Avoch
| Name | Value | Date | Grid Ref | Map Sources | Other forms, comments etc |
| Avoch | 1 davach | 1549 | NH 6955/7055 | Blaeu(Moray) | GD46/18/30 ¾ of Awache = 6 oxgates. Ex bishopric. RSS VIII (59) 1580-1. RS36/2/99v 1606. RS36/2/294r 1607. ¼ in RS37/7/113r & 113v 1651. 6½ oxgates of Kirklands of Avoch in 1607 (GD46/21/2). ¼ Avach called ‘the Middle’ in GD1/400/2/3 Section I pp 26-27, 1671. |
| Knockmuir | NH 7055 | See below. | |||
| Casteltoun | 1 davach | 1504 | NH 6953 | ER rental evidence suggests 1 davach from 1456. Retours (Ross) (26) 1607, (135) 1677 & RS38/2/134r 1663 refer to the Chappell-croft of Casteltoun. (As with Redcastle this was presumably for the castle chaplain). Over & Nether + fisher crofts in RS38/2/134r 1663. | |
| Petconachy
= Rosehaugh (PNRC 132). |
1 davach | 1504 | NH 6855 | Evidence suggests 1 davach from 1456. Petconachy also had a croft, three alehouses and a mill. One croft went with an alehouse (ER XVII p 679 1539) but ER XXI 1588 also mentions the ‘smiddiecroft’. | |
| (Mains of) Bennetsfield | (½ davach) | 1539 | NH 6753 | 7½m rental 1456-1504 so possibly ¾ davach but bondage silver in 1539, 1574-5, 1586 & 1588 suggests ½ davach | |
| Arkendeith | (½ davach) | 1578 | NH 6956 | Blaeu(Moray)
Roy(FC) |
Ex bishopric but see below and also under Muiralehouse.
½ davach in GD1/400/2/3 Section I pp 26-27, 1671. Possibly 1 davach in total? |
| Muiralehouse | ½ davach | 1566 | NH 6855/6955 | See below and also under Arkendeith. Ex Kinloss. | |
| Killen | ½ davach | 1621 | NH 6757/6758 | Blaeu(Moray) | Retours (Ross) 60 of 1621 specifically says ½ davach. Evidence suggests ¼ davach 1456-1504, 1539, 1574-5 & 1588. Ex Earldom. See below. |
| Petfure | (½ davach) | 1539 | Rentals suggest low valuation – perhaps ¼ but bondage silver in 1539, 1574-5, 1586, 1587 & 1588 suggests ½ davach. | ||
| Auchterflow
Easter Wester E. Strath of Auchterflow W. Strath of Auchterflow |
2 davachs | 1504 |
NH 6657 NH6556/6557 NH 6758 NH 6658 |
I assume the original 2 davach farm was later divided into Auchterflow and Strath of Auchterflow – each worth a davach.
2 davachs in GD1/400/2/3 Section I pp 26-27, 1671. |
|
| Chaplainry of Ormondhill | See below. | ||||
| Total | 7½ davachs | Possibly 8 davachs? |
Knockmuir
It is difficult to know if Knockmuir had a separate valuation to Avoch. Avoch itself seems to have been a davach. GD86/1002/2 refers to the davoch lands of Avoch & Knockmuir called Wester Farnese. This is a late and ambiguous reference. Avoch & Knockmuir are some distance from Farnes and I do not know if there was once another Farnes by Avoch. Retours (Ross) 140 of 1681 refers to part of Knockmuir.
Arkendeith
RMS V (979) 1586 (on original of 1578) suggests it may have included Templand (NH 6957) & Bog of Shannon (NH 6857). Reddendo suggests ½ davach, as does Reddendo in RMS VII (1094) 1614 (original 1609). This was bishopric land.
RMS VI (1138) 1601, Retours (Ross) (32) 1611, (47) 1617, (95) 1646 and (131) 1673 link Arkendeith with Muiralehouse as properties which belonged to the monastery of Kinloss. I have difficulty explaining this. There seems to have been a ½ davach of Arkendeith which belonged to the bishop and a ½ davach of Muiralehouse (see below) which belonged to Kinloss. However Kinloss may also have owned some of Arkendeith which raises the possibility that Arkendeith was originally a davach with half passing down to the bishop, half to Kinloss. Or the documents may just be misleading.
Muiralehouse
RMS IV (1915) 1569-70 on original of 31/7/1566 refers to 4 bovates (=½ davach) of Muralhous. (Also RMS IV (1968) & RMS VI (824)). Ex Kinloss Abbey
Killen
Retours (Ross) (86) refers to a bovate in 1637. OPS II, II pp 546-7 refers to an oxgang called Easter Killeane in 1676. Easter Killen is marked on OS 6″ 1st Series Ross-shire (Mainland) Sheet XC 1871-2). Kyllayn & Pethfouyr are linked in a mid-fourteenth century document (Family of Kilravock pp 116-117).
Petfure
Retours (Ross) (1) 1563, (55) 1620 & (128) 1672 refer to a sixth part of Pitfure but there are anomalies about the Old Extent valuations given. 44s rent in RMS III (373) 1526. Petfure had a croft, a mill (called Den/Dene Myln) and 2 alehouses.
Chaplainry of Ormondhill
OPS II,II, 542, quoting RSS for 1528, describes the chaplainry of the Virgin Mary of Ormondhill, extending yearly to £5. I do not know if this was founded on an annualrent from lands on or near Ormondhill but it seems likely. See also RSS V Part 2 (3282) 1566-7; GD1/400/2/3 Section I pp 26-27, 1671.
Temple-lands
The Templars seem to have had a holding in the parish of Avach. Easter Templand and Wester Templand survive today in NH 6957. Nearby, in NH 6856, is Bog of Shannon Wood. Retours (Inverness) (77) 1653 states that George Dunbar was heir to his father Robert, Tutor of Avach, in the temple-lands called Tempell-Cruik and Boigschangend (Bog of Shannon?).
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