stirling-1963-vol-1/05_049

Transcription

INTRODUCTION : GENERAL
Archibald was created Lord Napier of Merchiston in 1627 and from him the present family of
Napier and Ettrick is descended in the female line. The Stirlingshire property did not, however,
remain in the hands of the senior branch of the family, some of it being alienated and some
passing to the Napiers of Culcreuch ¹ of which branch the founder was Robert Napier, second
son of John Napier the mathematician. This line continued in possession of Culcreuch until
the end of the 18th century.
Many other families, which cannot be discussed in detail here, were Stirlingshire land-
holders to a greater or lesser extent; a brief account of most of these families is given in the
text. Such were the Galbraiths of Balgair (cf. No. 333), of Culcreuch (cf. No. 213) and of
Craigmaddie (cf. No. 206), the Hamiltons of Bardowie (cf. No. 208), the McFarlanes of
Ballencleroch (cf. No. 325), the Kincaids of that Ilk (cf. No. 321), the Leckies of that Ilk
(cf. No. 343), the MacLachlans of Auchentroig (cf. No. 336), the Setons of Touch (cf. No. 345),
the Patersons of Bannockburn (cf. No. 295) and the Monros of Auchenbowie (cf. No. 296).

4. THE BURGHS
(i) The Burgh of Stirling. The proximity of Stirling Rock to an important river-crossing no
doubt encouraged settlement from the earliest times, and David I's foundation of the Burgh
of Stirling about 1125 ² should be regarded as the grant of a new status to an already existing
community. The geographical factors that contributed to the development of the Castle
(cf. p. 4) also favoured the rise of the burgh; in particular the importance of the possession
of a harbour is brought out in some of the earliest surviving charters that relate to the town. ³
In 1226 a charter of Alexander II granted to the burgesses the right to have a merchant guild
and to hold a weekly market, while in the following year they were given exemption from toll
and custom on their goods throughout the kingdom. ⁴ In 1386 the burgh received a charter of
feu-ferme, which allowed the burgesses to pay a fixed annual sum to the Exchequer instead of
accounting separately for the various burgh dues. ⁵ An annual trade fair was held in September,
and to this privilege there was added in 1447 the right of holding a second fair during the
octave of the Ascension. ⁶ Another important privilege was granted by a charter of James IV
in 1501, whereby the burgh was exempted from the jurisdiction of the sheriff and was erected
into a sheriffdom within itself. ⁷ In 1641 the burgh's privileges were confirmed by a charter of
Charles I and the town was re-erected into a free Royal burgh; ⁸ this charter mentions the
right to hold two weekly markets and four annual fairs, specifying, besides the two already
mentioned, a fair in July and another in October, of which the latter had been held since the
16th century ⁹.
Little information is available as to the nature or extent of the trade carried on in Stirling
in early mediaeval times. Apart from cloth, the principal items of export were probably wool,
hides and fish,¹⁰ and the burgh's fishing-rights in the Forth were a constant source of con-

1 Cf. Strathendrick, 179 ff.
2 Stirling Charters, No. I.
3 Ibid., Nos. II and V.
4 Ibid., Nos. VII and VIII.
5 Ibid., No. XVI.
6 Ibid., No. XX.
7 Ibid., No. XXXIII.
8 Ibid., No. LV.
9 Ibid., No. L.
10 Ibid., No. XII.

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