A HISTORY OF PEEBLESSHIREBroughtonThe earliest form of the name is Broctun signifying either the dwelling-place of an early settler of the name of Broc or the dwelling in a sheltered place (brouch – Anglo-Saxon). The latter derivation may be preferred, as the records do not disclose any early owner with any such name, and the situation of the village quite corresponds with the description.The Broughton burn rises on the shoulder of Pyked Stane (1872 feet) – a hill where the three parishes of Stobo, Broughton, and Kirkurd meet – and winds its way southwards for about four miles through a valley protected on either side by a high ridge of hills, to join the Biggar Water. This burn is joined about half a mile above the village by a smaller stream called originally the Hollows burn (now the Dean), which flows westwards through the glen of Broughton Place farm. The village of Broughton lies at the foot of the valley, on the right-hand side of the burn, and through it runs the road from Edinburgh to Moffat. At the head of the valley, which is over two miles in breadth, is Stirkfield, from which there is a fine view of Broad Law and the high hills overlooking the upper reaches of the Tweed. The next farm is Cloverhill from which, given favourable weather conditions, it is possible to see the hills of Arran. Below Cloverhill are the farms of Broughton Place and Ratchill on the left-hand side of the burn, and on the other side Broughton Green, Langlawhill, Burnet and Corstane, but the last three are more in the watershed of the Biggar Water. This beautiful tract of country comprises the old barony of Broughton. THE BARONY OF BROUGHTON The earliest owner of whom there is any trace is Ralf le Neym. He was a Norman, and was in possession of lands not only in Broughton but on the eastern marches between England and Scotland, and also in the Buchan district in the north. Between 1175 and 1180 he granted a half ploughgate of land (52 acres) in Broughton to the chapel there, in free and perpetual alms together with a toft and croft and common pasturage. This chapel was probably on the site of the parish church, the ruins of which can still be seen in the churchyard above the village. The half ploughgate of land became known later as Broughton Shiels, and lay along the side of Broughton burn, above Cloverhill. Another proprietor appears about 1200, Dudyn of Broughton, who took his designation from the lands, and was a witness at the inquiry into the marches of Stobo. His family continued in possession for at least a century, and 'Alisaundre Dudyn' signed the Ragman Roll in 1296 in respect of his lands in Peeblesshire. Duddingflat, a 20s. land in the parish, referred to in one or two of the older writs may be so named after Dudyns's ownership. That property is now called Broughton Knowe. The next proprietor of whom there is record is Edward Hadden (Haldane) of the family of Haldane of that Ilk, who had a charter of Broughton from King David II to himself and his wife. The Haldanes were connected with Broughton for three centuries, and may originally have held the whole barony, but by 1400 their possession was restricted to one-half, the other half having become the property of David Mowat of Stonehouse, Lanarkshire, by a charter from King Robert II (1390–1406). The whole barony was a £40 land of old extent. Dealing with the Haldane's half, there is a record of William Hawdene and his son John in 1407; of William Haldane, who appeared in 1510 at the head court of Peeblesshire for his lands in Broughton; of William Haldane of that Ilk and Janet Hume, his wife, in 1523–4, and of his son John in 1550. In 1558 John Haldane of that Ilk married Margaret, daughter of Richard Brown of Hartree and granted to her a liferent charter of his £8 lands of the Mains of Broughton. George Haldane of that Ilk succeeded in 1595 his brother William, and married (contract dated 5th August, 1596) Nicole Tweedie, daughter of Adam Tweedie of Dreva; she was given the life-rent of the lands and of the manor place called Littlehope. George Haldane died about 1616, and his son John was infeft as his heir in 1624. He resigned the lands in 1625, along with part of the barony of Haldane in Roxburghshire, to Andrew, Master of Jedburgh, but this was probably in security of debt, as two years afterwards there is a Crown charter, on the resignation of the Master of Jedburgh, by King Charles I to John Haldane of that Ilk and Margaret Drummond, his Wife. At the weaponshaw in Peebles in 1627 John Haldane was not present, but he was represented by his bailie, of the same name, with ten horsemen and two footmen, all with lances and swords In 1634 John Haldane, with consent of his wife, and also with consent of William Haldane in Broughton, donator to his liferent escheat, conveyed his lands in Broughton to Sir David Murray of Stanhope in liferent, and John Murray, his eldest son, in fee. John Haldane was the last Haldane of Broughton. He served in the Wars of the Covenant as Captain of Lord Balgonie's horse troopers, and was killed in England. In the Presbytery records (1644) he is referred to as a 'worthie gentillman killed in the defence of a good cause.' His widow and family resided for a time in Glenholm. MOWAT OF STONEHOUSE AND BROUGHTON Turning now to David Mowat's half, it was confirmed to one of his successors, Alexander Mowat, by King James IV by a charter dated 27th January, 1506–7, and the property is described as half of the lands and mill and barony of 'Brouchtoun,' with tenandries, etc, in the shire of Peebles. The lands of Stirkfield, a tenandry of the half barony, are expressly excepted, and licence is given for infefting