[1612/10/69]¹

Ratification of the contract between [George Gledstanes], archbishop of St Andrews and the city of St Andrews, with a reservation in favour of [Robert Lindsay], lord Lindsay [of the Byres]

Our sovereign lord, with the advice of the estates of this present parliament, ratifies, confirms and approves the heads and articles of agreement made between a reverend father in God, George, archbishop of St Andrews, on the one part, and the commissioners for the provost, bailies, council, deacons of crafts and community of the said city on the other part, regarding all controversies and debates standing between the said archbishop, immediate superior of the said city, and the citizens thereof, touching either of their privileges, freedoms and duties belonging and appertaining to either of the said parties, which articles our said sovereign lord and estates ordain and decree to stand and continue in all time coming as the rules and bonds of perpetual peace between the said parties and their successors; as also they decree and ordain that all infeftments, evidents and securities founded or to be founded upon the said articles and conditions already agreed and subscribed by both the said parties shall be as valid and effectual as if the same were expressly ratified and approved by our said sovereign lord and estates of parliament, of the which articles of appointment and commissions granted to the said commissioners for performing of the said articles of appointment, the tenors follows: At Edinburgh, 7 December 1611, a reverend father in God, George, archbishop of St Andrews, on the one part, and Henry Arthur, dean of guild of the city of St Andrews, Duncan Balfour, one of the bailies thereof, John Arnott, commissioner clerk of St Andrews, John Carstairs, deacon warner of the crafts of the said city, and John Mills, deacon of the bakers thereof, commissioners for the provost, bailies, council and whole body of the crafts of the said city, to confer, entreat and conclude and settle peace with the said lord archbishop and them regarding the rights of the said city and a settled peace and government of the same city in all times thereafter, as their commissions bear, on the other part, have agreed and convened upon these articles, heads and conditions after-specified, to be extended in ample form of contract. Firstly, my said lord archbishop of St Andrews shall be bound and obliged to grant, pass and complete to the provost, bailies, council and community of the said city of St Andrews a confirmation of the whole infeftments, rights, evidents, writs and securities made by his lordship [or his]² predecessors, bishops or archbishops of St Andrews, to them and their predecessors, inhabitants of the said city, of the lands of Pilmuir, that portion of land called the Saltgerse, the Links of St Andrews as the same lies in length and breadth, with the mussel bed, to the water of Eden, as the same ebbs and flows with the lands called the North Haugh and the lands called the South Haugh, their common lands and commonty of the said city, without prejudice of the infeftment granted to Laurence Wan to set nets upon the sands for fowling to my lord archbishop's use, with the privilege of the shore port and harbour of the said city, anchorage, small toust³ wherein they and their predecessors are and have been in use or possession, reserving to my lord archbishop and his successors to be [first]⁴ served at the shore and the privilege of my lord's customs admiral and searcher also reserved, with their whole tenements and burgh lands lying within and without the burgh ruids of the said city, and all other privileges, liberties and immunities of the same city as they and their predecessors possess and possessed the same of old, and of their mills, as well water as wind mills already built, and of the thirl, multures and sucken belonging thereto, and of the friars' lands lying within and beside the said city, as well black as gray friars' yards, and annuals belonging and pertaining thereto, and of the duties of the customs of the markets of St Monans and Kilconquhar, together with an infeftment of novodamus for payment of the yearly duty underwritten, to be held of the said archbishop and his successors in feu ferm, which infeftment shall contain the absence of all supplements in as ample form, as the said provost, bailies and council shall devise for their security. As also the said archbishop, for him and his successors, to be bound and obliged to the said provost, bailies and council that the whole old infeftments, evidents, writs and securities contained in that book called the Black Book of the said city, which is all written by the late John Mutto, clerk of the said city for the time, which is only a memory and record of the infeftments, evidents and writs made to the said provost, bailies, council and inhabitants of the said city of St Andrews and their predecessors by the bishops and archbishops thereof and by the kings of Scotland of