[1621/6/84]¹

Act in favour of Sir Richard Cockburn [of Clerkington], lord privy seal

Our sovereign lord and estates of parliament ratify and approve the charter and infeftment granted by his majesty, with advice of his highness's collector general and treasurer of new augmentations for the time, to his majesty's trusty and well-beloved councillor Sir Richard Cockburn of Clerkington, knight, keeper of his highness's privy seal, and his male heirs specified therein, of all and whole the lands of Clerkington, with the manor places, houses, buildings, yards, orchards, corn mills and waulk mills thereof and all their pertinents lying within the parish and constabulary of Haddington and sheriffdom of Edinburgh, to be held of his majesty and his successors in free blench for payment of one penny upon the ground of the said lands at the feast of Whitsunday [May/June] yearly in name of blench ferm, if the same be asked only, notwithstanding that the said lands were held in feu ferm of before, dated at Royston, 19 January 1610, with the precept and instrument of sasine following thereupon, together with the act of his majesty's parliament held at Edinburgh, 23 October 1612, whereby his highness and estates ratified and approved the said charter and infeftment, precept and instrument of sasine following thereupon, and discerned the said act to be a sufficient dissolution for security to the said Sir Richard and his foresaids of the lands and others above-written, to be held blench of his majesty in all time coming in all and sundry heads, articles, clauses and circumstances thereof; and will and declare that this present general ratification is and shall be as sufficient as if the said charter, infeftment, precept and instrument of sasine and act were at length word by word inserted herein. And further, our said sovereign lord and estates aforesaid, for the causes specified in the said act, have of new dissolved and, by this act, dissolve the said lands of Clerkington, with the manor places, houses, buildings, yards, orchards, corn mills and waulk mills thereof and all their pertinents, and also have dissolved and, by this act, dissolve the lands of Spittalrigg with the pertinents from his majesty's crown and from all acts of annexation whereby the same are and have been annexed to his majesty's crown at any time heretofore; and specially from the act of parliament made in the month of September 1571, regarding the lands, rooms or possessions held of friars or nuns and from the general annexation of kirk lands made in the month of July 1587, to the effect the same may be conveyed by his majesty to the said Sir Richard, his male heirs and assignees, to be held of his highness and his successors in free blench for payment of one penny upon the ground of the said lands at the feast of Whitsunday yearly in name of blench ferm, if the same be asked only, notwithstanding that the same lands were held in feu ferm of before; and ordain charters and infeftments to be passed hereupon to the said Sir Richard and his foresaids in such due and competent form as appropriate.