Document of the Month April 2009
Fundamental Charter of Stonehaven, 12 April 1624
This month's featured document is a copy of a charter of 1624 establishing the self-governance of Stonehaven.
It is in fact a copy made in 1626 of the version that was inserted into the Sheriff Court's Register of Deeds in order to give it greater legal weight. Sadly, the register containing it has not survived, and it appears that, aside from the version contained in the Stonehaven Burgh collection, only one other copy of the charter survives in the Barclay Allardice Collection at the National Archives of Scotland (ref. GD49/313).
It is in the form of a feu contract between William Keith, 7th Earl Marischal, and the inhabitants of Stonehaven. Amongst other things, the charter shows the Earl granting the Inhabitants the right to nominate their own baillies, subject to his appointment of them himself, thereby establishing a more independent government of the town than there presumably had been before this document.
In addition, the charter also sets out how land in the burgh was to be measured and divided up along with the conditions attached to holding that land. This included an obligation on the Inhabitants to pay an annual feu duty and to provide "bodily service" to the Earl Marischal, which would ordinarily be military service in times of need. In this case though, the Earl goes further in also demanding that the Inhabitants "loaden and loss" (i.e. carry) his belongings when he goes to and from the port!
Prior to 1624, Stonehaven had already secured its importance as the capital of Kincardineshire when it was granted this status by James VI in 1600. However, it obviously took another 24 years before the effects of this heightened importance in the area demanded a more community led form of government.
Aside from the administrative local interest of the document, the beginning of the charter also conveniently provides a list of all the Inhabitants possessing land in Stonehaven, making it a highly significant document for local historians.
To view a transcription of the charter click here.
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