Alexander Weir of Blackwood and William Inglis of Langlawhill in their holdings. This Alexander Mowat about the same time granted the lands of Broughton and also other lands to his son John, under reservation of his own liferent. At Flodden he bore the King's Standard, and was killed, and by 1517 his son John was also dead, as in that year, by a charter dated 28th March, the King, James V, quitclaimed 'the lands to Margaret Mowat, the daughter of John.' Margaret Mowat married James Hamilton, eldest son of James Hamilton of Raploch, and died before 1539, leaving a family of five sons – James, John, Robert, Archibald and Thomas – the eldest of whom, James, succeeded to Stonehouse and the half barony of Broughton. These lands he resigned in 1543 to his father in liferent and himself in fee, and this was followed by a charter from Queen Mary dated 27th September. James Hamilton, the father, married as his second wife Grisel, eldest daughter of Robert, third Lord Sempill, and by her he had two sons and two daughters. He was appointed Director of Chancery on 3rd October, 1544, and in the year 1548, when he was Provost of Edinburgh and Captain of the Castle, he was slain in attempting to quell a riot between the citizens of Edinburgh and the French auxiliaries. With him fell the said James, his eldest son, who left one daughter, Barbara, by his marriage with Margaret Tours. John Hamilton (the second son of James Hamilton's marriage with Margaret Mowat) is the next recorded proprietor. He married Joane or Joneta, second daughter of Sir David Hamilton of Preston. He was a faithful adherent of Queen Mary for whom he fought at the Battle of Langside, for which his lands were forfeited, for a time, by the Regent Moray. In 1576 he resigned his lands to his son James, reserving his own liferent. So far as known, he left four of a family, James, his heir; John; Jean, who married Gilbert, son of Thomas Inglis of Murdieston; and a daughter, Abigail. The next James Hamilton had a Crown charter of Stonehouse and Broughton on 16th February, 1578. He married Elizabeth Hamilton by whom he had James, his heir; Robert, styled 'of Tweedie' and a daughter, who married Mungo Lockhart of Cleghorn. James Hamilton, the next Laird, married Agnes, daughter of Sir James Maxwell of Calderwood, and died before 1624 survived by his wife, who married about that time Cuthbert Hamilton of Candor. He left a son James, who was in minority, and was not served as heir until 3rd June, 1635. At the weaponshaw in 1627 James Hamilton, like his neighbour John Haldane, was not present, but seven of his men were there 'horsit all, with lances and swords.' In 1636 he conveyed his lands of Broughton to Sir David Murray of Stanhope and his son John, the deed being granted with consent of William Baillie of Foulshiels, and of his own interdictors. MURRAY OF STANHOPE AND BROUGHTON The Murrays of Stanhope (of which family an account is given in the chapter on Drumelzier) thus became the proprietors of the whole barony, including the superiority of such parts of the barony as had been feued. In 1643 George Haldane in Broughton Green, one of the sub-vassals, conveyed to Sir David Murray, his superior, the property which he held, described as the 20s. land commonly called the Green, and two nobles of land within the Mains of the barony. In 1645 Sir David Murray and William, his son, had a Crown charter of Langlawhill, two-fourths of the kirklands of Broughton Shiels, and other lands, on the resignation of Matthew Brisbane and William Clark, the former proprietors. Sir David Murray was a Royalist, and joined Montrose when he raised the King's Standard in Scotland. He was succeeded by his son William, who was served as heir to his father and also to his deceased brother John in 1654. William Murray acquired in 1664 from Sir Michael Naesmyth of Posso the lands of Over and Nether Stirkfield, with the pendicle thereof called Clashieford. He also acquired one-half of the lands of Burnetland, which adjoins Langlawhill on the south. When this acquisition was made has not been ascertained, but there is no doubt about the fact, as he included that portion among his other properties dealt with in the marriage contract, dated 16th April, 1664, between his son David and Lady Anne Bruce, daughter of Alexander, Earl of Kincardine. Burnetland, a £4 10s. land, was another part of the barony which had been feued in early times. In 1671 William Murray (then Sir William Murray, Baronet) on his own resignation received a Crown charter of all the Broughton lands, in which charter they were of new erected into a barony to be called the barony of Broughton, the manor place of Littlehope, commonly called Broughton, to be the principal messuage. The tenure was changed from ward to taxed ward, the sum of £200 being fixed for ward and non-entry, the same for relief, and 1000 merks for marriage. The feu-duty was 1d. Scots, and permission was given to hold a fair yearly on 22nd September. The lands thus acquired, which included the whole parish with the exception of one-half of Burnetland and one-fourth of Broughton Shiels, remained with the Murrays until 1719. Three years before that Alexander Murray had a tack of the teinds of the parish from John, Earl of Wigtown, who was patron of Stobo, Drumelzier, Dawyck, and Broughton, for three periods of nineteen years each, and for an annual payment of £200. JOHN DOUGLAS OF BROUGHTON In 1719 Alexander Murray sold the whole property to John Douglas (brother of William, first Earl of March), between whom and his brother, James Douglas of Stow, there was a mutual entail whereby Broughton and Stow were destined to the survivor