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Burgh

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For other uses, seeBurgh (disambiguation).

The Royal Burgh ofCulrossin Fife

Aburgh(/ˈbʌrə/BURR-ə) is anautonomousmunicipal corporationinScotland,usually acity,town,ortouninScots.This type ofadministrative divisionexisted from the 12th century, whenKing David Icreated the firstroyal burghs.Burgh status was broadly analogous toborough status,found in the rest of theUnited Kingdom.Followinglocal government reorganisation in 1975,the title of "royal burgh" remains in use in many towns, but now has little more than ceremonial value.

History[edit]

Seal ofHaddingtontown: "David Dei Gratia Rex Scottorum. Sigillum commune burgi de Hadington"

The first burgh wasBerwick.By 1130,David I(r. 1124–53) had established other burghs includingEdinburgh,Stirling,Dunfermline,Haddington,Perth,Dumfries,Jedburgh,Montrose,RutherglenandLanark.[1]Most of the burghs granted charters in his reign probably already existed as settlements. Charters were copied almost verbatim from those used in England,[2]and early burgesses usually invitedEnglishandFlemishsettlers.[3]They were able to impose tolls and fines on traders within a region outside their settlements.[3]Properties known asBurgagetenures were a key feature, whose tenants had to be of theBurgherclass, known as a "Burgesses",and therefore eligible to participate in trade within the town, and to elect town officials. Most of the early burghs were on the east coast, and among them were the largest and wealthiest, includingOldandNew Aberdeen,Berwick, Perth and Edinburgh, whose growth was facilitated by trade with otherNorth Seaports on the continent, in particular in theLow Countries,as well as ports on theBaltic Sea.In the south-west,Glasgow,AyrandKirkcudbrightwere aided by the less profitable sea trade with Ireland and to a lesser extent France and Spain.[4]

Reverse side of the burgh seal ofCrail,aFifefishing port

Burghs were typically settlements under the protection of a castle and usually had a market place, with a widened high street or junction, marked by amercat cross,beside houses for the burgesses and other inhabitants.[3]The founding of 16 royal burghs can be traced to the reign of David I (1124–53)[5]and there is evidence of 55 burghs by 1296.[6]In addition to the majorroyal burghs,the late Middle Ages saw the proliferation of baronial and ecclesiastical burghs, with 51 created between 1450 and 1516. Most of these were much smaller than their royal counterparts. Excluded from foreign trade, they acted mainly as local markets and centres of craftsmanship.[4]Burghs were centres of basic crafts, including the manufacture of shoes, clothes, dishes, pots, joinery, bread and ale, which would normally be sold to "indwellers" and "outdwellers" on market days.[3]In general, burghs carried out far more local trading with their hinterlands, on which they relied for food and raw materials, than trading nationally or abroad.[7]

Burghs had rights to representation in theParliament of Scotland.Under theActs of Union of 1707many becameparliamentary burghs,represented in theParliament of Great Britain.Under theScottish Reform Act 1832,32 years after the merger of the Parliament of Great Britain into theParliament of the United Kingdom,the boundaries of burghs for parliamentaryelectionsceased to be necessarily their boundaries for other purposes.

Types[edit]

There were several types of burgh, including;

Modern history[edit]

A sign inLinlithgow,Scotland

Until 1833, each burgh had a different constitution or "sett". The government of the burgh was often in the hands of a self-nominating corporation, and few local government functions were performed: these were often left toad hocbodies.

Two pieces of reforming legislation were enacted in 1833: TheRoyal Burghs (Scotland) Act 1833(3 & 4 Will. 4.c. 76) and theBurgh Police (Scotland) Act 1833(3 & 4 Will. 4.c. 46).

TheRoyal Burghs (Scotland) Act 1833(3 & 4 Will. 4.c. 76) provided for the election of magistrates and councillors. Each burgh was to have a common council consisting of a provost (or lord provost), magistrates (or bailies) and councillors. Every parliamentary elector living within the "royalty" or area of the royal burgh, or within seven statute miles of its boundary, was entitled to vote in burgh elections. One third of the common council was elected each year. The councillors selected a number of their members to be bailies, who acted as a magistrates bench for the burgh and dealt with such issues as licensing. The provost, or chief magistrate, was elected from among the council every three years. The Royal Burghs Act was also extended to the 12parliamentary burghswhich had recently been enfranchised. These were growing industrial centres, and apart from the lack of a charter, they had identical powers and privileges to the royal burghs.[8]Royal Burghs retained the right to corporate property or "common good". This property was used for the advantage of the inhabitants of the burgh, funding such facilities as public parks, museums and civic events.

