Urquhart and Glenmoriston
Olden Times in a Highland Parish

[483]      

CHARTER BY THE BISHOP OF MORAY,

TO JOHN MACRAY AND HIS WIFE AND SON, OF ACHMONIE. 1557. [Translated from the Latin, in MS. Register of Moray, in Advocates’ Library.]

See Chiefs of Grant, Vol. III, for Charters of 1509 in favour of the Grants. See also pp. 7781 supra.

To all who shall see or hear this Charter, Patrick by the mercy of God bishop of Moray and perpetual commendator of the Abbey of Scone, everlasting health in the Lord: Know ye that we with express consent and assent of the canons of our chapter of the [484] Cathedral Church of Moray, chapterly assembled to that effect, our utility and that of our said church being on all sides foreseen, considered, and with diligent discussions and mature deliberations held beforehand, to the evident advantage of our said church and of our successors bishops of Moray, and in augmentation of our rental in the sum of 26s 8d more than the lands underwritten, with the brew-house, have paid to us or our predecessors; also for the promotion and improvement of the common weal of the kingdom, and in contemplation of the statutes of Parliament published thereanent, and for the repair and building of the edifices, stone houses, dams, orchyards, gardens, greens, and dovecots, upon the lands underwritten, so far as they may be able to bear, also for a certain great sum of money thankfully and fully paid to us in advance by John McGilleis and Duncan McGilleis his son, wholly for the use of us and of the said cathedral church of Moray, and for other gratitudes, helps, and well deserving deeds done and performed many times to us by the said John MeGilleis and Duncan McGilleis, have given, granted, rented, set, and let, to the said John McGilleis McKaye and Katherine Euene Canycht his spouse, and the survivor of them in liferent, and after their decease, have set, rented, let, and at feuferme or per petual emphyteusis, heritably dimitted, and by the tenor of these presents do set, rent, let, and at feuferme or perpetual emphyteusis heritably demit, and by this present charter do confirm to the said Duncan McGilleis, son of the said John McGilleis McKaye, and the heirs male of his body lawfully procreated or to be procreated, whom failing to the true lawful and nearest heirs male of the said Duncan whomsoever, All and Whole our lands of Awchmonye, with the brew-house thereof called Kilmichaell, with their pendicles and pertinents, lying within the barony of Kinmylies, shire of Inverness, and our regality of Spynie: which lands of Awchmonye with the brew-house thereof, called Kilmichaell, and their pendicles and pertinents, were formerly let for the sum of three pounds usual money of Scotland as for the old ferme of the said lands, two kids, and three shillings and four pennies of said money for two firlots of dry multure, and for the grassum of the said lands yearly the sum of seventeen shiffings and ten pence; and now, in augmentation of our rental to the sum of twenty-six shillings and eight pence of the foresaid money more than ever the said lands, with the brew-house and others, paid to us or our prede cessors: To hold and to have all and sundry the aforesaid lands of Awchmonye with the brew-house thereof called Kilmichaell, with their pendicles and pertinents, to the beforenaxned John McGilleis McKaye and Katherine Euene Canycht and the survivor of them, [485] in liferent, and after their decease to the said Duncan McGilleis son of the said John McGilleis McKaye, and the heirs male of his body lawfully prooreated or to be procreated, whom failing, to the true lawful and nearest heirs male of the said Duncan whomsoever, of us and our successors, bishops of Moray, in feuferme or emphyteusis and heritage for ever, by all their just ancient meithes and marches as they lie in length and breadth, limits and bounds, on every side, in tofts, crofts, gardens, houses, biggings, woods, plains, muirs, mosses, ways, paths, waters, stanks, rivers, meadows, grasings, pasturages, mills, multures and their sequels, fowlings, h unti ngs, fishings, peat-mosses, turf-grounds, coals, coal-heuchs, rabbits, rabbit-warrens, pigeons, pigeon-cots, smithies, malt kiliis, brooms and plantings, woods, groves, shrubberies, nurseries, stone quarries, saw mills, ferries, mountains, hills, vallies, stone, and lime; with courts and their issues, fines, herezelds, bloodwytes, and merchets of women, with culture and common pasture, and power to dig, labour, and cultivate new fields upon the lands underwritten, far and near, belonging, or which may in any way in future justly belong to the aforesaid lands of Awehmonye, with the brew-house thereof called Kilmichaell, and their pendicles and pertinents, freely, quietly, fully, wholly, honourably, well, and in peace, with out any withholding, revocation, contradiction, or obstacle whatever:

Rendering therefor yearly, the said John McGilleis McKaye and Katherine Euene Canycht his spouse, and the longer liver of them, in liferent, and after their decease the said Duncan McGilleis and his heirs male of his body lawfully begotten or to be begotten, whom failing, the true lawful and nearest heirs male of the said Duncan whosoever, to us and our successors bishops of Moray, the said sum of three pounds of usual money of Scotland, as the ancient ferme of the said lands of Auchmonye, with brew-house of the same called Kilmichaell, with their pendicles and pertinents formerly due and wont, with two kids, and three shillings four pence for two firlots of dry multure, and for the grassum of the said lands yearly the sum of seventeen shillings ten pence, and in augmentation of our said rental the sum of twenty-six shillings eight pence, extending in whole in old ferme, dry multure, grassum, and new augmentation, to the sum of five pounds seven shillings ten pence of money aforesaid, and two kids, at two terms of the year, the feasts namely of Whitsunday and Martinmas in winter, by equal half portions: Moreover, the heirs male afore written doubling the said sum of five pounds seven shillings ten pence, with two kids, in the first year of their entry to the said lands and others for the ferme of that year only, as use is, in name of doubled feuferme: And the said John McGilleis McKaye and [486] Katherine Euene Canycht during their life rent, and after their decease the said Duncan McGileis and his heirs male aforesaid, performing suit and personal presence at our three head courts held at Spynie, and likewise suit and personal presence by them selves and the inhabitants of the foresaid lands and brew-house in every justice ayre of the regality of Spynie as oft as it shall happen to be held: And the said John and Katherine during their life, and after their decease the said Duncan McGilleis and his heirs male as aforesaid, shall be faithful to us and our suc cessors bishops of Moray and shall do thankful service to our Cathedral Church of Moray: Also the said John McGilleis McKaye during his life and the inhabitants of the said lands, whom failing, the said Duncan McGilleis and his heirs male as aforesaid and the tenants of the said lands, shall be bound, as oft as they shall happen to be warned to that effect, to repair with us or with the bailie of us or of our successors, in the army of our sovereign lady the Queen and of her successors, to the wars, sufficiently and honestly provided, at their own expenses, with arms, apparel, warlike equipments, and other things necessary for that purpose, like other honest men their neighbours, according to the custom of the country, decree of Parliament, and statutes of the Kingdom, only for all other burden, exaction, question, secular service, or demand which from the said lands and others can in any way be justly exacted or required: And we, truly, the aforesaid Patrick bishop of Moray, and our successors who for the time shall be, shall warrant acquit and for ever defend all and sundry the aforesaid lands of Awchmonye with the brew-house thereof called Kilmichaell, with their whole pendicles and pertinents, to the aforesaid John McGilleis McKaye and Katherine Euene Canycht his spouse and the longer liver of them in liferent, and, after their decease, to the said Duncan MeGilleis and the heirs male of his body procreated or to be procreated, whom failing to the true lawful and nearest heirs male of the said Duncan whomsoever, as freely, and quietly, in all and by all, in form as well as in effect, as is premised, against all deadly. In witness whereof our round seal, with our manual subscription, also the common seal of our said chapter, with the subscriptions of the Canons thereof to that effect chapterly assembled, and for the time representing the chapter, in sign of their consent and assent to the premises, to this our present charter are appended, at our said Cathedral Church of Moray, in the piace of the chapter thereof, on the sixth day of May in the year of the Lord 1557: before these witnesses Mr John Gordoun vicar of Kincardin and Rotbemurchus, James Innes

[487] of Dranye, Andrew Moncreiff, younger, Alexander Innes of Plaiddis, and Sir John Gibson, notary public.

PATRICK, bishop of Moray and commendator of Scone.
ALEXANDER CAMPBELL, dean of Moray.
JOHN THORNETOUN, precentor of Moray.
JAMES GORDOUN, chancellor of Moray.
ALEXANDER DUNBAR, subohanter of Moray.
JOHN LESLIE, canon of Moray.
WILLIAM PATERSON, subdean of Moray.
JOHN LOKEART, of Inverkething prebendary.
WILLIAM HEPBURN, rector of Dupill.
PATRICK HEPBUBNE, rector of Duffous.
THOMAS SUTHERLAND, rector of Ryne

Appendix D