and his heirs, whom failing the heirs of their late brother, the Earl of March. James Douglas of Douglas of Stow died unmarried before 1732. John Douglas of Broughton, who was MP for Peeblesshire in 1722 and 1727, also died unmarried prior to 1734. In terms of the destination clause in the entail, William, second Earl of March, succeeded both to Broughton and Stow, but John Douglas had died so deeply involved in debt that the Earl of March, in order to safeguard his own possessions, applied to the Court for a warrant to sell for the benefit of the creditors. This process was instituted in 1734, and the petitioners were the Earl of March, who was a minor at the time, and Charles, Duke of Queensberry and Dover, his tutor in law. Among those called for their interest as creditors were: Isabella, Mary, and Jean Douglas, the Earl's sisters; John Horsburgh of that Ilk; John Borthwick, late of Stow (then of Trottenshaw); John and Patrick Murray, sons of the deceased Sir David Murray of Stanhope; Margaret Murray, daughter of Sir David Murray, and her husband, Mr. Thomas Hay, advocate. The debts due by John Douglas are not separately stated in the proceedings, but they, along with the debts due by the Earl's father, reached the large figure of £205,827 16s. 8d. Scots, on which the annual interest was £10,291 7s. 8d. The rental of Broughton is given at £4332 8s. 4d. Scots, made up thus: – £74 of house rents, £3817 10s. 8d. of rents from land paid in money (including a feu-duty of £13 6s. 8d. from the other half of Burnetland), rents paid in produces, etc., 12 bolls of bear and 48 of meal at £6 5s. per boll, 12 capons at 12s, 62 hens at 6s. 8d. and 7s., and 57 carriages at 13s. 4d. It may be of interest to show how the selling price was calculated. On the depositions of James Naesmyth of Earlshaugh and John Sibbald of Burnetland, the property was held to be worth 22 years purchase of the free rental 'in respect there is a good mansion house.' The free rental was ascertained by deducting one-fifth in respect of teinds (£866 9s. 8d.) and the feu-duty of £2 16s. 10d. paid for Broughton Shiels. There remained £3463 1s. 10d., which at 22 years resulted in £76,188 Os. 4d. But, as we have seen, there was a tack of the teinds at a rental of £200; the minister's stipend was £408 11s. 4d. in money and 13 bolls victual at £6 5s., a total of £489 16s. 4d.; and the schoolmaster's salary was £40. These payments amounted yearly to £729 16s. 4d., whereas the teind rental as above was £866 9s. 8d., and accordingly there was a balance of free teind left of £136 13s. 4d., which in view of the length of the tack was calculated at 15 years purchase, or £2050. This sum added to £76,188 0s. 4d. fixed the selling price at £78,238 0s. 4d. At that price Broughton was exposed for sale and sold – there was only one offerer – to William Veitch, W.S., acting on behalf of John Murray, second son of Sir David Murray of Stanhope (by his second marriage), and as he was a minor he was represented in the decree which followed by his curators – Lady Margaret Scott, his mother; Sir John Scott of Ancrum, Baronet; Alexander Muirhead of Lenhouse and James Erskine. JOHN MURRAY OF BROUGHTON John Murray of Broughton, the new proprietor, is a tragic figure in history, and this is not the place to recount the part he played, as secretary to Prince Charlie, during the '45 – that was all good, for he loved his Prince, and so did his beautiful wife, Margaret Ferguson (niece of William Ferguson of Cailloch in Nithsdale), who sat on horseback at the Cross of Edinburgh, cockade in her hat and drawn sword in her hand, welcoming recruits – or the part he played after Culloden, as informer, which brought Lord Lovat and others to the scaffold – that was not good. 'Mr. Secretary Murray,' whom the Prince looked on as 'ane of the honestest, firmest men in the whole world,' was his title before his capture at Polmood in the house of his sister Veronica, wife of Robert Hunter. 'Mr. Evidence Murray' was the shameful title subsequently bestowed, and it embittered the rest of his life, for he had to endure the whip lash of scorn. 'I once knew a person who bore the designation of Murray of Broughton,' said Sir John Douglas of Kelhead before the Privy Council, 'but that was a gentleman and a man of honour, and one that could hold up his head.' Perhaps this may be said. Murray was a sick man at the time of his capture, and flesh is weak; but he remained a Jacobite to the end. Apart from the decree of the Court in 1736, there was no formal title to the lands till 1750, when William, third Earl of March, having served himself heir to John Douglas under the mutual entail of 1725, granted a conveyance to John Murray, who continued in possession till 1764 when he sold the property to James Dickson (afterwards of Ednam), a merchant in London. The price was £16,000 stg., but of that £4075 was to be paid within six months after the death of John Murray's wife, Margaret Ferguson. DICKSON OF BROUGHTON This proprietor in 1765 purchased the remaining quarter of Broughton Shiels from John Porteous for £442 stg., with the right to ten soums on the common, the pasturage of a mare and foal, and a brood sow, and the right of digging and winning peats and turf. Two years later he took proceedings to have the teinds valued, and obtained in August, 1767, a decree of valuation against the Hon. Mrs. Clementina Fleming, wife of the Hon. Charles Elphinstone, and against Mr. Andrew Plummer, the minister of the parish, for his interest. The yearly value of the lands was fixed at 24 bolls of meal, 12 bolls of bear, and £465 15s. 11d and 1/3d stg., the fifth part whereof being the teind rental was 4 bells, 3 firlots and 4/5 pecks of meal, 2 bells, 1 firlot, 2 pecks bear, and £93 13s. 2d and 1/5d. stg. This decree shows how the lands were let and occupied at that time.