old, of their common land, burgh lands, liberties, privileges and immunities, the principals whereof by reason of the past civil and foreign war in equities often are not extended⁵ but destroyed, shall in all times hereafter make as great faith to and in favour of the inhabitants of the said city against my said lord archbishop himself and his successors as if the same were the originals or authentically copied by decreet of the lords of council and session, providing that no writ therein be derogative to the contents contained in these present articles. Moreover, my said lord archbishop shall grant to the said provost, bailies and council a confirmation of the erection of the said city in a free burgh of regality, likewise his lordship shall be bound to erect the said city of new with all privileges of a burgh of regality, to be crowners within themselves, burgh ruids and possessions of the inhabitants of the regality, with a disposition of their bloodwits so far as lies in his lordship's power, or he may of law, and exemption from all service to the stewart of the regality passing upon the stewart's assizes, keeping of their warders and furnishing of executioners, except in so far as the common law provides, except the service of an heir to a native inhabitant as heir to his predecessors, and except the fact and deed be committed within the said city, burgh ruids, liberties and possessions of the same only. And also his lordship, upon the said city's expenses, shall employ his means to obtain off his majesty a confirmation of the said city's whole infeftments granted by his highness's predecessors in favour of the said city and inhabitants thereof, with a gift and disposition of all privileges, liberties and immunities as any burgh regal within this realm. And also in respect my said lord archbishop is acquainted with the poor estate of the said city and inhabitants thereof, that his lordship shall intercede with his majesty and use all possible means to obtain of his highness a discharge of the sum of 2,000 merks money, in the which the said city was confined for the alleged riot committed at the escaping of Walter Geddie; as also to intercede with his majesty for obtaining his highness's favour to the said city and inhabitants thereof, and to obtain a discharge of the action presently depending before the lords of his highness's secret council at the instance of my lord advocate against certain neighbours of the said city for contempt of his majesty's commission and commissioners, providing that such persons as consent not to this present appointment be in no way comprehended in the said discharge. And [in]⁶ the like manner the said archbishop, for him and his successors, shall give to the said provost, bailies and council of the said city a discharge to such neighbours thereof as they shall give to his lordship in roll for building forth upon the calsay of the said city and of the action of purpresture competent to his lordship thereof; as also in respect the vicarage of St Andrews is annexed and incorporated to the archbishopric thereof, therefore my lord archbishop and his successors shall be bound and obliged to the provost, bailies and council of the said city after the decease of the present vicar to furnish, upon his lordship's and his successors' expenses, a qualified reader to the parish kirk of the said city and to pay an honest, yearly stipend to him. Moreover, the said archbishop, for him and his successors, shall grant and give to the said provost, bailies and council of the said city the free election of their common clerk, he always swearing his faith, loyalty and truth to his majesty and to my lord St Andrews, overlord of the said city, and also my lord archbishop, for him and his successors, shall grant to the provost, bailies and council of the said city the election of a master of their grammar school, which pertained of old to the archdeacon of St Andrews and now to the said archbishop, in respect of the annexation and incorporation of the said archdeanery to the said archbishopric, the said archbishop and his successors always having the trial of his qualification. And finally, the said archbishop and his successors shall be solemnly sworn to the provost, bailies and council of the said city for themselves and in name of the whole inhabitants thereof, not only to maintain and defend them in general, their town, lands, liberties, privileges and estate by law at court, council, session and justice in all their honest actions and causes, but also in special every particular member thereof, their action or actions being always worthy [of] his lordship's protection; for the which causes the said provost, bailies and council of the said city and the whole burgesses to be received hereafter and free men shall be sworn to the said archbishop to be true and loyal to his majesty and to his lordship, their overlord, as becomes vassals to their superior, according to their old and accustomed oath contained