[1641/8/318]¹

Ratification in favour of Sir John Smith [of Grotehill]

Our sovereign lord and estates of parliament ratify and approve the six separate charters underwritten, whereof the first made, given and granted by his highness's late dearest father, King James VI of worthy memory, to and in favour of the late Robert Smith, merchant burgess of Edinburgh, and the late Agnes Purves, his spouse, and to the longest liver of the two, in liferent, for all the days of their lifetimes, and to John Smith, their son, his heirs and assignees heritably, of all and whole the lands of Dubhouse, namely: three acres of land lying in the territory of Cramond Regis, with a half acre of land near the lands of Corstorphine, called the Riggs, with the pertinents between the lands of the late Alexander Cramond on the south and north parts, and of two acres with a half acre of land lying in the Bondlands, extending to the muir called Cruikes on the south and north parts, lying within the said territory of Cramond Regis and sheriffdom of Edinburgh, upon the resignation of the late John Easton, writer to his majesty's signet, and the late Margaret Cant, his spouse, to whom the same pertained of before; together with the advocation, donation and right of patronage of the altar or altarage of St Thomas the Apostle situated within the college kirk of St Giles in Edinburgh upon the resignation of the late Sir William Lawson of Boghall, knight, to whom the said patronage pertained heritably of before, and the new gift and disposition of the said lands, patronage and others foresaid, to be held of our said sovereign lord and his highness's successors in free blench ferm in fee and heritage in manner mentioned in the said charter, which is under his highness's privy seal of the date 20 July 1610. The second, a charter of confirmation granted by our said late sovereign lord, King James VI of worthy memory, with advice and consent of his highness's treasurer depute and commissioners for the time, ratifying and approving and for his highness and his successors perpetually confirming the charter made, given and granted by John Mowbray of Cammo, brother and heir to the late James Mowbray of Cammo, to the said late Robert Smith in liferent for all the days of his lifetime, and to the said John Smith, his lawful son, his heirs and assignees whatsoever heritably and irredeemably, of all and whole the ten merk land lying at the east end of Cramond Regis with the half of that mill, called Niddrie Mill, then occupied by the said John Mowbray and his tenants; together with common pasturage, liberty, faculty and privilege of pasturage of their goods, and digging and extracting of fuel, fail and divot in the common muir of Cramond at their pleasure, and with all the houses, buildings and yards thereupon, with the pertinents, lying within the said town and territory of Cramond Regis and the said sheriffdom of Edinburgh, to be held of our said late sovereign lord and his highness's successors in fee and heritage forever in manner specified in the said charter confirmed, which charter of confirmation is under the great seal of the date at Edinburgh, 4 July 1615. The third of the said charters made, given and granted by his highness's said late dearest father, of worthy memory, with advice and consent of his highness's treasurers principal and depute and other lords of his highness's secret council of Scotland, his highness's commissioners for the time, to the said John Smith and Janet Ellis, his spouse, the longest liver of the two, in conjunct fee, their heirs and assignees therein contained heritably, of all and whole the lands and others underwritten, namely: of all and whole the said ten merk land lying at the said east end of Cramond Regis, with the said half of the said mill, called Niddrie Mill, with the said common pasturage, liberty, faculty and privilege of pasturage of their goods, digging and extracting of fail and divot in the said common muir of Cramond and all the bounds thereof at their pleasure, with all the houses, buildings and yards thereon, with their pertinents conquested from the said John Mowbray of Cammo; and of all and whole the said lands of Dubhouse above-written conquested from the said John Easton and his spouse, with their pertinents, containing, lying and bounded as said is upon the resignation of said late Robert Smith and Agnes Purves, his spouse, life-renters, and the said John Smith, fiar thereof, their son; and of all and whole a fourth part of a tenancy of land lying in the said town and territory of Cramond, with the houses, buildings, yards, tofts, crofts, outsets, tenants, tenancies, service of free tenants, parts, pendicles and all their pertinents, lying in the east end of the said town of Cramond Regis within the said sheriffdom of Edinburgh, upon the resignation of the late John Livingstone in Wester Duddingston, portioner of Cramond Regis, to whom the same pertained heritably of before, to be held of our said late sovereign lord and his highness's successors in fee and heritage forever in manner specified in the said charter, which is under his highness's great seal of the date 20 December 1620. The fourth of the said