[1641/8/412]¹

Ratification in favour of the town of Inverness

Our sovereign lord, with advice and consent of the estates of this present parliament, ratifies and approves and, for his highness and his successors, perpetually confirms all and sundry charters, infeftments, confirmations, rights, titles, securities, letters, writs and evidents, gifts, donations, commodities, liberties, immunities and privileges made, given, granted and confirmed to the burgh of Inverness and contained in the original and fundamental charters granted by our said sovereign lord's most noble progenitors, kings and queens of Scotland for the time, to the said burgh of Inverness, provost, aldermen, bailies, council, burgesses and community of the same and their successors, of whatsoever forms or dates the same charters, infeftments, confirmations, rights, titles, securities, letters, writs and evidents are. And specially our said sovereign lord, with consent foresaid, ratifies, approves and, for his highness and his successors, perpetually confirms the charters, infeftments, confirmations, letters, writs, evidents, gifts, donations, commodities, liberties, immunities and privileges contained in the same made, granted and confirmed by our said sovereign lord's most noble progenitors of worthy memory by William the king, David the king, Alexander the king and King James I, kings of Scotland for the time, to the said burgh, provost, aldermen, bailies, council, burgesses and community of the same and their successors and the charter and confirmation made and granted thereupon by the late King James IV of blessed memory; as also the charter made and granted in defence of the divine service and ministry of the word of God and of the hospitals, poor, maimed and miserable persons, orphans and infants destitute of parents within the said burgh by the late Mary, queen of Scots, with advice of her secret council, to the provost, bailies, council and community of the said burgh and their successors forever, regarding the lands, tenements, houses, buildings, kirks, chaplainries, orchards, yards, acres, crofts, mills, fishings, yearly annualrents, fruits, mansion places, duties, profits, emoluments, kirk yards, ferms, yearly alms of the dead and others whatsoever mentioned in the said charter, of the date 21 April 1567, and the reign of the said the late Queen Mary, the 25th year. As also his majesty wills and grants and for his highness and his successors perpetually decrees and ordains that the said generality shall in no way hurt, harm nor infer prejudice to the said speciality, and that the said speciality shall not be derogative, neither shall infer damage or be given in prejudice of the said generality, and that this his majesty's approbation, ratification and confirmation of the premises is and shall be in all time coming of as great force, strength and effect in all respects to the said burgh of Inverness, provost, aldermen, bailies, council, burgesses and community of the same, and their successors, as if the said charters, infeftments, confirmations, rights, titles, letters, securities, writs and evidents were self sealed, confirmed by our said sovereign lord and inserted and incorporated in the said charter and confirmation at length word for word, notwithstanding that by reason of the plurality, multitude, longitude and prolixity of the same, in no way they are inserted nor incorporated herein, regarding which and all other defects whatsoever, our said sovereign lord for his highness and his successors dispenses for ever. Moreover, our said sovereign lord, with consent foresaid (without damage, derogation of the foresaid prior charters, infeftments, confirmations, rights, titles, securities, letters, writs, evidents, donations, gifts, liberties, commodities, immunities, privileges and others above-mentioned contained therein), but in more corroboration of the same, of new ratifies and approves the charter and infeftment under his highness's great seal of the date 1 January 1591, granted by his majesty's late father of blessed memory, whereby his majesty sets and in feu ferm lets and, for his highness and his successors, perpetually confirms to the said provost, bailies, council, burgesses and community of the said burgh of Inverness and their successors for ever, all and whole the said burgh of Inverness, lands, territory and community of the same and all and sundry lands, tenements, houses, buildings, kirks, chapels, chaplainries, orchards, temples, yards, acres, tofts, crofts, mills, multures, fishings, as well of salmon as of other fishing, as well in salt water as in fresh, annualrents, fruits, mansion places, manors, woods, duties, profits, emoluments, kirk yards, ferms, yearly alms of the dead, commodities, liberties, immunities and others whatsoever, as well ecclesiastic as secular, as well contained and mentioned in the said charters, infeftments, confirmations, rights, titles, securities, letters, writs, evidents, gifts and donations respectively, as lying in the said burgh of Inverness or in the territory, parish, commonty and liberty of the same, with all and sundry their tenants, tenancies and service of free tenants, fruits, commodities, annexes, connexes, parts, pendicles, privileges and pertinents whatsoever; as also all and sundry the lands of Draikes and forest of the same, the lands of Merkinch with the common pasture of the same, pertaining thereto of old, called Burgh Hauche, lying between the mountain and the water with the wood park between the top of the said hill and the said haugh; together with all lands of the said burgh of Inverness called Barnehillis, Claypots and Mylnefeild, and common lands called the Kers, and the lands called the Carnelawes bounded and limited as follows, namely: beginning at the burn called Auldenehemrie, now called the burn of Killodine, entering in the sea at the north east, which burn ascends to a burn called Aldnacreiche at the southeast, and from that as wind and weather shears² to a knowe called Knocknacreiche, now called Carnemewerrane, at the southwest, and from that as the same passes to Glascarnacreiche which bounds the barony of Dalcus at the south and the said lands of Daikes on the north, and from the said Glascarnacreiche northwest to a well or fountain called Toberdoniche, and directly west the brae Brayrinchaltoun to a knowe called Knokenagade at the southwest, and therefrom to a burn which divides [Hugh Fraser], lord Lovat's lands called the Easter Leyes and the common lands of the said burgh of Inverness at the west, and as the said burn lineally comes from the south, divides the lands of Cullbebake at the west and the lands of Knokintumall at the east, and from then certain march stones are pitted between the foresaid lands of Cullbebake and the common lands of the said burgh of Inverness, and as the same is lineally descended in a burn called Auld Mornike at the north and passing to the sea at the northeast. As also all and whole the common muir of