick [Adamson], archbishop of St Andrews, Robert [Pitcairn], commendator of our monastery of Dunfermline, secretary, Walter [Stewart], commendator of our priory of Blantyre, keeper of our privy seal, Alexander Hay of Easter Kennet, clerk of rolls of registry and the council, Sir Lewis Bellenden of Auchnoull, our clerk of justiciary, and Robert Scott, our director of chancellery. At Holyroodhouse, 18 March 1583 [1584], the 17th year of our reign.
- NAS, PA2/12, ff.133r-134v.
- A length of wood for making hoops, for barrel-making.
- Sic, in error, as these lands not previously mentioned in the infeftment?