in their old registers. And also the said provost, bailies and council shall be obliged to pay to the said archbishop and his successors the yearly feu duties after-mentioned for the particular lands, mills, burgh lands and others above-mentioned, as is particularly underwritten, the sum of £28 usual money of this realm at two terms in the year, Whitsunday [May/June] and Martinmas [11 November] in winter, by equal portions, in name of feu: namely: for the burgh mails contained in the old rental, £8 with 10s in augmentation of the rentals, and for the said lands of Pilmuir, the Links, the mussel bed and portion of land called the Salt Gersse, the sum of £6, and for the lands of the South and North Haughs the sum of £6, and for the windmill built and wind and water mills to be built and the commonty of the said city, the sum of £6, and for the privilege of the shore anchorages and [tousts], 20s money, and for the duties of the markets of St Monans and Kilconquhar, the sum of 10s only. And also every person within the said city entering here to their predecessors to any burgh lands, ruids or yards within and without the said city by the bailies thereof, shall pay to my lord and his successors one penny sterling money in addition to the bailies' wine due to them in the name of homage, and another person stranger entering shall pay two pennies sterling money. And the clerk's protocol to be a book of respondee to his lordship to that effect, the clerk to be receiver and to be accountable to my lord thereof yearly. And also the provost, bailies and council of the said city shall give liberty and privilege to the said archbishop to plant and place rabbits and clappers⁷ within the links of the said city as his predecessors had liberty of before, and the said provost, bailies and council shall be bound and obliged to my lord and his successors to lay and repair the whole calsays of the said city within the space of five years; and in case it shall happen at any time after the laying thereof to break, and my lord and his successors to require them to repair, lay and mend the same upon the requisition of six months, and they to fail, in that case they shall be bound to my lord and his successors in the sum of 100 merks money to be employed upon the laying, mending and repairing of the said calsays. Moreover, the provost, bailies and council of the said city shall yearly upon the provisions after-mentioned present to the said archbishop two persons with the old provost, a leet⁸ to the provostry of the said city, and two persons with the old dean of guild to the guild thereof, who are and have been councillors within the said city, actual traders and residents therein and have borne office of before, and to present a leet to my lord of eight persons with the four present bailies, actual traders and residents within the said city, who are and have been councillors therein, to the office of bailiary, and to leet and present two persons with the old treasurer to the treasury of the said city upon the same quality upon Tuesday before noon after Michaelmas day [29 September] yearly, which is the ordinary day of their election; and the archbishop out of the said leets to have the election of a provost, dean of guild, four bailies and treasurer for the government of the said city upon these conditions and provisions following: In the first, in case the said archbishop and his successors be not actual residents and preachers within the said city, secondly, in case it shall happen the said archbishopric to be annexed to the crown or erected in a temporality, that then and in either of the said cases the said provosts, bailies and council of the said city to have the free leeting and election of their said provost, dean of guild, bailies and treasurer as they were in use of before; and this ratification to be in no way derogative thereto. And the customs officer of the shore of the said city to be sworn to my lord that no forbidden goods by his knowledge shall pass out of the realm, and if he shall know any he shall notify the same to my lord under the pain of deprivation. And finally, the clerk of the said city shall be solemnly sworn to be loyal and true to his majesty and to my lord archbishop, overlord of the said city, and both the said parties bind and oblige them faithfully to extend this present minute in ample form of contract and thereafter to perfect and subscribe the same, keeping always the substantials of these articles above-written. And for the more security, both the said parties are content and consent that this ratification be inserted and registered in the books of council and discerned to have the strength of a decreet of the lords thereof, with letters to pass thereupon in the appropriate form; and for retiring hereof make and constitute etc. our lawful procurators, promising ratification. In witness whereof, written by John Martin, younger, we have subscribed this ratification with our hands, day, year and place foresaid, before