[1641/8/411]¹

Ratification in favour of the town of Cromarty

Our sovereign lord and estates of parliament ratify and approve to and in favour of the provost, bailies, council and community of the said burgh of Cromarty and their successors, the charter made, given and granted by his majesty's late dearest father of worthy memory James [VI], then king of Scots, thereafter of Great Britain, France and Ireland, defender of the faith, after his majesty's full and perfect age of 25 years complete, and after all his highness's revocations, to and in favour of the said provost, bailies, council and community of the said burgh of Cromarty and their successors, under his majesty's great seal, of the date at Holyroodhouse, 4 July 1593, whereby his majesty, for the causes contained therein, not only ratified, approved and confirmed all and sundry privileges, liberties and commodities of the said burgh of Cromarty as a burgh royal in all the conditions, articles and clauses thereof, but also thereby of new gave, granted and confirmed to the said provost, bailies, council and community of the said burgh of Cromarty and their successors heritably the said burgh, with all burgh lands thereof, as well being within as without the same, as well property as commonty, and with the mills and fishings belonging to the same, as well in the sea as outwith, lying between the lands of Muirhead, Boghouse and Bogs of Farness, belonging to the sheriff of Cromarty, on the west, the lands of Eathie and the sea on the south, the sea on the east and north parts, and with the haven, anchorage and harbour of the said burgh in all places within the craigs called Sutors thereof, and all their pertinents, with free power, liberty and privilege to unload, load, disburden, pack and peel all goods called staple goods and other lawful merchandise, and to receive the interest thereof, anchorages of ships and customs within the said bounds, and to give and direct cockets, and to create and elect provosts, bailies, councillors, dean of guild, treasurer, clerks, serjeants, dempsters and all other officers of burgh necessary yearly for administration of justice and governing of the said burgh, and within the said burgh to buy and sell wine, wax, cloth, linen and wool, salt, pitch, tar, iron and all other lawful merchandise, and to have in the said burgh lodgings and dwelling houses with bakers, brewers, slayers and breakers of flesh and fish, and to make all other craftsmen, necessary burgesses and guild brethren in the said burgh, courts as often as need be for administration of justice, to set, begin, affix, hold and continue, the inhabitants of the said burgh being attached and arrested before whatsoever judge or judges, spiritual or temporal, within this realm, to repledge², reduce and recall and to give and find caution of culrach for administration of justice within term of law, the bloods, bloodwits, profits and amercements of the said courts to receive and take up and the same to apply to the use of the said burgh, with the seize boll and seize tree, and with power also to the said provost, bailies, council and community of the said burgh and their successors to build, erect and have a market cross with a tron and tron weights within the said burgh, as also to have a public market day weekly on Monday for buying and selling of all kind of merchandise in all time coming, with two free fairs yearly, namely: a free fair yearly beginning 8 March, called St Norman's Market, and the other fair beginning yearly 14 [...], called Regulus Day, and either of the said fairs to endure by the space of five days. As also with power to them to seek, exact, receive and take up the tolls, customs, primegilt, averan, interest silver, gauging silver and others whatsoever, ships, boats and crayers applying and repairing within the bounds of the said port, haven and harbour and privilege of the said burgh and of all merchandise being therein, and to make and grant heritable dispositions of whatsoever common lands belonging to the said burgh for erecting, building and making of policy within the said burgh, and generally with all and sundry other prerogatives, privileges and immunities which ever of before pertained to the said burgh or which any other free burgh royal within this kingdom has possessed or holds, excepting and reserving to his highness and his successors the great customs within the said burgh used and wont. And also by the said charter our said late sovereign lord, for the causes contained therein, gave, granted and conveyed to the said provost, bailies, council and community of the said burgh and their successors the three chaplainries underwritten, namely: the chaplainry of St Regulus founded and endowed by the inhabitants of the said burgh and their predecessors, the chaplainry in that time, whereof the present rent yearly extended to £10 13s 4d, and the chaplainry of St Duthac in [...], and the chaplainry of St Michael there, lying within the liberty of the said burgh, which accounted together extends yearly in present rent to 16 merks, with the whole ferms, silver, mails, duties and annualrents pertaining to the said chaplainries, and every one of them, to be taken up by the said provost, bailies, council and community of the said burgh and their successors as a part of the common good thereof yearly, and to be applied by them upon the reparation and maintenance of the harbour thereof, in all time coming, to be held of our sovereign lord and in his highness's successors in free burgage, fee and heritage forever for yearly payment of 20 merks usual money of this realm at two usual terms in the year, Whitsunday [May/June] and Martinmas [11 November] in winter, by equal portions, in name of annualrent and burgh mail only, as the said charter of the date foresaid at more length bears, in all and sundry the heads, points, clauses, articles, circumstances and conditions contained therein and after the form and tenor thereof in all points. And our said sovereign lord and estates of parliament will, grant, decree and ordain that the said charter, precept of sasine and sasine following thereupon is and shall be a sufficient right and security to the said provost, bailies, council and community of the said burgh of Cromarty and their successors for possessing of the said burgh, lands, liberties, port, harbours, chaplainries, privileges, rents thereof and others specially and generally above-written contained therein perpetually in all time coming, likewise, in the same manner and with as great liberty, freedom and privilege as any other burgh royal within this realm has held and possessed their burgh, lands, liberties and privileges thereof, without interruption.