THE ROYAL BURGH

Kirkcudbright's ancient privileges

THE APPROACHES TO many smart little towns in south-west Scotland are graced by roadside signs proudly proclaiming the community's status as a Royal Burgh. In Scotland as a whole, between sixty and seventy villages and townships won from the Crown in the 17th century the privilege of this classification. In a number of case this was due less to an acknowledgement of the community's needs than to royal calculations for buying local loyalty – especially in the case of Charles I, who handed out such rights in the way he handed out promises to the Covenanters, with little intention of keeping them. Once conferred however, it was difficult for anyone to withdraw the franchises of the Royal Burghs.

The main right was that of trading abroad and importing goods such as timber, iron and wine. Lesser powers were conferred on the Burghs of Barony, whose feudal lords had won concessions over certain aspects of inland trade and, if they were very powerful or had made their own sorts of promises to the Crown, a limited range of specific exports.

Kirkcudbright was already important as a centre of local government in the 12th century, under the sway of the then Lords of Galloway. After a spell of domination by the quarrelsome Douglasses, it was forfeited to the Crown in 1455, and immediately received its royal charter from James II. This gave it for centuries a customs monopoly over all vessels trading in the Solway, though it had to fight hard against "unfree" trade within its liberties. (Some might say that, rather than unfree, the competitive trade was much too free.) In 1629 there was a particularly indignant campaign against a proposal to expand the unauthorised market of St John's Clachan of Dalry into a Royal Burgh with its own independent rights.

By the early 18th century, however, Kirkcudbright seems to have declined, if the report of Daniel Defoe is anything to go by. Referring to it as Kirkubright, "or, as vulgarly called Kirkubry", he went on to praise its pleasant situation, but lamented:

Here is a harbour without ships, a port without a trade, a fishery without nets, a people without business… it is to me the wonder of North-Britain; especially, being so near England, that it has all the invitations to trade that Nature can give them, but they take no notice of it.

Nevertheless, upon leaving, he did express the belief that the town's setting and natural advantages were such that sooner or later someone must surely wake up to the possibilities of business and commerce. One wonders how he would view its attractions if he were allowed a return visit today, even if only as an inquisitive ghost

One possibility of industrial expansion was fought off by Kirkcudbright worthies in the late 18th century. A Yorkshire firm wanted to build a textile mill near the town, but were frustrated and turned to nearby Gatehouse-of-Fleet, where James Murray was bent on founding a small industrial town.

John Burke

From The Kirkcudbright & District Holiday Guide
reproduced by permission