[1705/6/140]¹

Ratification in favour of Arthur Forbes of Echt

Our sovereign lady, with the advice and consent of the estates of parliament, ratifies, approves and perpetually confirms a charter under the great seal of the date at Kensington, 28 April 1698, granted by the deceased King William, with consent of his commissioners of treasury and exchequer for the time and proceeding upon the resignation of the now deceased Thomas Forbes of Echt, in favour of Arthur Forbes, now of Echt, his eldest lawful son, in fee and to the male heirs of his body, which failing to return to the nearest and lawful male heirs of the said late Thomas, which all failing to his nearest and lawful heirs and assignees whatsoever, heritably and irredeemably under the provisions therein expressed, of all and whole the lands and barony of Echt, comprehending all and whole these six pound lands of old extent of Tillyfourie, old and new Wester Echts, with the mills of Tillyfourie, mill lands, multures, sequels and knaveships thereof, and the pendicles after-mentioned namely, Tillieoch,² Tilliboy, Wauchtundale,³ Tilliechodie⁴ and Broomhill, with the pertinents of the same, the ten shilling land of old extent called the West third part of the towns and lands of Finnercy, called the meikle and little Finnersies and Monecht,⁵ with the pertinents, with the third part of the mill thereof, and third part of the mill lands, multures, sequels and knaveships of the same; the lands called Millhill of Echt, with houses, biggings, yards, tofts, crofts, parts, pendicles and their pertinents, all lying in the parish of Echt and sheriffdom of Aberdeen, with the mill, mill lands, multures, sequels and knaveships, houses, biggings, yards, outsets, insets, mosses, muirs, annexes, connexes, woods, fishings, tenants, tenantries, service of free tenants, parts, pendicles and whole pertinents of the said lands and others above-written, with free right of the forest where woods, parks and bogs were or shall happen to be within the said lands and barony, or any part thereof, together with the advocation, donation and right of patronage of the parsonage and vicarage of the kirk of Echt, and teinds, parsonage and vicarage, of the same, with the teinds, fruits, profits and duties belonging thereto and their pertinents. And also, all and entire that sunny third part of the towns and lands of Meikle and Little Finnercy and Monecht, with the pertinents, and the third part of the mill of meikle Finnersie, and of the mill lands, multures, sequels and knaveships thereof pertaining thereto, with all and sundry houses, biggings, yards, orchards, mosses, muirs, pasturages, tofts, crofts, outsets, insets, annexes, connexes, dependencies, parts, pendicles and all their pertinents, lying within the parish of Echt and sheriffdom of Aberdeen foresaid, and all united, erected and incorporated in a whole and free barony called the barony of Echt, conforming to the charter of erection thereof, granted to Arthur Forbes of Echt, deceased, in liferent and the said late Thomas Forbes, his son, in fee, under the great seal of this kingdom of the date at Edinburgh, 18 February 1676, whereby the manor place and house of Echt is ordained to be the principal messuage of the said barony and one sasine to be taken there is declared sufficient for the said whole barony, notwithstanding of its discontiguousness, in manner more fully specified in the said charter. All which lands, and others above-written, are by the foresaid charter hereby ratified of new, given and conveyed to the said Arthur Forbes in fee and to his heirs and others above-mentioned, heritably and irredeemably under the provisions therein specified, with all right, title and interest which her majesty, her predecessors or successors had, have or in any way may have thereto, or to any part thereof in manner more fully expressed in the said charter, whereby also the town of the mains of Echt, with all and sundry lands, tenements, cottages, houses, biggings, yards, orchards, muirs, meadows, marshes, tofts, crofts, parts, pendicles and pertinents, lying within the territory thereof, and built or to be built thereon, is erected in a free burgh of barony to be called the burgh of barony of Echt, with the powers, privileges and liberties expressed in the said charter, and particularly with power to the said Arthur and his foresaids of keeping a market weekly upon Thursday and two fairs yearly, one thereof to be called Thomas fair and to begin upon the first Tuesday of June, and the other to be called Kathrine's fair and to begin on the third Tuesday of August, each of them to continue three days, and of uplifting and