[1633/6/88]¹

Act in favour of the King's College of Aberdeen

Our sovereign lord and estates of this present parliament ordain a ratification to be made therein making mention that his majesty, remembering and calling to mind the manifold acts of parliament made by his majesty's predecessors of worthy memory in favour of the old universities of this realm, which are the seminaries of the kirk and policy within the same, and his majesty being moved with fervent zeal of the propagation and advancement of religion and with an earnest love of increase of policy and having therewith a special regard to the education and upbringing of the youth within this kingdom in piety and learning, and specially within the north parts of this realm, whereof our sovereign lord's university and King's College in old Aberdeen have been special instructors for the space of 140 years or thereby since the first foundation of the same, and understanding that the said university and college was of old founded and erected by the late King James IV of worthy memory for serving the north parts of this realm and endued by him with most ample privileges of teaching and professing divinity, canon and civil laws, medicine, philosophy and all other lawful faculties and liberal sciences, and also giving of degrees of baccalaureate, licentiate and doctorate to those that are worthy and capable of the said degrees in all and sundry the faculties and sciences above-expressed, with full power and liberty to the persons promoted and graduated in the same to read, teach, do and exercise all things whatsoever the persons promoted to the same degrees within the University of Paris, in the University of Banonia or any other university whatsoever may do or exercise, both in the university where they received their degrees and also in whatsoever other university in whatever places, without any examination or approval, and generally with all and sundry whatsoever other rights, privileges, liberties, immunities and exemptions given and granted to the said Universities of Paris and Banonia, or to any university of this realm or pertaining and belonging to any university or general study, together with conservators specially ordained and constituted for conserving and maintaining of the said rights, privileges, liberties, immunities and exemptions of the said university and college, as is at greater length expressed and set down in the first foundations and erections of the said university and King's College of old Aberdeen of the dates 1494 and 1497 respectively; and that the said university and King's College of old Aberdeen were of old gifted and endowed by the said late King James IV of worthy memory and by the bishops of Aberdeen and certain other of his majesty's subjects, with the kirks and benefices, patronages, parsonages and vicarages thereof, lands and annualrents following mortified, united, annexed and incorporated thereto, namely: the parsonage and vicarage of Aberluthnot; the parsonage and vicarage of Glenmuick and Glengarden; the parsonage and vicarage of Slains; the parsonage and vicarage of Snaw; the parsonage and vicarage of Auchindoir; the vicarage of Tullynessle, together with the patronages of the said kirks, the half town and lands of Drumlugus; the town and lands of Adiel, Balnakettle, Collynie and Andet, Berryhill, Mundurno; certain crofts and tenements of land lying on the east and west territories of new Aberdeen; an annualrent of £20 out of the barony of Belhelvie; 19 merks out of the waters of Banff; £12 6s 8d yearly out of the lands of Ore, Moubrey, Blairshinnoch and Pittinbrunyeounes in Boyne; an annualrent of £5 out of the lands of Udoch; an annualrent of £4 yearly out of the lands of Petty; the lands of the hospital of St Germains, with the whole fruits, rents and duties whatsoever belonging thereto wherever the same be or lies within this realm; the lands whereupon the said college is founded, with the yards, crofts and whole precinct of the same, with the manses, yards and crofts of the professor of ecclesiastical law, professor of civil law, professor of medicine and grammarian of the said university and college and others particularly specified and contained in the old foundations of the said university and college, charters and donations of the same of several dates respectively; which privileges and liberties with the said old foundations and mortifications were afterward ratified and approved by the late King James V, of worthy memory, in the year of God 1527, and by his royal daughter, the late Queen Mary, of worthy memory, in the year of God 15[...], and lastly by his highness's late dearest father, King James VI, of worthy memory, by an act of his parliament held in the year of God 1617. As likewise that his highness's said late dearest father of worthy memory, having consideration and respect that the means of the said old rents and duties being greatly diminished and impaired by diverse alienations and impropriations and other dilapidations of the same was in no way able nor sufficient to maintain in any competent manner or measure the masters and members of the said university and college as the same were first founded, therefore his highness's said late dearest father of worthy memory, of his majesty's princely liberality, love and affection which he had to learning and virtue and to the maintenance and increase thereof within this realm, gave, conveyed, united and annexed to the said university and college of old Aberdeen, with special consent and assent of all having interest, the kirks, teinds, lands and annualrents after-specified, namely: all and whole the parsonage and vicarage of St Machar called the deanery of the cathedral kirk of Aberdeen, with the whole lands, teinds, fruits, rents, emoluments and duties pertaining and belonging thereto; all and whole the parsonage of Methlick, Fyvie, Peterkirk, called Spittal or the sub-chantry