these witnesses: George [Graham], bishop of Dunblane, John [Campbell], bishop of Argyll, Sir Peter Young of Seaton, knight, Master Thomas Henryson, one of the commissioners of Edinburgh, and Master William Cooper, one of the pastors of the burgh of Perth, and Robert Leighton of Ulishaven. It is thus subscribed, George, St Andrews, Henry Arthur, dean of guild, John Carstairs, deacon warner, John Arnott, with my hand, Duncan Balfour, bailie, John Mills, deacon of the bakers, M[aster] Graham, bishop of Dunblane, witness, S[ir] P[eter] Young, witness, T[homas] Henryson, witness, Master William Cooper, minister at Perth, witness, Jo[hn], Lismore, witness to my lord Archbishop of St Andrew's subscription, Robert Leighton of Ulishaven, witness. At St Andrews, 3 December 1611. The which day, the provost, bailies and council of the city of St Andrews, being solemnly convened within the tolbooth of the said city, the ordinary place of their convention, and understanding that a great number of the honest men, neighbours of the said city, being cited at the instance of my lord advocate for his majesty's interest before the secret council for the proud contempt of his majesty's commission directed to Robert, lord Lindsay, Andrew Wemyss of Myrecarny, one of the senators of the college of justice, and Master George Young of Wilkieston, one of his highness's secret council in Scotland, the ordinary time of the election of the magistrates of the said city, being upon Tuesday after Michaelmas [29 September], whereupon his majesty, having conceived in high displeasure not only against the contemners of his majesty's commission for their misbehaviour, but the whole inhabitants of the said city, and the present provost, bailies and council of the said city, for themselves and in name of the whole community thereof, in consideration of the oversight of their neighbours, and with all humility, to give his majesty satisfaction for their offence, have submitted themselves, rights and privileges of the said city on the one part, and the archbishop of St Andrews, their overlord, on the other part, to certain noble, honourable, godly and discrete persons, and in case of discrepancy to our dread sovereign the king's majesty as only arbiter and oversman, as the blank and submission upon the back thereof, subscribed by both the said parties, purport; and the said archbishop, having an honourable and fatherly love and care to the said city and inhabitants thereof, as becomes an overlord to his vassals and a loving father to his children, and for eschewing of controversy between his lordship and his said vassals and to give his majesty's full satisfaction, his lordship, having capitulation with certain commissioners of the said city, having sufficient commission to confer and entreat with his lordship regarding the settling of a peace and government of the said city, and thereupon having taken a dissolute conclusion of certain articles craved to be performed by them to my lord St Andrews, and by his lordship to them, as the same signed by Patrick Boncle, clerk of the said city, purports, so that in effect there rests nothing now but the perfecting of the said articles, which cannot be done in respect of his lordship's absence, but by commissioners; therefore the council foresaid has given and granted, likewise they, by this contract, give and grant full power and commission to Henry Arthur, dean of guild of the said city, Duncan Balfour, one of the bailies thereof, John Arnott, commissioner clerk of St Andrews, John Carstairs, deacon warner of the crafts of the said city, and John Mills, deacon of the bakers thereof, jointly their commissioners, giving, granting and committing to them their full, free, plain power, general and special command, express bidding and charge as representing the body of the whole council of the said city, to confer, entreat and conclude with his lordship and thereafter to conclude the said articles and to perfect and perform security between his lordship and the provost, bailies and council of the said city, representing the whole community, either by articles or perfect contract, always keeping the substance of the said articles as if the whole body of the council of the said city and whole inhabitants thereof were present at the performing of the same; which appointment to be performed, the said provost, bailies and council, for themselves and in name of the whole community, now as then and then as now, ratify and approve and oblige them to ratify the same of new, firm and stable holding and for to hold all and whatsoever things the said commissioners jointly in the premise lawfully lead to be done, under the pain of perjury and infamy of their fame and reputation. Extracted from the books of acts of the city of the council of St Andrews by me, Patrick Boncle, notary public, clerk of the same city, witnessing this by my subscription manual. It is thus subscribed, P Boncle Schir.