peck, it is proposed, shall in future be sold by weight only, and weighs a firlot, or 32 pecks meal weight, or nearly 35 libs. English. "The Aberdeen pint contains about part of a gill more than the Stirling jug, or standard Scots pint. These are the old measures of Aberdeen, and it is not proposed to alter any of the above. "But as selling malt and sids by the heap of the meal peck is attended with many inconveniences, and is expressly forbidden by many acts of parliament, a new measure has been made, to ascertain what is called a heaped peck of malt or sids; and this measure is found to be exactly half an English bushel; 16 of these measures make an English quarter, and 12 of them make a standard Scots boll of oats or barley. But it is proposed, that, in future, both malt and sids shall be sold by weight, or 12 libs. meal weight, to the peck. "The Aberdeen boll of coals is 36 stone, Amsterdam weight, or 9 stone for the firlot. "The Aberdeen boll of lime or of lintseed is equal to 64 English bushels; and the chalder is equal to 100 bushels Winchester, or English standard measure." ANNALS ANNALS OF ABERDEEN. BOOK V. CHAPTER I. Of the City of Old Aberdeen-its rise and progress-Constitution, and Magistrates-Trades-Charitable Institutions—Ancient Hospital of Saint Peter-Bishop's Hospital-Mitchell's Hospital. THE city of Old Aberdeen, which was, in former times, the episcopal see, is now only celebrated for its college and university. In tracing the origin and progress of this place, we find, that, at the time when the seat of the bishop was removed from Mortlach to Aberdeen, about the year 1136, the hamlet which is now known as Old Aberdeen, was part of the patrimony of the church, and distinguished by the name of Kirktown of Seaton.* It consisted of a few cottages only, * An original cartulary of the cathedral church of Aberdeen is still preserved in the library of King's college, and consists of eighty six leaves of parchment. It commences with a catalogue of the books, and inventories of writs, and of the vestments, jewels, and ornaments, belonging to the church, and is entitled, "Inventarium seu Registrum Thesaurarie ecclesie Abirdonen q fieri fecit venerabilis vir Magister Henricus de Rynde ejusdem ecclesie Thesaurarius ac reverendi in Cristo patris domini Henrici de Lichton utriusq, juris legum doctoris ejusdem ecclesie tunc temporis episcopi hujus que presentis ecclesie constructoris nepos, anno domini 1430." It ends about the year only, having four ploughs of land annexed to it, with a church dedicated to Saint Macarius, or Saint Machar.* At that time it undoubtedly was the most eligible situation for an episcopal see, being almost in the close vicinity of the ancient royal borough of Aberdon,‡ in the parish of Saint Nicholas, of which the bishop was parson, and titular of the tythes, both parsonage and vicarage.§ Besides, it was in a fertile and comparatively populous part of the diocese, where the salmon fishings and other patrimony of the church lay, and possessed many other local advantages. Accordingly, it was appropriated to the college of canons for their residence, and the prebendaries and other members of the cathedral erected buildings upon it for their accommodation, under the authority of the institutions established by Bishop Ramsay in the year 1256. || Those, with the adjacent grounds, were afterwards distinguished by the appellation of the Chanonrie of Aberdon. In the latter end of the thirteenth century, the ancient church was demolished by Bishop Cheyne, with a design of rebuilding it; but the civil war having commenced, in consequence of the famous controversy 1520. In that cartulary we find that the dean of the cathedral was rector of kirktown of Seaton, which was assigned to him in the original institutions of the church, in the year 1256. There are two MSS. in the Advocates' Library, said to be copies of the cartulary of this church; but they are evidently compilations of the sixteenth century, about the time of the Reformation, and differ essen. tially from the original one, just now mentioned; one of those cartularies is, to appearance, almost all of the same hand writing. *In the early ages of Christianity, Macarius, according to tradition, was one of those holy pastors who made progresses through the country, instructing the people in the principles of the Christian faith, before its votaries had yet been formed into a regular church. He flourished in the end of the ninth century, and founded a chapel at Seaton.† Being, after his death, canonized, it was dedicated to his name. On the site of this chapel, Bishop Mathew Kyninmunde, in the end of the twelfth century, founded a church, which was also dedicated to that Saint. Principal Boece, in his Lives of the Bishops of Aberdeen, says, "Auitisq, donis ecclesiæ Aberdoneñ sua authoritate denuo firmatis imortali Deo diuæ Virgini Marie diuo Machorio, in quorum honore templu tunc condere est cæptu," &c.