*These farms had formerly been let – the Upper Mains to David Tweedie for £50, and the Nether Mains to John Alexander, Robert Frizel and John Sanderson for £100. About 1760, John Murray took them into his own possession and divided the arable land with dykes and ditches; he also altered the course of Broughton burn to prevent the flooding of the meadows, and along with Mr. Dickson of Kilbucho made a new course for Biggar Water between the Dreva and Skirling marches. James Dickson considerably improved the property, and in 1768 he raised an action to determine the proper division of the lands of Burnetland, one-half of which belonged to him and the other half to Patrick Sibbald, wright in Edinburgh and his sister Jean, wife of Mr. James Lorimer, minister of Yarrow. Hitherto the arable lands had been tilled on the 'runrig' or 'rundale' system, and the pasture ground was used in common. The following witnesses were appointed for 'making trial of the quality of the ground': – Robert Welsh of Mossfennan; Alexander Welsh, tenant in Stanhope; Walter Simpson, tenant in Easter Dawyck; and William Laidlaw, tenant in Nether Horsburgh. Thereafter Alexander Murray of Cringletie, Sheriff-Depute, decreed that part on the east, extending to 63.22 acres, to belong to the Sibbalds, and the remainder, extending to 121.69 acres, to belong to James Dickson. This laird, according to Armstrong, was 'a gentleman whose memory must be ever dear to the sons of Tweed, and although no living monument has yet been raised to perpetuate his munificence and public spirit, he will always be remembered as the patron of every polite and liberal art. He died about 1772, in which year his nephew, Captain William Dickson, was served as his heir. In 1773 Broughton House, the old name of which was Littlehope, was burned through the negligence of one of the servants, and was not rebuilt. It stood a short distance further up the glen than the present farmhouse of Broughton Place, which was built from its ruins. The old avenue of trees is still there. Armstrong, who wrote in 1775, has little to tell us about the parish, save that it contained 4660 acres and 274 inhabitants, and that the village of Broughton was a 'regular and well-built hamlet . . . with a good public-house.' In 1774 Broughton was exposed by Captain Dickson to public sale within the Exchange Coffee House in Edinburgh, and purchased for £14,200 stg. by Robert McQueen, advocate. Robert McQueen of Braxfield, Lanarkshire, was a son of John McQueen, a cadet of the Corrybrough family, and his wife Helen a daughter of John Hamilton, of Gilkerscleugh. After a distinguished career at the Bar to which he was called in 1744 he accepted with reluctance a judgeship in 1774, and as Lord Braxfield dominated the bench with his rough caustic wit, his profound knowledge of law and his broad Scots tongue, till his death in 1799. That is all that need be said here, for his career is well known. Lord Cockburn sought to make his memory infamous by undeserved strictures on his behaviour as a judge; he has only succeeded in making it immortal, and the inspiration of Stevenson's wonderful unfinished story, Weir of Hermiston. During Lord Braxfield's ownership the first Statistical Account of the parish appeared in 1793, written by Mr. Thomas Gray, the minister. He tells us that the village had been rebuilt by the late James Dickson after the English fashion, and was 'remarked by passengers for its neatness'; that the population of the parish in 1755 was 367, and was then 264; that there were twenty dwelling-houses in the village, and twelve farmers in the parish, four weavers, one tailor, one smith, one miller, two shoemakers, and three shopkeepers. We are also informed that there are the remains of ten castles. 'In the under story they had a wooden door of uncommon thickness, full of iron spikes with broad heads, and a strong iron gate that opened in the inside: one of these doors and gates was preserved in the parish for a long time as a piece of antiquity, and has been seen by several now living.' |
And then he says that one of these castles was occupied by the great Macbeth, (which is nonsense), and that it is still called Macbeth's Castle. Of this castle, which stood above the village, there are now no ruins in existence. It may be that the name is a corruption of Malbeth, whose son Simon was Sheriff of Traquair in 1184 and if that were so, Macbeth may have been the owner of the lands before Ralf le Neym. Where the other castles or towers were is not specified. Blaeu's map shows four towers – at Broughton Shiels, Cloverhill, Littlehope, and Burnetland – and two others unnamed, one apparently Macbeth's Castle and the other below Cloverhill. Lord Braxfield purchased in 1783 for £525 the other half of Burnetland, and thereby became proprietor of the whole parish. He was twice married. By his first wife, Mary, a niece of Sir Andrew Agnew of Lochnaw, the last hereditary Sheriff of Galloway, he had two sons and two daughters; by his second marriage with Elizabeth, a daughter of Robert Ord, Lord Chief Baron of Exchequer, he had no children. In 1788 he entailed Broughton to his eldest son, Robert Dundas McQueen, and his heirs, whom failing to John McQueen, his second son, and his heirs, whom failing to his daughter Mary and her heirs, whom failing to his daughter Katherine. Under this destination Robert Dundas McQueen succeeded in 1799. He was bred to the Bar, but never practised; he married Lady Lilias