charters, a charter of confirmation made and granted by our sovereign lord the king's majesty, with advice and consent of his highness's treasurer depute and lords of secret council, his highness's commissioners for the time, ratifying and approving and for his highness and his successors perpetually confirming the charter, vendition and disposition contained therein made, given and granted by the said John Mowbray of Cammo to the said John Smith and Janet Ellis, his spouse, the longest liver of the two, in conjunct fee, their heirs and assignees contained therein heritably and irredeemably, of all and whole his half of the lands of Southfield and Hunterland, with the pertinents, lying within the said town and territory of Cramond, with common pasturage, liberty and privilege of pasturage of their goods and digging and extracting of fuel, fail and divot in the said common muir of Cramond and in all the bounds thereof at their pleasure, lying within the said sheriffdom of Edinburgh, to be held of our said sovereign lord and his highness's successors in fee and heritage in manner specified and contained in the said charter confirmed and engrossed in the said charter of confirmation, which charter of confirmation is under the great seal of the date 5 July 1625. The fifth of the said charters made, given and granted by our said sovereign, with advice and consent of his highness's treasurers principal and depute and other lords and others of his highness's exchequer, his highness's commissioners for the time, to the said John Smith, his heirs and assignees heritably, of all and whole the lands of Cramond Regis, with the houses, buildings, yards, tofts, crofts, outsets, annexes, connexes, dependencies, tenants, tenancies, service of free tenants, parts, pendicles and pertinents thereof whatsoever; together with common pasturage, privilege and power of pasturage of their goods and digging and extraction of their fuel, fail and divot within all the bounds of the said muir of Cramond at their pleasure in all time coming, with free access and entry to the said muir of Cramond then occupied and possessed by John and Alexander Howison, Thomas Dewar, John Kinley, elder and younger, John² Snype, John Garden, James Dundas, James Wilson, James Ramsay, Isobel Ochiltree and Alexander MacCreich, lying within the lordship of Cramond Regis and within the said sheriffdom of Edinburgh upon the resignation of Master William Adamson of Craigcrook and Janet Davison³, his spouse, with the new gift and disposition thereof mentioned in the said charter, to be held of our said sovereign lord and his highness's successors in manner specified in the said charter, which is under his highness's great seal of the date 25 February 1632. And the sixth of the said charters made and granted by our said sovereign lord, with advice and consent foresaid, to Robert Smith, eldest lawful son to the said John Smith, and the male heirs lawfully to be procreated of his body, which failing to return to the said John Smith, his father, his heirs and assignees heritably, of all and whole the said ten merk land lying at the said east end of the said town of Cramond Regis, with the half of the said mill, called Niddrie Mill, with all and sundry the houses, buildings and yards thereupon with the pertinents, and of all and whole the said half of the said lands of Southfield and Hunterland with the said common pasturages, liberties and privileges thereof in the said common muir of Cramond above-mentioned, conquested from the said John Mowbray upon the said John Smith's own resignation thereof, to be held of our said sovereign lord and his highness's successors in manner specified in the said charter, which is under the great seal of the date 21 June 1634. And the two charters of alienation and precepts of sasines contained therein, engrossed and confirmed in the said two charters of confirmation above-mentioned, and instruments of sasine following upon the said two charters confirmed and precepts of sasine contained therein, and the procuratories and instruments of resignation whereon the said other four charters of resignation above-mentioned proceeded, and the precepts of sasine and instruments of sasine following thereupon of whatsoever dates, tenors or contents the same charters, precepts, sasines, procuratories and instruments of resignation be of or bear. As also the contract made at Edinburgh, 11 January 1633 between John [Elphinstone], lord Balmerino, heritable patron of the parish kirk of Cramond, parsonage and vicarage thereof, and tacksman of the teind sheaves of the said parish on the one part, and the said John Smith, heritor of the lands above and underwritten lying within the said parish on the other part, acted and registered in the books of council and session upon twenty [...] day of January the said year, whereby the said John, lord Balmerino, for the causes onerous contained therein, sold, assigned, transferred and conveyed to the said John Smith, his heirs and assignees whatsoever, all right and title whatsoever, which the said Lord Balmerino, his heirs and assignees, have or may pretend to the teinds, great and small, parsonage and vicarage, of all and