—[Fol. iv. line 11.] † MSS, penes me. Vol. i. Charters in note, p. 8, 9. § Cartulary, fol. xxxiv. line 48. fol. xlii. line 6. controversy concerning the independence of Scotland, he became a zealous partisan of King John Baliol, and was ultimately obliged to go into exile.* The rebuilding of the church,† which remained for many years in a neglected state, was consequently abandoned. After the English had been driven out of the kingdom, and tranquillity had been restored to the nation, King Robert Bruce replaced the bishop in his former situation. At the same time, he ordered the church to be rebuilt, and the expense to be defrayed from the revenues of the see.† Although the episcopal seat had, for many years, been removed from Mortlach to Aberdeen, the bishop continued to reside occasionally at the former place, and frequently dwelt at Fetternier and Rain, at both which places he had mansions. Bishop Alexander Kyninmunde having succeeded to the episcopal see, on the death of Bishop Cheyne, erected within the precincts of the chanonrie an edifice for his own accommodation, that he might be enabled to discharge the duties of his sacred office in every part of his extensive diocese; but this building, which was dignified with the title of his раlace, § did not long remain in an entire state. In a few years after it had been completed, hostilities betwixt Scotland and England commenced, in the early part of the reign of David II.; and in the course of a protracted and destructive contest, inflamed by national antipathy, * " Vetus templum Aberdoneñ demolitus novum edificare incepit. Vix iam fundamenta iecerat quum bellico tumultu oborto, obturbatus incæpto destitit,"-[Boecius ut supra, fol. vi. line 5.] + « Robertus pacatis tandē rebus, Anglisq e Scotia pulsis, et in Angliam repulsis, inter lustrādū patria templi ædificiu Aberdoniæ Henrici opera incæptu forte cospicatus jussit pontificis impēsis (ne in prophanos usus ecclesiæ redditus expēderent) choru cosummari."-[Boecius ut supra, fol. vi. line 39.1.. Boecius ut supra, fol. vi. line 57.-Spottiswood, p. § Boecius ut supra, fol. vi. line 63. 102. In the History of Old Aberdeen, written by Orem about the year 1724, he mentions, that, before the erection of the chanonrie, the bishop had a lodging in Lochgoule, on, the west side of the city; that it consisted of a large hall, which stood east and west, and other apartments, with an oratory at a little distance, to which there was access by a draw-bridge; and that, in his time, vestiges of these buildings were to be observed. antipathy, the English, according to the usual system of warfare in that uncivilized age, set fire to the borough of Aberdeen; and also to the bishop's palace and canons' lodgings, which were totally destroyed. * This happened in the year 1336. After that disaster, it would seem that the palace had remained in a ruinous and neglected state till about the year 1459, when Bishop Thomas Spens having succeeded to the see, rebuilt it;† and from that period it appears that the prelate had established a permanent residence at the city of Old Aberdeen. In the first part of our work we have had occasion to notice several of these circumstances which have been just mentioned, and to remark, that the borough of Aberdeen soon recovered from the effects of the severe disaster which had befallen it; and that the citizens, by the aid afforded them by King David, were enabled to rebuild the town. Hence it derived, according to tradition, the name of New Aberdeen, which it retained for many ages after: and that the place where the episcopal see was established might be distinguished from the borough, it obtained the title of the city of Old Aberdeen, by which it thenceforward became known. During the remainder of the reign of King David, he occasionally resided in New Aberdeen, and made several grants to the cathedral church. It is not improbable that he conferred privileges upon the * Boecius, in his Lives of the Bishops, mentions the destruction of the royal borough of Aberdeen, and the burning of the bishop's palace and of the canons' lodgings, in the following words:"Per id tēpus triginta naues anglicane in statione portui Aberdoneō proxima noctu iecere anchoras, unde expositæ copiæ in terra pene Aberdonia prius sunt ingressæ q, ciues eas aduenisse senserüt. Sequutus pauor ingens terrorą, omniū ut hominū mulierum atq, pueroru fugientiū turmis passim viæ copleretur. Angli accepta clade (cuius ante meminimus) apud Aberdonia ira perciti coplures Aberdonensiū trucidāt; urbē simul atq, pontificis et canonicorz edes omni supellectili populatus incēdūt. Arsit Aberdonia, sex dies lugubre intuētibus spectaculū."-[Fol. vii. line 4.]—From these circumstances it is obvious, that if there had been, at that time, any buildings in the place where Old Aberdeen is now situated, these would not have been spared by the enemy, after they had destroyed the lodgings of these holy men; nor would the learned author have neglected to mention it. + « Pōtificias ædes de integro ædificauit cum turribus et propugnaculis veteribus demolitis.”— [Boetius ut supra, fol. xvii. line 1.] Cartulary, fol. xl. xlvi. xlviii. xlix. li. |