Montgomerie, daughter of the twelfth Earl of Eglinton, and died without issue on 5th August, 1816. In 1803 proceedings were taken to have the teinds of Burnetland valued. The previous valuation in 1767 did not apply to the whole of the lands, as James Dickson at that time was only owner of one half. The action was laid against the titulars of the teinds, John, Lord Elphinstone, and his brother, Charles Elphinstone Fleming, and also against Mr. Thomas Gray, the minister of the parish. On the depositions of James Wilson, tenant in Burnetland, and Robert Linton, tenant in Stirkfield, who was the baron baillie on the Broughton estate, the rent of Burnetland was declared to be £20 and three bolls of oatmeal, one-fifth of which for teind was £4, and two firlots, one peck, two and one-fifth lippies of oatmeal. The second Statistical Account, which dealt with the combined parish, was compiled by the Rev. Hamilton Paul in 1834. The information he gives specially applicable to Broughton may be shortly stated. There were 100 inhabitants in the village, and they had varied very little in number for the last fifty years. The fair was still held on 3rd October. Formerly a cattle market and distinguished by horse and foot races, the fair was then principally used for the purpose of hiring servants, paying accounts, and fixing the prices of butter and cheese: the stalls were erected in the village street. There was then an inn in the village, and had been for many years. It was 'a cornmodious house, with a court of offices in good repair,' and formed a convenient stage between Edinburgh and Moffat. The village had also a small alehouse. The mail coach from Edinburgh passed through the village at one o'clock in the morning, and the coach from Moffat about midday. The population of Broughton was then about 300. Robert Dundas McQueen was succeeded by his brother John, who was a Captain in the 18th Regiment of Foot. He was twice married – to Anne, daughter of Thomas Macan of Cariff (Armagh), and to Margaret Wilson – and died in 1837, succeeded by Robert, his eldest son by his first wife. Robert McQueen, who was born in 1789, was a Captain in the 25th Light Dragoons. In 1819 he married Zepherina, daughter of Henry Veitch of Elliock: she died in 1863, and the following year he married Elizabeth Anne, daughter of Hugh Veitch of Stewartfield, and widow of George Ogilvie, M. P. He died without issue on 3rd February, 1867, succeeded by his nephew, Arthur James McQueen, son of his brother, Thomas Richard McQueen. Arthur James McQueen died without issue in 1879 in his 44th year, and was succeeded by his sister, Charlotte Anne, who married in 1872 Alexander Brodie Mackintosh. She also died childless in 1885, and her cousin, John Rainier McQueen, inherited. John Rainier McQueen was a son of General James McQueen (a younger brother of the above-mentioned Robert and Thomas Richard McQueen), who married Elizabeth, daughter of Admiral Rainier of Chailey House, Sussex, and died in India in 1883. He likewise died without issue in 1912, and with him the male line from Lord Braxfield came to an end. Under the entail the lands passed to Elizabeth Wester Georgina Marie Ord Bearcroft, wife of Robert Charles Dighton Wilson, late Captain 60th Rifle Regiment, of Redbrooke Lodge, Whitchurch, Shropshire. Mrs. Wilson, who was the great-granddaughter of Mary McQueen, who married Sir William Honeyman of Graemsay, a Lord of Session, assumed the name of McQueen, and in 1913 disentailed the lands. THE PRESENT PROPRIETORS In 1921 and 1922 the whole of the Broughton lands were sold, the farms being purchased by the tenants. The houses in the village were also sold. The proprietors of the various lands and farms now are: Stirkfield and Broughton Shiels (rent £280 2s. 7d.), George Deans Ritchie, Chapelgill. Broughton Knowe (£139 11s. 7d.), the same. Cloverhill and Kirkbank (£230 3s. 4d.), Alexander C. Gairns, farmer Broughton Place (£215 19s. 7d.), John Tudhope, farmer, and his son Daniel Tudhope solicitor. Broughton Green and Ratchill (£200 10s. 2d.), John, James and Ebenezer B. Masterton, farmers. Burnetland and West farm (£181 6s. 6d.), the same. Corstane and Bridge farm, John L. Dickson, farmer. Langlawhill (£75), Thomas Baxter, farmer. To-day the population of the village is only between thirty and forty. The mill on the banks of the burn has been disused for the past thirty years, and is falling into ruins. There is no inn now. It was given up sixty years ago, and the annual fair was a thing of the past by the middle of last century. There is still a shop, but there are no weavers, shoemaker or tailor in the village now, and the smithy is gone. In its place are two well-built and well designed dwelling-houses of the modern type. The old footbridge across the burn has been recently replaced by a substantial stone bridge. Many of the houses have been repaired, and the village now is a comfortable, beautiful little place, and still has its old-world air. LANGLAWHILL (PART of BARONY Of BROUGHTON) Langlawhill, a 40s. land, is a high-lying farm in the parish adjoining the drove road between Broughton and Skirling, and was in early times held in feu from the Mowats as proprietors of half of the barony. The earliest recorded sub vassal is John Inglis, who in 1482 and 1484 was a witness to charters at Edinburgh and Dalkeith, and his descendants held the lands for many years. William Inglis is referred to in 1506–7 in the charter to Alexander Mowat. In 1556 William Inglis, son and heir of John Inglis, who died in 1548, was infeft in the lands on a Crown precept. In the following year, under the designation 'of Hangitshaw' he granted