of Aberdeen, with the whole manses, glebes, lands, rents and duties of the said kirks respectively, all lying within the diocese of St Andrews and Aberdeen respectively; together also with all and sundry kirklands, teinds, annualrents, feu ferms, manses, glebes, houses, buildings, yards and other fruits, rents and emoluments which pertained of before to the friars Carmelite of Banff, the chaplainries of Westhall and Fallaroull, the chaplainries of St Magdalen's altar, with all and sundry kirklands, teinds, annualrents, feu ferms, manses, glebes, houses, buildings, yards and all other fruits, rents, emoluments and duties whatsoever, which pertained of before to the said chaplainries, or to the old chaplains of the said university and college of old Aberdeen; together with all other lands, houses, buildings, produce, teinds, annualrents, feu ferms, manses, glebes, titles, rights, jurisdictions and others whatsoever pertaining and due to the said college, masters, regents, bursars and members thereof, either given and granted by his highness's said late dearest father, King James VI, of worthy memory, or any other of his highness's most noble progenitors and predecessors, kings and queens of Scotland, their regents or governors for the time, or by the bishops of Aberdeen of good memory, or by any others at any time of before which the said college and university possesses, has possessed or in any way might possess, as in his highness's said late dearest father of worthy memory his donations, gifts, dispositions and mortifications thereof at more length is contained, which last mortifications and donations granted by his highness's said late dearest father of worthy memory to the said university and college were likewise ratified by him by an act of his said parliament held in the said year of God 1617. And our sovereign lord, following the worthy example of his highness's most noble progenitors in their good affection and love of learning and virtuous education of the youth within this kingdom, and being willing by all means possible so far as lies in his majesty's power to promote virtue, advance the said universities and college of old Aberdeen and corroborate the rights, titles and securities thereof so that the same may the more and more flourish in learning, discipline and good manners, therefore our sovereign lord, with advice and consent of the said estates and whole body of this present parliament, ratifies, allows, approves and for his highness and his successors perpetually confirms all and sundry the foresaid old foundations of the said university and college of old Aberdeen with the whole rights, titles, privileges, immunities, exemptions, jurisdictions, freedoms and liberties of the same and the whole foresaid donations and mortifications of kirks and benefices, patronages, parsonages and vicarages thereof, lands, feu ferms, annualrents and whatsoever other emoluments or duties gifted and granted to the said university and college, either by his highness's said late dearest father of worthy memory or any other of his highness's most noble progenitors, kings or queens of Scotland, their regents or governors for the time, or by the said bishops of Aberdeen, or any others in all and sundry the heads, points, articles, clauses, circumstances and conditions therein contained, and after the forms and tenors thereof in all points, and wills, grants and declares that the said university and college shall enjoy the same, intromit with and uplift the whole lands, teinds, fruits, rents, annualrents, chaplainries and others whatsoever above-specified pertaining and belonging thereto, and also all other privileges, immunities, freedoms and exemptions which at any time the said university and college, or any other university or college within or without this realm possesses and enjoys, or has possessed and enjoyed, in any time bygone, or may possess and enjoy, by virtue of their rights and donations granted to them heretofore, and that this present ratification of the said rights specially and generally above-written is and shall be of as great strength, force and effect as if the said whole rights were all at length specially and particularly herein contained and inserted, notwithstanding the same be not so done; concerning which, our said sovereign lord and estates of parliament have dispensed and by this act dispense for ever. And because the deanery and sub-chantry of Aberdeen, with the parsonage of Methlick, are united, annexed and incorporated to the said university and college, the said kirks and parsonages being benefices and members of the chapter of the cathedral kirk of Aberdeen, and his majesty being in no way willing that the said chapter be hurt, impaired or deprived of any of the old members and privileges thereof, therefore our said sovereign lord, with advice and consent foresaid, ratifies and approves the statute and ordinance made by his royal father of glorious memory in his said parliament held at Edinburgh, the said year of God 1617, ordaining that the said principal of the said college for the time shall in all time coming be dean of Aberdeen and that the subprincipal of the said college shall be sub-chanter of Aberdeen, and that the eldest regent of the said college shall be parson of Methlick, they representing at the least the said canons and having their places in chapter in giving votes and suffrages and subscribing of tacks, infeftments and other writs in all and sundry the heads, points, clauses, articles, circumstances and conditions therein contained, and after the form and tenor thereof in all points, providing always that the said college and members thereof make and provide sufficient stipends and provisions to the ministers actually serving the cure at the said kirks who are not already sufficiently provided, and that the said ratification be further extended in the best form with all clauses necessary.