⁹ Monday, 2 December 1611. The which day John Carstairs, deacon warner of the crafts of the city of St Andrews, having convened the whole deacons of the crafts of the said city, they are to say: Robert Smith, deacon of the hammermen, John Mills, deacon of the bakers, Patrick Melville, deacon of the wrights, Robert Carstairs, deacon of the tailors, Alexander Fairfoul, deacon of the shoemakers, David Phennesoun, deacon of the butchers, and Thomas Anuell, deacon of the weavers, with the whole councils of their particular crafts, upon the hill called the Gallow Laik, as the ordinary place of their meetings, and there in presence and audience John Arnott, commissioner clerk of St Andrews, one of the councillors of the said city, being directed commissioner from the councillors of the said city to acquaint, deal, treat and crave their deliberation and consultation regarding certain articles craved and desired to be completed, passed and performed by my lord archbishop of St Andrews to the provost, bailies, council and community of the said city of St Andrews, inhabitants thereof, and privileges, liberties of the said city and rights of their common lands and burgh lands, as also concerning certain articles to be perfected and performed by the provost, bailies and council of the said city, for themselves and in name of the community of the said city, to my lord St Andrews, their overlord and superior, marked by Patrick Boncle, common clerk of the said city and clerk of the council thereof, which being [openly]¹⁰ read by the said John Arnott in presence of the deacon warner, whole deacons of the crafts foresaid and their councils, and also in presence of me, notary public underwritten, and being therewith ripely advised and also earnestly craving at God for settling of the turbulent estate of the said city, that God may be honoured, the king's majesty and my lord St Andrews, their overlord, may have satisfaction and the turbulent commonwealth of the city quieted, and the rights, privileges and immunities of the said city confirmed and approved to the present inhabitants thereof and to the posterities to come, have all in one voice consented to the articles foresaid as well to be performed by my lord [archbishop]¹¹ of St Andrews, their overlord, to the provost, bailies, council, community, citizens and inhabitants of the said city, as also to the articles read as said is to be performed by them to my said lord St Andrews, their overlord, and by this contract give commission to the said John Carstairs, deacon warner, and John Mills, deacon of the bakers, as representing their whole number and body, to entreat with my lord St Andrews for perfecting of the said articles, and to conclude, pass and perfect sufficient securities thereupon for accomplishing thereof; which being perfected, now as then and then as now, as if they were personally present at the performance thereof, by this act ratify; whereupon the said John Carstairs, deacon warner foresaid, asked instruments, documents and act of court from me, Master Magnus Arthur, notary public, clerk to the said crafts, which I testify by this my subscription manual. Thus Mr Magnus Arthur, notary public, asked and requested in the foregoing matter, subscribed in his hand. Nevertheless, our said sovereign lord and estates foresaid declare and ordain that the foresaid appointment, whole articles above-written, with the infeftments that have followed and shall follow thereupon, nor this present act of ratification thereof, nor no head, clause, article and condition, general or special, here and therein expressed, nor nothing that shall follow thereupon, shall in any sort be hurtful nor prejudicial to any infeftments, writs, rights and securities made and granted to and in favour of Robert, lord Lindsay, his predecessors and authors whatsoever by the said George, archbishop of St Andrews and his predecessors, and by our said sovereign lord and his progenitors, of whatsoever lands, offices, jurisdictions, privileges, fees, casualties, immunities and others contained in the said infeftments, rights and securities made and granted to and in favour of the said noble lord and his foresaids thereupon, which and every one of them our said sovereign lord and estates foresaid ratify and approve in all the heads and points thereof, ordaining this ratification to be as effectual to the said noble lord and his foresaids relating thereto as if they were herein set down at length, and that by virtue thereof they hold, enjoy, use and possess all their said lands, offices and others contained in their said rights and infeftments peaceably in all time coming, notwithstanding of the foresaid appointment, articles and infeftments above-mentioned and of this present ratification, after the form and tenor of the said noble lord's rights and securities, whereunto this present act nor nothing herein expressed, concluded and set down in favour of the said city of St Andrews shall make any derogation, hurt or prejudice in any sort, directly nor indirectly.