Langlawhill in liferent to his promised wife, Agnes Hoppringle, the charter being dated at Galashiels. At this time the tenants of the lands were Matthew and William Hunter, one or other of whom was the proprietor of the adjoining property of Duddingflat. At the weaponshaw in 1627 the 'Laird of Lanlawhill' was present, 'weil horsit, with three horsemen with swords and lances.' His name is not given, but he had a brother, William Inglis, who is referred to in that year as a witness to a deed. In 1633 Alexander Wright merchant burgess of Edinburgh, apprised Hangingshaw (Selkirkshire) from Adam and Malcolm Inglis of Langlawhill. Adam was the grandfather of Malcolm, and on his death Malcolm was served as his heir in 1636. Two years afterwards (1638) Langlawhill was apprised from Malcolm Inglis, and passed to Michael Scott in Stanhope, who assigned his rights to Matthew Brisbane, (writer) Edinburgh. He resigned the property, which was held blench for payment of 1d., to Sir David Murray. KIRKLANDS OF BROUGHTON SHIELS Broughton Shiels lies between Stirkfield and Cloverhill, and represents the half ploughgate granted by Ralf le Neym, which was held as part of the vicarage of Stobo for behoof of the chapel of Broughton. It was not part of the barony, but it carried pasturage rights in the common, the site of which was either in the vicinity of Cloverhill or along the drove road above the village. This church property was feued out at the time of the Reformation in four portions (lying runrig) to Ninian Elphinstone, William Ramage, John Jamieson and John Paterson. The grant to Elphinstone is not on record, but the other three took infeftment – on 30th June, 1560, and to this Elphinstone was a witness. The charters were granted on 28th February, 1559–60, by Sir Ninian Douglas, vicar of Stobo, with consent of James, Archbishop of Glasgow, and also of Robert Douglas, the vicars successor; and the feu-duty was 35s. for each fourth, or intended to be, for the same figure does not appear in the deeds of transmission. To these charters the Archbishop's signature was not obtained at the time, and on 1st November, 1561, Sir Ninian promised to obtain that signature within a hundred days after the Archbishop's return from abroad. Two years later he acknowledged receipt of £20 of feu-duty from these three feuars. ELPHINSTONE'S ONE-FOURTH AND RAMAGE'S ONE-FOURTH Elphinstone's one-fourth became the property of John Tweedie, tutor of Drumelzier, who had a charter in 1580 of the vicarage lands of Stobo (Including one-fourth of Broughton Shiels occupied by Elphinstone), with eight soums of sheep, but reserving to the readers or exhorters in the churches four acres from each church land and one acre of Broughton Shiels. The feu-duty of this fourth part was 18s. 8d Ramage's one-fourth was conveyed to his brother Robert in 1576, the witnesses to the deed being John and Adam Haldane and Robert Paterson, all in Broughton Shiels, and John Paterson, portioner there. Later it was acquired by John Tweedie, but the link has not been traced. These two-fourths passed from John Tweedie to his daughter Marion, who had a Crown charter in 1606, in which the feu-duties are given more fully – for one-fourth 37s. 4d., with two carriages to the Quarter Chapel, and for the other, 18s. 8d., with three carriages. Marion, with consent of her husband, James Law, writer, Edinburgh, conveyed these shares in 1631 to Gilbert Clark in Skirling and his wife Margaret Brown, from whom they passed to their son William in 1637. He resigned them to Sir David Murray. JAMIESON'S ONE FOURTH John Jamieson was succeeded by his son William who was infeft in 1618 on a precept of clare constat from Mr. Alexander Greig, minister of Drumelzier. After that it became the Property of John Haldane and passed with his share of the barony to Sir David Murray of Stanhope in 1636. PATERSON'S ONE-FOURTH John Paterson had a son, William who was infeft as heir in 1581 on a precept from Robert Douglas, vicar of Stobo. In 1595, along with his mother, Helen Hunter, he granted a liferent of one-third of his fourth to his promised wife, Janet Penman, daughter of John Penman at Kiln of Edmestoun. Of this marriage with Janet Penman there were one son, John, and two daughters, Elizabeth and Agnes. The son, John, was present at the weaponshaw in 1627, well horsed, with lance and sword. He was succeeded prior to 1650 by his two sisters. Agnes was then the widow of John Mossman in Baitlaw, and she on 25th February 1650, conveyed her share to her sister Elizabeth, who in 1629 had married Andrew Porteous, son of the deceased John Porteous in Townhead of Skirling, Elizabeth was succeeded by her nephew, John Porteous who had sasine in 1669 on a charter from Mr. Richard Brown, minister of Drumelzier and vicar of Stobo. From him the property passed through his son Andrew to the latter's son John Porteous, who had a precept of clare constat in 1756 from Mr. William Wallace, minister of Drumelzier and vicar of Stobo. In 1765 John Porteous sold his share to James Dickson of Broughton for £442. STIRKFIELD The lands of Over and Nether Stirkfield may originally have been part of the barony, but they became a separate property held direct of the Crown. The earliest recorded proprietors of this property – a £5 land – were the Elphinstones, who were probably related to the Elphinstones of Henderstoun in the parish of Peebles. John Elphinstone, son and heir of John Elphinstone of Stirkfield, had a charter from King James IV. on 5th April, 1510, of half of Glensax. William Elphinstone, burgess of Edinburgh, who may have been a son, sold Stirkfield in 1523 (charter dated 30th August) to Robert