[1705/6/136]¹

Ratification in favors of Sir Gilbert Elliot of Minto and his son

Our sovereign lady the queen's majesty, with advice and consent of the estates of parliament, ratifies, approves and perpetually confirms a charter under the great seal of Scotland, dated at Kensingtoun, the twenty eight day of February, j^M vj^C and ninety five years, granted by the deceased King William, with consent of the then commissioners of his thesaury and exchequer, to Gideon Scot of Heychesters, and the heirs male lawfully procreat of his body, which failyieing to the said Gideon Scot his other heirs male whatsoever, which also failyieing to his other heirs and assigneyes whatsoever, of all and haill the lands and barony of Minto, as well two parts as third part thereof, property and superiority of the same, with all and sundry castles, touers, fortalices, mannour places, houses, biggings, yeards, orchyeards, mills, milllands, multures, woods, fishings, pasturages, annexis, connexis, tenents, tenandries and service of free tenents thereof, and of all and sundry the parts, pendicles and pertinents of the same whatsoever; and of all and haill the half of a merk land of the said lands of Minto, with houses, biggings, yeards and pertinents thereof whatsoever, with the advocation, donation and heretable right of patronage of the paroch kirk and parochine of Minto and parsonage and viccarage teinds thereof, with the manse, glibe and kirklands of the samen, and with the teinds, fruits, rents, emoluments and duties whatsoever pertaining and belonging thereto, with the power of presenting qualified and able persons to the said kirk and service of the cure thereof as oft and so oft as the samen shall vaik, in all time thereafter. And likewayes, of all and haill the lands of Craigend and Deanfoot, with mannour place, houses, biggings, yeards, mosses, muirs, meadows, parts, pendicles and haill pertinents thereof, whatsoever with that peice of grass ground of the mains of Minto, lying betwixt the dike called the Horseward and house of Craigend, together with the priviledge of commonty and common pasturage and of casting, winning and leading away peats, fail and divots furth and from the common moss and commonty of Minto, all lying within the barony of Minto and sherifdom of Roxburgh, and all formerly united and incorporat in ane haill and free barony called then and in all time thereafter to be called the barony of Minto, declaring that one seasine to be taken by the said Gideon Scot, his heirs and assigneyes foresaid, in all time thereafter at the said mannour place of Minto should stand and be an sufficient seasine for all and sundry the said lands and barony of Minto and others abovewritten, with the pertinents, notwithstanding the same ly not contigue and together conform to the charter granted by her majesties' said dearest brother the late King William to the said Gideon Scot thereupon. Which charter hereby confirmed proceeded upon the said Gideon Scot his own resignation and contains a new gift and disposition of the said lands and barony with a new erection of the said barony and a dispensation for takeing one seasine therefore at the mannor place of Minto, together with an erection of the toun of Minto and pertinents in a free burgh of barony, with all the priviledges, liberties and immunities whatsoever belonging to any burgh of barony within the kingdom of Scotland, with the power to the said Gideon and his foresaids of keeping thereat a weekly mercat every Wednesday, and two fairs yearly, one upon the fourteenth of June and the other upon the fourteenth of November, with the haill other priviledges, rights and liberties, particularly and generally set down and contained in the said charter, to be holden of his majesty and his successors in free heretage and free barony for ever, as is fully expressed in the samen charter, whereby the duties of ward, nonentry, relief and marriage formerly payable for the said lands and barony are taxed for payment of the sums respective therein set down, and the heirs are allowed to enter thereto and be infeft therein, notwithstanding of their minorities. And sicklike, ratifies and approves another charter under her majesties' great seal of Scotland, dated at Edinburgh, the fourth of August, one thousand seven hundred and three years, proceeding on the resignation of the said Gideon Scot and granted by her majesty, with consent of her commissioners of thesaury and exchequer for the time, to and in favors of Sir Gilbert Elliot of Minto, knight and baronet, one of the senators of the colledge of justice, then designed of Headshaw, in liferent dureing all the dayes of his lifetime and to Gilbert Elliot, his eldest son procreat betwixt him and Dam Jean Carr, his spouse, and the heirs male of his body, which failyieing to the said Sir Gilbert himself and the heirs male to be procreat of his body, in this present or any other marriage, which failyieing to Robert Elliot of Middlim-mill and the heirs male of his body, which failyieing to such persons and heirs of provision one or more to be named by the said Sir Gilbert by an write under his hand in leidge poustie, and failyieing any such nomination or if the same be revocked, then to the said Sir Gilbert, his nearest heirs and assigneyes whatsoever, the eldest heir female alwayes succeeding, without division, in fee heretably and irredeemably, and with and under the provisions, conditions, burdens, restrictions and irritancies particularly therein mentioned, of all and haill the lands and barony of Minto, comprehending therein all and haill the lands of Minto, as well two parts as third part thereof, property and superiority of the same, with castles, touers, fortalices, mannor places, houses, biggings, yeards and others abovementioned; all and haill the half merk land of the lands of Minto, with houses, biggings, yeards, orchyeards and pertinents thereof, with the advocation, donation and heretable right of patronage of the paroch kirk of Minto, with the teinds, parsonage and viccarage of the same, with the manse, glibe and kirklands thereof, and with the teinds, farms, profites, rents, emoluments and other duties whatsoever belonging and pertaining thereunto, with power to present persons fit and sufficiently qualified to the said church and serveing the cure thereof whensoever the samen shall vaick. And also, comprehending the lands of Craigend and Deanfoot, with the mannour place, houses, biggings, yeards, mosses, muirs, meadows, parts, pendicles and haill pertinents of the same whatsoever, with that peice of grass ground of the mains of Minto lying betwixt the dike called the Horseward and the house of Craigend, together also with the toun and burgh of barony of Minto, with the priviledge of a weekly mercat every Wednesday, with two fairs yearly, the one upon the fourteenth of June and the other upon the fourteenth of November, to be kept and holden thereat, with the haill tolls, customes, casualities and duties belonging thereto, and all rights, priviledges, liberties and immunities of a free barony and burgh of barony mentioned and contained in the above charter in favors of the said Gideon Scot, to be holden of her majesty and her highness successors in manner abovespecified, for payment of the taxt ward duties therein contained for the said lands, barony and others abovewritten dureing the time of the ward and nonentry thereof, and for the relief of the same and for the marriage so oft as the samen vaicks, together with the precepts of seasine contained in the said several charters and instruments of seasine respective following thereon, in all and sundry the heads, clauses, articles, privileges, rights, circumstances and conditions therein mentioned, as well expressed as not expressed, after the forms and tenors of the samen in all points, with all that has followed or may follow thereupon. And her majesty, with consent of the said estates of parliament, wills and grants and for her and her royal successors, statutes and ordains that the foresaid charters and infeftments thereon shall be good and sufficient rights conform to the tenors of the same to the said Sir Gilbert Elliot, his son and their foresaids, for possessing and enjoying the said lands barony and others abovewritten, without stopt or impediment, and that the same shall never be quarrelled by her majesty or her successors, and also that this present ratification shall be as valid, effectual and sufficient, to all intents and purposes, as if the foresaid charters, precepts and instruments of seasine following thereupon were herein de verbo in verbum at length insert and ingrossed, with the not inserting whereof and with all other objections that may be proponed against the validity of this ratification or rights hereby ratified, her majesty, with consent foresaid, dispensed and hereby dispenses for ever. Extract.