receiving and employing, for their own use, the tolls, customs and casualties of the said fairs and weekly market. By which charter the said whole lands and barony of Echt, comprehending, as said is, and the said burgh of barony, with the whole liberties, privileges and immunities pertaining thereto, are of new united and erected in a whole and free barony to be called the barony of Echt, ordaining the new manor place or castle of Echt to be the principal messuage of the said barony, and that one sasine to be taken thereat should be sufficient for the said whole barony and others foresaid, to be held of his majesty and his successors in manner expressed in the said charter, whereby the said entire barony, united as said is, with dispensation for taking sasine at the manor place thereof lying in the shire of Aberdeen, is absolved from all other sheriffdoms and ordinary jurisdictions whatsoever by virtue of the said new union, and the ward, non-entry, relief and marriage of the heir or heirs one or more, with all the profits of the said marriages when the same shall fall respectively, are given and transferred of new to the male heirs, assignees and successors of the said Thomas and Arthur Forbes succeeding to them in the said lands and barony. And it's ordained that whensoever and as often as the said lands, barony and others foresaid, or any part thereof, shall fall in ward and non-entry and the relief and marriage of the said heirs and successors shall fall in the hands of his majesty and his successors, that then and as often the said male heirs, successors and assignees of the said Thomas and Arthur Forbes and their tenants for the time shall not only possess the same during the whole space of the ward and non-entry, with the whole profits thereof and the whole benefit of the relief and marriage, but also it shall be lawful to the male heirs and other successors and assignees of the said Thomas and Arthur Forbes to obtain themselves served, retoured, entered, infeft and seised at any time of their age, even though in minority, without any dispensation in the whole lands and barony of Echt, comprehending, as said is, notwithstanding that the same are held ward, for payment yearly at two terms Whitsunday [15 May] and Martinmas [11 November] by equal portions, of the sum of £160 Scots money for the ward and non-entry, or any of them, when they shall happen, and of the like sum for the relief of the said lands and barony, and of the sum of £320 for the said marriage or marriages of the heir or heirs, when the same respectively shall happen to fall, which sums his majesty, with consent foresaid did, by the said charter, hold reasonable for the values, profits and commodities of the said ward, non-entry, relief and marriage respectively, and every one of them. And his majesty, with consent foresaid did, by the said charter, also ratify and confirm the several rights and securities granted to the said deceased Arthur and Thomas Forbes of Echt, and to the said Arthur Forbes now of Echt, of the towns and lands of Culquhorsie,⁶ Dumbreck, Kirkton of Echt, Hillside and Knockquharn, with the mills, mill lands and pertinents thereof, held of George [Gordon], duke of Gordon, his heirs and successors, in manner fully expressed in the said charter, together with the precept of sasine therein contained and instrument of sasine following thereupon, in all and sundry heads, articles, clauses, provisions and conditions of the same. And her majesty, with consent of the estates of parliament, wills and grants and, for her and her royal successors, statutes and ordains, that the foresaid charter, with the infeftment thereon, shall be good, valid and sufficient rights, conforming to the tenors of the same, to the said Arthur Forbes, now of Echt, and his male heirs and others foresaid, for possessing and enjoying the said whole lands and barony comprehending, as said is, and of new united in manner above-mentioned, without any stop or impediment in so far as concerns the interest of her majesty or her royal successors, and that the same shall never be quarrelled by her majesty or her said successors, and also that this present general ratification is and shall be as valid and effectual, to all intents, to the said Arthur Forbes and his heirs and others succeeding to him by virtue of the said charter, as if the same charter and sasine thereon were word by word inserted herein, with the not inserting whereof and with all other objections that may be proposed against the validity of this present ratification or rights thereby ratified, her majesty, with consent foresaid, has dispensed and hereby dispenses forever. Extract.