Lindsay, burgess of Edinburgh, and his wife, Margaret Law. On the death of Robert Lindsay, Malcolm, Lord Fleming, on 9th January, 1532–3, had a gift under the Privy Seal of the ward of Stirkfield and the marriage of James Lindsay, the son and heir. James Lindsay died without being infeft in the property, and was succeeded by his brother William, who had sasine on 28th October, 1551, as heir of his father, and the same day he gave sasine therein with his own hands to John Hamilton, macer, the ancestor of the Hamiltons of Coldcoat. This was followed by a charter to John Hamilton dated 3rd November and a Crown confirmation on 18th November, 1551. Hamilton may have reconveyed the property to Lindsay, or he may only have held it in security of debt, for on 30th October, 1564, there is a Crown grant, proceeding on Lindsay's resignation, to Michael Naesmyth of Posso and Elizabeth Baird, his wife. Their son Thomas succeeded, and in 1582 acquired Nether Stirkfield – a merk land, part of the vicarage lands of Stobo – by feu charter from Robert Douglas, the vicar. Nether Stirkfield, which at that time was occupied by James Haldane, carried with it twelve soums of cattle and the pasturage of one swine, one horse, one steid-meir and one brod-guis. The feu-duty was two merks, with 2s. of augmentation. In 1588 it became the property of John Tweedie tutor of Drumelzier, who already owned part of the adjoining property of Broughton Shiels; and there arose a feud with the Naesmyths, who alleged that the house of Stirkfield had been 'douncast' by the Tweedies. From John Tweedie Nether Stirkfield passed to his son William on 30th May, 1589 and his daughter Marion (William's sister) was confirmed in it in 1606. After that Nether Stirkfield was reacquired by the Naesmyths, and along with Stirkfield joined to the barony of Posso in 1618. The property was apprised in 1654–5 from Sir Michael Naesmyth by Mr. Robert Burnet of Crimond, who conveyed it to James Naesmyth, Sir Michael's son. It was disjoined from Posso in 1664, and transferred to Sir William Murray of Stanhope. BURNETLAND (PART of BARONY of BROUGHTON) This was a £4 10s. land (260 acres), and lay to the west of the village of Broughton and alongside Biggar Water. There is no doubt that it was the earliest known possession of the family of Burnet of Burnetland, afterwards of Barns, a detailed account of which is given in the chapter on the parish of Manor. In the Roll of Battle Abbey there appears among the followers of the Conqueror the name de Barneville or Burneville, and it is supposed that he is the ancestor of the family, but of this there is no evidence. The earliest record of the name in Scotland is the charter of foundation of the Abbey of Selkirk by Earl David, afterwards King David I, to which with others Robertus de Burnetvilla, miles, is a witness. This charter was granted prior to 1128. The same name, but spelt Burneville, according to the Norman-French of the time, appears among the list of hostages sent into England for the ransom of King William the Lion, who was captured at the battle of Alnwick in 1174. Nisbet in his Heraldry accepts the two names as of the same family. For almost two centuries there is no further trace, and then on 24th May, 1367, in the reign of King Robert II., Robert de Burneville and his son Robert appear as witnesses to a charter by Patrick de Dunbar, first Earl of March, to the monastery of Coldingham; and in 1390 Rodbertus or Robertus de Burneville is a witness to a charter on 5th April by King Robert III. confirming a previous charter by King David I. to the monastery of Holyrood. After that there is no further record of the family of de Burneville, and it is not till 1476 that we come on the first authentic ancestor of the Burnets – John Burnet of that Ilk. It is not unlikely that John Burnet was kin to the de Burnevilles, Nisbet and other genealogists thought he was, although, apart from the similarity of the name, there does not appear to be anything in the nature of satisfactory evidence. But there is nothing whatever to show that any de Burnetvilla or de Burneville ever held the lands of Burnet-land in Broughton. Their territorial designation, which prior to the fifteenth century took the place of a surname, goes back to the beginning of the twelfth century – earlier if we accept the entry in the Roll of Battle Abbey – and was evidently taken from lands which the family had originally held in Normandy. Certainly the designation was not derived from Burnetland, for it was part of the barony of Broughton, and the proprietor was a vassal of the holder of the barony, and the barony itself was not in existence till the fourteenth century. It is of course, possible that a de Burnetvilla purchased the lands from the Haldanes or the Mowats and gave his own designation to them. But it is not likely, and, apart from there being no records to indicate such a transaction, there is a significant fact which practically destroys that theory. All the de Burnetvillas or de Burnevilles that we know of had Robert for their Christian name. The first Burnet of Burnetland was called John. More than that none of the subsequent proprietors of Burnetland and Barns was called Robert. The prevailing Christian names are John and James, and we do not meet a Robert Burnet – he was, a younger, son of the 'Hoolet' – till the latter part of the seventeenth century. Accordingly, it may be assumed that John Burnet referred to in 1476 (or his, father) was the first owner of Burnetland, and that he gave his name to it. The Christian name of John Burnet's father – he died before 1470 – is not known, but he married Marion Caverhill, and