TheBurgh Police (Scotland) Act 1833(3 & 4 Will. 4.c. 46) allowed the inhabitants of royal burghs,burghs of regalityand ofbBaronyto adopt a "police system". "Police" in this sense did not refer to law enforcement, but to various local government activities summarised in the act as"paving, lighting, cleansing, watching, supplying with water, and improving such Burghs respectively, as may be necessary and expedient".The act could be adopted following its approval in a poll of householders in the burgh. Burghs reformed or created under this and later legislation became known aspolice burghs.The governing body of a police burgh were the police commissioners. The commissioners were elected by the existing town council of the burgh, not by the electorate at large. The town council of a burgh could by a three-quarters majority become police commissioners for the burgh. In many cases this led to the existence of two parallel burgh administrations, the town council and the police commissioners, each with the same membership, but separate legal identity and powers.[8]Further legislation, thePolice (Scotland) Act 1850(13 & 14 Vict.c. 33), allowed "populous places" other than existing burghs to become police burghs.

In 1893, most of the anomalies in the administration of burghs were removed: police commissioners were retitled as councillors and all burghs were to consist of a single body corporate, ending the existence of parallel burghs. All burghs of barony and regality that had not adopted a police system were abolished.[dubious–discuss]Councils were to be headed by a chief magistrate using the "customary title" of the burgh.[9]In 1900, the chief magistrate of every burgh was to be known as the provost – except in burghs granted alord provost.

The last major legislation to effect burghs came into effect in 1930. TheLocal Government (Scotland) Act 1929(19 & 20 Geo. 5.c. 25) divided burghs into three classes:

  • "Counties of cities": the four largest royal burghs, they combined the powers of a burgh and county council.
  • "Large burghs":independent of the county council except in major services such as police and education.
  • "Small burghs":performing minor local government functions such as street-cleaning, housing, lighting and drainage..

TheLocal Government (Scotland) Act 1973(c. 65) formally abolished burghs. Section 1(5) of the act stated:On 16 May 1975, all local government areas existing immediately before that date, that is to say, all counties, counties of cities, large burghs, small burghs and districts, shall cease to exist, and the council of every such area shall also cease to exist.The use of the title continues in informal use, however.

The common good properties and funds of the royal burghs continue to exist. They are administered by the presentarea councils,who must make "have regard to the interests of the inhabitants of the area to which the common good formerly related". The use of these assets are to be for the benefit of the inhabitants of the former burgh.[10]Any person or body holding the honorary freedomof any place... formerly having the status of a city, burgh or royal burghcontinued to enjoy that status after the 1975 reorganisation.[11]

Features[edit]

Provost[edit]

The Council Chamber inLeithwhich ceased to be an autonomous burgh in 1920

The chief magistrate or convener of a burgh, equivalent to amayor,was called aprovost.Many different titles were in use until theTown Councils (Scotland) Act 1900standardised the term as "provost", except in cities with a lord provost. Since 1975 local authorities have been free to choose the title of their convener and provosts are appointed to chair a number ofareaandcommunity councils.

Bailies[edit]

Under the provost weremagistratesorbaillieswho both acted as councillors, and in the enforcement of laws. As well as general tasks, they often had specific tasks such as inspecting wine, or ale, or other products sold at market. The title of bailie ceased to have any statutory meaning in 1975, although modern area councils do sometimes make appointments to the office on a purely ceremonial basis. For example,Glasgow City Councilgrants the title in an honorary capacity to senior councillors, whileStirling Councilappoints four bailies to act in lieu of the provost in specific geographical areas.[12][13]

Burgesses[edit]

A resident granted the rights of a "freeman" of the burgh, was styled aburgess(pl. burgesses), a title also used in English boroughs. These freemen and their wives were a class which did not include dependants (e.g. apprentices) and servants, though they were not guaranteed to be wealthy.

Dean of Guild[edit]

This was a title held by one of the bailies of the burgh who presided over aDean of GuildCourt which was given the specific duty of building control. The courts were abolished in 1975, with building regulation transferred to the relevant local authority.[14]Appointments to the office of Dean of Guild are still made in some areas: for instance the Lord Dean of Guild ofGlasgowis described as the "second citizen of Glasgow" after the Lord Provost although the appointment is in the hands of the Merchants House of Glasgow, and not the city council.[12][15]

Trading privileges[edit]

Early Burghs were granted the power to trade, which allowed them to control trade until the 19th century. The population ofburgessescould be roughly divided betweenmerchantsandcraftsmen,and the tensions between the interests of the two classes was often a feature of the cities. Craftsmen were usually organised intoguilds.Merchants also had a guild, but many merchants did not belong to it, and it would be run by a small group of the most powerful merchants. The class of merchants included all traders, from stall-holders and pack-men to shop-holders and traders of considerable wealth.[citation needed]

Etymology[edit]

As used in this article, theScots languagewordburghis derived from theOld EnglishBurh.InScotlandit refers to corporate entities whoselegalityis peculiar to Scotland. (Scottish lawwas protected and preserved as distinct from laws ofEnglandunder theActs of Union of 1707.) Pronunciation is the same as the English language wordborough,which is a nearcognateof the Scots word. The identical English wordBurgh(in place names such asBamburgh,CarrawburghandDunstanburgh) sounds exactly like the ScotsBurgh,with the emphasis on the 'r'[clarification needed].Another variant pronunciation,/brʌf/ⓘ,is heard in several Cumbrian place names, e.g.Burgh by Sands,Longburgh,Drumburgh,Mayburgh Henge.

