Series 3 > Court book of the Burgh of Kirkintilloch 1658-1694

Ixvi KIRKINTILLOCH BURGH COURT BOOK
we can cull from the same source sure evidence that a
number of the new erections of the period 1560-1660 took
root and flourished. Thus, in 1629, while Duns and Green¬
law each had its tolbooth, Eyemouth had only ‘ the pitt ’
for the warding of accused persons, who might therefore be
misused by the craftsmen of the burgh.1 We hear of the
activities, during the reign of Charles I, of the bailies of the
burghs of Moffat, Largs and Melrose.2 Again, certain of
the creations of the time made their impact on contem¬
porary and later topographers : Inverbrora in the north,3
Edzell and Coupar Angus in the midlands,4 West Linton
in the south (noteworthy for its great sheep market),5 all
appear in local descriptions compiled in the seventeenth
century, while Airth in east Stirlingshire 6 and Doune in
Menteith 7 still had a vigorous municipal life in 1723-24.
Testimony of this kind is a reminder that, while a sub¬
stantial proportion—of the order, if we can accept as a
guide the sample survey of the southern shires, of 40 per
cent.—of the grants made in 1560-1660 represent ‘ parch¬
ment burghs ’, it is unwise to press the argument too far
on mere negative impressions or apparent improbabilities.
It would thus seem that not fewer than 75 out of the 125
new creations were real enough burghs.
Once again, much interest attaches to the statement,
often made in the preamble to the charter, of the reason for
the foundation, whether achieved or only intended. Fish¬
ing and the fish trade underlay the erection of Kilrenny
(1578) and Garmouth (1587).8 A suitable site for a port
1632, ib., iv, 474 ; for Mauchline in 1637, ib., vi, 468, 505 ; and for Kil-
maurs in 1627, ib., viii, 380.
1 lb., iii, 41, 145.
2 Ib., iv, 48-9 ; vi, 454-5, 481; viii, 78. For the provost of Moffat in
1635, see ib., vi, 141-2.
3 Macfarlane's Geographical Collections, ii, 467.
1 Ib., ii, 21 ; iii, 223.
6 The portioners of this burgh of regality are named as being Douglases,
Giffords, Tweedies and Youngers : ib., iii, 145.
6 Its tolbooth and fleshmarket were then under construction : ib., i,
327.
7 Ib., i, 337-8.
8 R.M.S., iv, 2831 ; A.P.S., iii, 167-9 ; R.M.S., v, 1281.