whole the said John Smith, his lands in Cramond Regis, pertaining to him heritably, specially and particularly mentioned and set down in the said contract, with their pertinents lying within the said parish of Cramond, either by virtue of his heritable infeftment of the said kirk of Cramond, parsonage and vicarage thereof, or by virtue of his tacks, assedations and rights mentioned in the said contract, or otherwise howsoever for payment of the yearly duty mentioned in the said contract; and made and constituted the said John Smith and his foresaids, his undoubted sessioners and assignees, in and to his tacks and rights of the teinds, parsonage and vicarage, of the said parish of Cramond specially and generally mentioned in the said contract, in so far as the same may be extended to the said teinds of the said John Smith, his lands mentioned in the said contract, with the pertinents in time coming, for yearly payment as is contained in the said contract. And also the other contract made and perfected at Barnton on 28 May 1634, between the said John, lord Balmerino, patron and tacksman foresaid on the one part, and the said Master William Adamson of Craigcrook, heritor of the lands contained therein lying within the said parish on the other part, registered in the books of council and session upon 15 July 1634, whereby the said John, lord Balmerino, for the causes onerous contained therein, sold, assigned, transferred and conveyed to the said Master William Adamson, his heirs and assignees whatsoever all right and title whatsoever, which the said Lord Balmerino, his heirs or assignees have or may pretend to the teinds, great and small, parsonage and vicarage, of all and whole the said Master William Adamson, his lands of Craigcrook, Grotehill, Clermiston and Southfield, with all and sundry their parts, pendicles and pertinents, lying within the said parish of Cramond and sheriffdom of Edinburgh foresaid, either by virtue of his heritable infeftment of the said kirk of Cramond, parsonage and vicarage thereof, or by virtue of his tacks, assedations and rights mentioned in the said contract or otherwise howsoever, for payment of the yearly duty mentioned in the said contract, and made and constituted the said Master William Adamson and his foresaids, his undoubted sessioners and assignees, in and to his tacks and rights of the teinds, parsonage and vicarage, of the said lands lying within the parish of Cramond, with the pertinents mentioned in the said contract, in so far as the same may be extended to the said teinds of the said Master William, his lands mentioned in the same contract, with the pertinents, in time coming, for yearly payment as is contained in the said contract. As also the assignation made by the said Master William Adamson of Craigcrook to the said John Smith and his foresaids, of the date 16 and 19 June and August 1635, registered in the burgh court books of Edinburgh upon 29 August 1635, whereby the said Master William Adamson, with consent of the said Janet Adamson, his spouse, made and constituted the said John Smith and his foresaids their assignees in and to the said contract made between the said John, lord Balmerino, and the said Master William Adamson, of the date foresaid, and in and to the said tacks and rights of the said teinds of the said Master William, his said lands above-written, assigned, transferred and conveyed by the said lord to him in manner specified in the said contract, whole heads, tenor, contents, force, strength and effect thereof, and all that has followed or may follow thereupon, in so far as the same concerns or may be extended only to the teinds, parsonage and vicarage, of the said lands of Grotehill, with the pertinents, conveyed by the said Master William to the said John Smith in manner contained therein of the crop and year of God 1635 and in time coming, in all and sundry the heads, points, clauses, articles, circumstances and conditions contained in the said charters, infeftments, contracts, assignation and rights specially and generally above-mentioned, and after the forms and tenors thereof in all points. And our said sovereign lord and estates of parliament will and grant and, for his highness and his successors, decree and ordain that this present ratification of the said charters, contracts, assignation and other rights specially and generally above-written is and shall be as valid, effectual and sufficient, and of as great strength, force and effect to the said John Smith, Janet Ellis, his spouse, and Robert Smith, their son, their heirs and assignees foresaid contained therein, for possessing of the said lands, teinds and others above-written mentioned therein, in all time coming according thereto, as if the same whole rights specially and generally above-written were all at length word for word engrossed, inserted and contained in this present ratification, notwithstanding the same be not so done; concerning which, and with all other defects and imperfections and objections which may be proposed against the same⁴ or this present ratification thereof, our said sovereign lord and estates of parliament have dispensed and by this ratification dispense for ever.