The English languageborough,like the ScotsBurgh,is derived from the sameOld English languagewordburh(whose dative singular and nominative/accusative plural formbyrigsometimes underlies modern place-names, and which had dialectal variants including"burg";it was also sometimes confused withbeorh,beorg,'mound, hill', on which see Hall 2001, 69–70). TheOld Englishword was originally used for a fortified town or proto-castle(e.g. atDover CastleorBurgh Castle) and was related to the verbbeorgan(cf.Dutch and Germanbergen) 'to keep, save, make secure'. In theGerman language,Burgmeans 'castle' or 'fortress', though so many towns grew up around castles that it almost came to meancity,and is incorporated into manyplacenames,such asHamburg,FlensburgandStrasburg.

The word has cognates, or near cognates, in otherGermanic languages.For example,burgin German, andborgin bothDanishandSwedish.The equivalent word is also to be found inFrisian,Dutch,Norwegian,IcelandicandFaroese.Burgh in placenames is found in its greatest UK concentration in theEast Angliaregion of southern England, where also the word has taken the formbury,as in Canterbury.[16]

A number of otherEuropeanlanguages have cognate words which were borrowed from the Germanic languages during theMiddle Ages,includingbroginIrish,bwrorbwrc,meaning 'wall, rampart' inWelsh,bourginFrench,borgoinItalian,andburgoinSpanish(hence the place-nameBurgos).

The most obviously derivative words areburgherin English,Bürgerin German orburgerin Dutch (literally 'citizen', with connotations ofmiddle-classin English and other Germanic languages). Also related are the wordsbourgeoisandbelfry(both from theFrench), andburglar.More distantly, it is related to words meaning 'hill' or 'mountain' in a number of languages (cf. the second element oficeberg).[17]

Toponymy[edit]

Burgh is commonly used as asuffixin place names in Great Britain, particularly Scotland and northern England, and other places where Britons settled, examples:

England[edit]

Examples:

Scotland[edit]

Other[edit]

And as a placename on its own, in theWest Germaniccountries:

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^J Mackay, The Convention of Royal Burghs of Scotland, From its Origin down to the Completion of the Treaty of Union between England and Scotland in 1707, Co-operative Printing Co. Ltd, Edinburgh 1884, p.2
  2. ^G. W. S. Barrow,Kingship and Unity: Scotland 1000-1306(Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1989),ISBN074860104X,p. 98.
  3. ^abcdA. MacQuarrie,Medieval Scotland: Kinship and Nation(Thrupp: Sutton, 2004),ISBN0-7509-2977-4,pp. 136-40.
  4. ^abR. Mitchison,A History of Scotland(London: Routledge, 3rd edn., 2002),ISBN0415278805,p. 78.
  5. ^K. J. Stringer, "The Emergence of a Nation-State, 1100-1300", in J. Wormald, ed.,Scotland: A History(Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005),ISBN0198206151,pp. 38-76.
  6. ^B. Webster,Medieval Scotland: the Making of an Identity(St. Martin's Press, 1997),ISBN0333567617,pp. 122-3.
  7. ^J. Wormald,Court, Kirk, and Community: Scotland, 1470-1625(Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1991),ISBN0748602763,pp. 41-55.
  8. ^abMabel Atkinson,The Organisation of Local Government in Scotland,Political Science Quarterly,Vol. 18, No. 1. (March, 1903), pp. 59-87.
  9. ^Burgh Police (Scotland) Act 1892(1892 c. 55)
  10. ^"Report on the Stirling Burgh Common Good Fund, 9 October 1997"(PDF).Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 25 June 2008.Retrieved1 March2008.
  11. ^The Local Government Area Changes (Scotland) Regulations 1977 (SI 1977/8) (S. 1)
  12. ^ab"Lord Provost and Bailies".Glasgow City Council. 28 March 2007. Archived fromthe originalon 15 September 2009.Retrieved24 August2009.
  13. ^"Stirling's New Bailies".Stirling Council. 13 May 2008.Retrieved24 August2009.[permanent dead link]
  14. ^"Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 (c. 65) s.227".UK Statute Law Database.Office of Public Sector Information.1975.Retrieved24 August2009.
  15. ^"About the Merchants House of Glasgow".Merchants House of Glasgow. Archived fromthe originalon 13 May 2008.Retrieved24 August2009.
  16. ^Stewart 1967:193
  17. ^"Wörterbuchnetz".Archived fromthe originalon 14 November 2007.Retrieved19 February2007.

References[edit]

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