How to build a royal burgh

How to build a royal burgh

A talk by Dr John Barrett on 5th November 2024

John Barrett gave a characteristically detailed, informative and entertaining account of the creation and evolution of the burgh of Elgin.

2024 is a year of anniversaries, not just the 800th anniversary of Elgin Cathedral, but also the 900th anniversary of the accession of King David I of Scotland, who founded burghs throughout the north east of Scotland. By 1150 there were seven burghs in Moray. The evidence for these early burghs is drawn from both archaeology, especially recent excavations in Cromarty, and from archives. There are no founding charters for any of the Moray burghs; the earliest for Elgin dates from 1234 in the reign of Alexander III.

Burghs were created to promote trade and commerce and make money: in this David was following a pattern already executed in England. Moray was a large and prosperous area, extending as far as Loch Linnhe in the west. There were seven burghs – Nairn, Forres, Elgin, Cullen, Banff, Cromarty and Inverness. There were castles in each burgh and on all the major passes through the hills. The castle, the seat of the sheriff was always outside the burgh and usually in an elevated site, e.g. Forres, Elgin, and Inverness. The town plan was repeated in all the burghs – a straight high street, with identical plots at right angles to the street, and beyond these plots there was arable land. The High Street was where all trade was conducted, so was not a thoroughfare but a market, and therefore very wide. Entrance to the towns was by a port or gate and along a holloway. Each burgh had a church, also elevated, and often dedicated to continental saints, such as St Lawrence and St Giles. In Elgin there were priories – Greyfriars and Blackfriars – and the Cathedral beyond the boundary of the medieval burgh. And in the surrounding countryside there were three major monasteries – Urquhart, Kinloss, and Pluscarden.

John’s talk was illustrated by maps, photos of archaeological discoveries and pictures of existing buildings in Elgin and elsewhere.

Many thanks to John Barrett and Christine Clerk for revealing the history of Moray’s principal town

Sara Marsh

28/11/24

Posted in Indoor Meeting.