the said burgh, and all and whole the water of Ness and all parts and both sides of the same, between the stone called Clachnaharry and the sea, with all fishings, as well of fishings of salmon as other fishes, and with all ports, harbours, cruikes, privileges, profits and commodities of the said water of Ness and of, in and upon the said water upon both parts and sides of the same, from the said stone to the sea, wherein the said water runs beside the fishing called the Stell with the fishing called the Reidpule on the west side of the ferry of Kessock, and with all fishings of salmon and other fishes and with all ports, harbours, cruikes, privileges, profits and commodities of the mouth of the said water of Ness and of and upon the said water mouth on both parts and sides thereof, with special power, faculty, licence and privilege to the said burgh of Inverness, provost, bailies, council and community of the said burgh present and to come, by themselves, their servants and subtenants in all time coming, to begin to fish the said water of Ness with boats and nets yearly and each year 10 November, and to maintain and repair the cruives from and upon both sides of the water of Ness foresaid, according to old use and wont; together with privilege and liberty of three fish traps within the said water rack, as is usual, with all the fish traps, profits and commodities thereof, and likewise all and whole the said firth of Kessock and shores of the same and landing places upon both parts and sides of the said firth and water of Ness, and with power of ferrying to and from upon the said firth and water by boats or other vessels whatsoever men, goods, cattle, victual, timber, packs and other goods and burdens whatsoever with all and sundry mariners, profits and commodities of the said firth, boats, vessels. And also all and sundry the mills of the said burgh called the King's Mills, multures, sequels, sucken thereof, with astricted and dry multures of the castle lands and other lands which pertained of old to the said mills, built upon the said water of Ness upon the south part of the castle, called Kanakehill mill, demolished and cast down at command and direction of his majesty's most noble progenitors by the aldermen, council, bailies and community for the time of the said burgh, to the effect that they and their successors might possess and enjoy the same with the said astricted multures for the yearly payment of 6 merks at two terms in the year, Whitsunday [May/June] and Martinmas [11 November], by equal portions, astricting all corns that receive fire and water within the territory, liberty or parish of the said burgh of Inverness, as well outsucken as insucken, to be brought to the said mills only and ground thereat, paying their multures, knaveship and others used and wont; together with power, privilege and liberty to the said burgh of Inverness, provost, bailies, council and community thereof, inhabitants of the same and their successors of pasturing their goods, pulling heather and to dig and [extract] fuel, sods, ferns, peat, divots, turf, lime, clay, mortar, stones and doing and exercising all other things necessary and profitable to them in and upon whatsoever lands, mountains and places as the said burgh and inhabitants thereof were in use of in any time before, and in special in and upon the mountains or hills called Craigsadrike, Caplachmont, Dawymont and Boighaue, and to transport and carry the same from there to the said burgh of Inverness and liberty thereof. And also with power, privilege and licence to the burgh of Inverness, provost, bailies, council, community and inhabitants thereof and their successors, their men, tenants and servants of sailing, passing, returning, carrying and transporting in boats or other vessels upon Loch Ness and all the parts thereof with timber, wood, victuals, fodder, cattle, burdens and other necessaries whatsoever to the said burgh of Inverness and liberty thereof, and therefrom to whatsoever other part, and likewise with two market days each week upon Friday and Saturday in the said burgh of Inverness, together with eight free fairs eight times in the year namely: the first on Palm Sunday; the second on 7 July, called St Andrew the Boys Day, which was held at the Rudcastle now demolished and cast down; the third fair upon 15 August, called Maria Fair; the fourth upon Ruid-day [14 September] in harvest, called the Ruid Fair; the fifth on 10 November, called Martinmas fair, which was held of old at St Martin's Kirk in Ardmeanach, now lying waste; the sixth fair on St Thomas Day before the nativity of our saviour, called St Thomas Fair; the seventh fair on 1 February, called Legavrik; the eighth fair the [...] day of [...], called St Mark's Fair, and each one of the said free fairs to hold by the space of eight days and to intromit with, lift, receive and collect the customs, commodities and tolls of the said eight fairs and of the said weekly markets, with all and sundry burgh mails, duties and small customs of the said burgh of Inverness and of all lands, villages and streets within the sheriffdom of Inverness, and specially of the towns of Tain and Rosemarkie, Chanonry, Dornoch, Fersey³ and Wick in Caithness, and to apply the same to the common good of the said town of Inverness. And likewise with power, privilege and liberty to the said burgh of Inverness, provost, bailies, council, burgesses and community thereof and their successors, that no ship, crayer, bark, boat or vessel coming within Tarbatness with wine, salt, timber, fishes and other merchandise or merchant wares ought to unload or break bulk until the time they come to the said burgh of Inverness, that there they may unload and break bulk, as at the first and prime burgh of the said sheriffdom of Inverness, as the foresaid charter and infeftment granted by his majesty's late father to the said burgh of Inverness, containing diverse and sundry other privileges, liberties and immunities, at more length purports in all and sundry heads, articles, clauses, circumstances and conditions of the same, after the form and tenor 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 former charters, grounds and rights generally above-specified and of the new gift and disposition above-mentioned, containing whatsoever other privileges, liberties and immunities therein, is and shall be of as great force, strength and effect for possessing and enjoying of the said burgh, with all the liberties, privileges, immunities, profits and casualties mentioned therein, as if the said charters, grounds, rights, new gift and disposition specially and generally above-rehearsed were at length and expressly word for word engrossed and inserted herein; concerning which, and with all other defects and imperfections whatsoever which may be proposed or alleged against the said rights, or any of them or this present ratification thereof, our said sovereign lord and estates of parliament have dispensed and dispense for ever.