The Records of the Parliaments of Scotland to 1707, K.M. Brown et al eds (St Andrews, 2007-2024), date accessed: 29 March 2024
[1705/6/144]1
Ratification in favour of [James Douglas], earl of Morton
Our sovereign lady, with advice and consent of the estates of parliament, ratifies, approves and perpetually confirms a charter under the great seal of the date at St James's, 31 March 1704, granted by her majesty, with consent of her commissioners of treasury and exchequer for the time, to James, earl of Morton, and the male heirs lawfully to be procreated of his body, which failing his male heirs whatsoever, which failing his heirs and assignees whatsoever, heritably and irredeemably, of all and sundry the lands, lordships, baronies, regalities, annualrents, teinds, patronages, earldom and others underwritten: the lands, lordship and barony of Aberdour, with castle, tower, fortalice, manor place, mills, fishings, towns, woods, parks, yards, orchards, dovecots, cuningars, outsets, parts, pendicles and pertinents, tenants, tenantries and service of free tenants, advocations, donations and rights of patronage of the kirks and chaplainries thereof, and all their pertinents, with the burgh of barony and regality of Aberdour, with the port and harbour of the same, and full right, privilege and liberty of repairing the said harbour of Aberdour, or of building, making and erecting a free sea port and harbour for ships in any other part of the said barony of Aberdour, as the said James, earl of Morton shall think fit, and all other bulwarks and other works necessary thereto, with full power and privilege to them of making, creating and appointing bailies, burgesses, clerks, officers, sergeants and other necessary officers within the said burgh of Aberdour for the government thereof, and of choosing, changing and renewing the said bailies, clerks and other officers yearly, as they shall think fit, and with power to the said burgesses of the foresaid burgh of Aberdour, in all time coming, to buy and sell wax, wine, lint, wool, broad and narrow cloth, and all other merchandise and staple goods, without any obstacle, disturbance, molestation or impediment whatsoever, and also of having, admitting and receiving within the same burgh of Aberdour bakers, maltsters, fishers, butchers, souters, tailors, weavers, barbers, smiths and all other necessary artists pertaining to the liberty of a free burgh of barony and regality, and of building, having and keeping within the said burgh a tolbooth, a market cross, a market weekly upon Friday, with two free fairs yearly, one upon 24 January, to be called the first fair, and the other upon 27 September, to be called the latter fair, with power of keeping the said weekly market, and the said two free fairs yearly for the space of three days, and of collecting, uplifting and intromitting with the customs and other duties of the said market and fairs for the proper use of the said James, earl of Morton and his foresaids, and also with special and full power of receiving resignations of all lands, tenements, annualrents and others within the said burgh of Aberdour, and of conveying the same with all infeftments, charters, sasines and other evidences necessary, to any person or persons in whose favour the said resignations shall be made, of affixing, fencing, keeping and continuing, as often as need be, baron courts and regality courts within the said burgh of Aberdour, and liberty thereof and of creating clerks, sergeants and other necessary members of court, of fining the absents, punishing the transgressors conforming to the laws of this kingdom of Scotland, and of craving, uplifting, receiving and applying to their own use the fines and amercements of the said courts and of doing therein as freely as is granted to any other burgh of barony and regality within the said kingdom, and of uplifting all and sundry the small customs, anchorages, docksilver and ground-leif, and all other duties and emoluments of the said port and harbour of Aberdour, and of applying the same to their own use or otherwise conveying thereupon at their pleasure, as freely as the same are uplifted by any others of her majesty's vassals, heritable proprietors of any other free port or harbour within the said kingdom of Scotland, with full power also of loading and unloading at the said sea port and harbour the whole ships, boats and barges coming thither or going from thence and of enjoying, using and exercising all other privileges, liberties and immunities and uplifting all other duties and casualties of the said sea port and harbour in the same manner, and as freely, in all respects, as any other heritable proprietors of any other free sea ports within this kingdom, in all time bypast have done or in any time to come may lawfully do, all lying within the lordship and regality of Aberdour and sheriffdom of Fife. The lands, earldom and barony of Morton, with tower, fortalice, manor place, yards, orchards, mills, woods, fishings, tenants, tenantries and service of free tenants, with the advocation and donation of the kirks thereof, annexes, connexes of the said earldom and barony, and specially with full right of presenting four poor scholars called bursars in the college of Glasgow to the principals, regents and masters thereof, conforming to the tenor of the foundation and mortification granted thereupon, with all their pendicles and pertinents. Also, the lands of Bonnington, the lands of Barns, the lands of Kincavil, the lands of Drumcross, the lands of Gallowhill, the lands of Williamcraigs, with all their pertinents, lying within the sheriffdom of Linlithgow. An annualrent of £40 sterling money yearly to be uplifted and taken furth of the lands of Newby, with the pertinents, lying within the sheriffdom of Peebles. Also, the lands and barony of Edmonston, with manor place, fortalice, mills, fishings, outsets, yards, orchards, parts, pendicles, tenants, tenantries, service of free tenants, with advocation and donation of the kirks and chaplainries of the same, and all their pertinents lying within the barony of Biggar and sheriffdom of Lanark. The lands and barony of Borgue, and the lands and barony of Buthill, with castles, manor places, mills, fishings, yards, orchards, woods, parts, pendicles, annexes, connexes, tenants, tenantries, service of free tenants, with the advocation and donation of the kirks and chaplainries of the said lands and baronies, and all their pertinents, lying within the sheriffdom of Kirkcudbright. Which charter proceeds on the several apprisings, resignations and other conveyances therein-mentioned and contains a new gift or disposition of the whole lands and others therein and above-specified, with all right and title which her majesty, her predecessors or successors, had, has or in any way may have, claim or pretend thereto, or to any part thereof or to the rents and duties of the same bygone and to come, in favour of the said James, earl of Morton and his foresaids, and a new erection of the foresaid whole lands, lordships, baronies and others above-written, in a whole and free earldom to be called the earldom of Morton, ordaining the castle of Aberdour to be the principal messuage thereof, and one sasine to be taken thereat or on any part of the said barony of Aberdour, by delivery of earth and stone, to be sufficient for the whole, to be held of her majesty in free blench, for payment yearly of a penny Scots money in name of blench ferm if required at the principal messuage or manor place of Aberdour, as is fully expressed in the said charter, whereby also the rights of the two several annualrents therein mentioned furth of the said lands and barony of Aberdour, and the conveyances thereof in favour of the said James, earl of Morton, are confirmed. And her majesty, with advice and consent of the said estates of parliament, ratifies, approves and confirms the precept of sasine contained in the said charter and instrument of sasine following or competent to follow thereupon, in all and sundry heads, articles and clauses thereof. And her majesty, with consent foresaid, wills and grants and, for her and her royal successors, statutes and ordains that the foresaid charter and sasine hereby confirmed are and shall be, conforming to the tenors of the same, good, valid and sufficient rights to the said James, earl of Morton and his foresaids for possessing and enjoying in time coming, without stop or impediment, the foresaid lands, lordships, baronies, regality, earldom and others foresaid, and declares that the same shall never be quarrelled or revoked by her majesty or her successors in time coming, and that this present ratification is and shall be as sufficient, to all intents, as if every word of the foresaid charter and sasine were inserted herein, with the not inserting whereof and with all other defects and imperfections of the said charter and sasine and of this present ratification of the same, and with all objections that can be proposed against the same, her majesty, with consent foresaid, dispensed and hereby dispenses forever.
- NAS. PA2/39, f.64-65v.