[1641/8/447]¹

Ratification in favour of the wrights of the Canongate

Our sovereign lord and estates of this present parliament ratify, approve and perpetually confirm in favour of the wrights and coopers of the burgh of the Canongate and their pendicles mentioned in the seal of cause and charter underwritten, the seal of cause given and granted by Sir William Bellenden of Broughton, knight, baron of the barony and regality of Broughton, with express advice, consent and assent of Dame Elizabeth Kerr, his mother and tutrix testamentary for her interest, of the date at Edinburgh, 6 April 1612, thereby erecting the vocations and arts of wrights and coopers of the Canongate in a free art and vocation only to be used and exercised by freemen and those who by the deacon of the said craft and so many of the masters as with him shall be elected and admitted inhabitants within the said burgh, containing the privileges and liberties of choosing a deacon and treasurer, and of taking in under their liberty the whole freemen of masons, bowers, coopers, glass wrights, stockers of guns, roughcasters, painters, panton heel makers², slaters, turners and all other arts and occupations which ever pertained of before to the said crafts, by any gift or donation, as well within the bounds of the burgh of the Canongate and within the bounds of St Leonard's gate and near St Ninian's chapel, without St Andrew's Port, Pleasance, north side of the Bridge of Leith, Canonmills, Whitehouse, Broughton and whole other bounds within the said barony of Broughton; as likewise the ratification of the foresaid seal of cause granted by the said Sir William Bellenden to the said craftsmen in his majority, of the date at Edinburgh, 8 July 1626, with the decreet of the lords of session interposed to the said seal of cause and ratification upon 1 January 1627; together with the charter of ratification granted by our sovereign lord in favour of the said crafts, approving the said seal of cause and ratification thereof above-written, with the decreet interposed thereto, in their whole heads and conditions, containing an erection by our said sovereign lord for his highness's self of new of the foresaid arts and occupations of wrights and coopers in a free art and vocation, to be only used and exercised by freemen, according to the tenor of the said seal of cause, which charter is under the great seal, of the date at Whitehall, 12 April 1627; as also a decreet and sentence given and pronounced by the lords of secret council upon 2 February 1604 in favour of the bailies, council, deacon and brethren of the wrights of the Canongate, against the deacon of the wrights in Edinburgh and the remainder in their craft, ordaining them to desist from making any stop to the deacon and wrights of the Canongate in presenting their work to the market of Edinburgh and selling the same there upon the ordinary market days, and from troubling of them in working outwith the said freedom of Edinburgh for any inhabitant within the said burgh, and in bringing the work so wrought by them and setting up the same to the owner³; and likewise another decreet and sentence given and pronounced by the said lords of secret council in favour of the wrights of the Canongate and body of the trade thereof, against the deacon and wrights of the burgh of Edinburgh upon 29 March 1632, finding and declaring that the wrights of the Canongate may work and make coffins and dead chests for any gentleman being within the burgh of Edinburgh for the time and to others not being burgesses of the said burgh, and to bring in the same to be delivered to the parties whom they concern at all occasions of the market days, which two decreets are extracted and subscribed by James Primrose, clerk of his majesty's privy council, in all and sundry their heads, articles, clauses, circumstances, points, privileges, liberties, immunities and conditions of the same, dispensing with the generality above-written, and admitting the same to be as valid in all respects as if the foresaid seals of causes, ratification thereof by the baron of Broughton in his majority, decreet of the lords of session interposed thereto, our said sovereign lord's confirmation of the same and charter of new erection and two decreets above-named obtained before the lords of secret council and every one of them were specially at length word for word inserted and set down herein.