through that marriage the family acquired the lands of Barns in Manor from which afterwards they took their designation. John Burnet was a witness in 1476 to the fixing of the boundaries of Kailzie, and in 1479 was on a jury at Peebles for the service of heirs. In 1484 he was on the inquisition at Peebles which found that the burgh was entitled to the pasturage of Cademuir. About 1493 he was on the jury for the service of Thomas Lowis in Harcus. Further particulars of him are given elsewhere. He was twice married, and died in 1502, succeeded by his son William. At his death he was proprietor of only one-half of Burnetland, but when the other half had been disposed of there is no record to show. From his half, his widow claimed her terce, to which she was 'kenned' on 15th February, 1502–3. William Burnet was a minor when he succeeded his father, and particulars of him will be found elsewhere. He took the designation 'of Barns,' but he had also his father's share of Burnetland, and it is evidently he who is referred to in a memorial prepared about 1652, a fragment of which is among the Barns Papers as having fought at the battle of Pinkie in 1547 and been wounded. He died in 1564, and as Burnetland does not afterwards appear as a possession of the Burnet family, it may be assumed that he sold it before his death. The two halves of Burnetland, although referred to in the titles as such, were not equal. One was a 50s. land (156 acres), and the other a 40s. (104 acres). It was probably the former which William Burnet sold. (a) The 50s Land The Lowises of Manor were neighbours of the Burnets of Barns, and it may be that it was a member of that family who acquired William Burnet's share, for we find that Margaret Lowis was the proprietor prior to 1557, in which year (13th July) Andrew Forsyth was infeft therein as her son and heir on a charter from the superior, John Haldane of that Ilk. This Andrew was also in Glencotho, and the property passed from him to his son John, a writer, and his wife, Margaret Cant, who had a charter (14th December, 1575) from John Haldane, on which they were, infeft on 17th February, 1575–6, by William Tweedie of Wrae, acting as Haldane's bailie. In 1592 the proprietor was Andrew Forsyth, a brother of John, and he sold the property in that year (25th June) to William Tweedie of Wrae. The Tweedies of Wrae are referred to on another page. William Tweedie was succeeded by his son William, who was served heir in 1618, and he in turn was succeeded by his son, also William, who was served heir in 1641. It was doubtless from this last-named William Tweedie that William Murray purchased the property. (b) THE 40s. Land John Weir was tenant of this part in 1558. His daughter Agnes, married in 1573 John Ferguson in Netherurd, with a tocher of £100. William Weir, who may have been a son, was proprietor of the property in 1588, and is referred to as such in the proceedings for the service of Brown of Hartree. In 1595 he was a witness to the sasine of George Haldane of that Ilk in one-half of the barony of Broughton. William Weir (probably a son) was proprietor in 1618, and his brother Ninian was killed by James Tweedie, son of Mr. John Tweedie of Winkston. For this crime Tweedie received a remission for life on 3rd December, 1618. William Weir is referred to in the Burgh Court Books in 1620, 1631 and 1636. On the last occasion he was ordained to produce his wife and son before the Sheriff for the wounding of William Graham in Whitslade. When he died the family apparently left Burnetland, and it was let to Adam Storie and afterwards to William Cockburn. James Weir, who may have been a son of William, was proprietor in 1657. He was a baker and burgess of the Canongate, and in that year he resigned the lands, with the tower, to himself and his wife, Jean Gib. They were survived by two daughters – Helen, who married William Ross, merchant burgess of Edinburgh, and Marion, who married Alexander Schead or Shed, indweller in Leith. Helen sold her share to Shed on 17th August, 1677. He fell in debt to Mr. John Sibbald, writer in Edinburgh, factor to Lord Northesk, and with consent of his son John, disponed the property to him on 21st February, 1680, under reservation of the liferent of Jean Gib. This was fortified by a conveyance from Helen Weir. From Sibbald the property passed in 1686 to his wife, Jean Johnston, and their son John, who was also a writer in Edinburgh. In 1729 he made over Burnetland to his second son, John, also a writer, reserving the liferents of himself and his wife, Agnes Gairdine. This John had an elder brother, Patrick, a wright in Edinburgh, and a sister, Jean, who in 1750 was the wife of Mr. Stephen Paton, minister of Newlands, and after his death married Mr. James Lorimer, minister of Yarrow, and laird of Craigieburn, whom also she survived. To her, John was under obligation by his father's settlement in 1739 to pay 2000 merks, and as it had not been paid and he was on the eve of going abroad, he disponed the lands to her on 9th February, 1750, under burden of payment of £100 stg. to his brother Patrick. In 1768 she appeared along with Patrick in the action brought by James Dickson to divide the commonty of Burnetland, and in 1779 she transferred the lands to Patrick's four daughters – Agnes (who married John Grindlay, Tanner at the West Port of Edinburgh); Jean; Janet (who married John Richie, slater, Edinburgh) and Elizabeth. From them Lord Braxfield purchased the property for £525. Reproduced from 'A History of Peeblesshire' by JW Buchan and Rev H Paton, 1925–27, Jackson, Wylie and Co of Glasgow |
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