Beauly Priory – Summary Table

Lands of Beauly Priory

ST(1) = Simon Taylor, Place-Name Survey ….. Pdf file available on web. ST(2) = Simon Taylor (2019). CW = Chisholm Writs. I have followed the order usually set out in the documents.

Amongst the lands of Beauly Priory in 1571 are a number of properties and crofts we can no longer identify. In later times I suspect some of these became included in the farms of Lettoch, Tomich, Barnyards and Wellhouse.

Name Value Date Grid Ref Map Sources Other forms, comments etc
Ardnagrask

(Kilmorack Parish)

(1 davach) 1670 NH 5249 Roy(FC)

RHP 6586

See below. NLS Lovat088, Lovat106, Lovat271.

Ex Beauly Priory.

Rheindown

(Urray Parish)

1 davach 1594 NH 5247 Blaeu(Moray)

Roy(FC)

GD128/23/1/3 1594. Ex Beauly Priory.

See below.

Inchrory

(Kilmorack Parish)

(½ davach) 1571 NH 5045/5046 Roy(FC)

RHP 6586

NLS GB115

ST(2) p 93. Ex Beauly Priory. According to the Reddendo in 1571 Inchrory is almost certainly a ½ davach. NLS Lovat036.
Altyre

(Kilmorack Parish)

½ or ¾ davach? 1571 NH 5045 Blaeu(Extima S.)

RHP 6586

ST(2) pp 45-6. See below. Ex Beauly Priory.

NLS Lovat036, NLS GB113.

Craigscorrie

(Kilmorack Parish)

(½ davach) 1571 NH 501453 RHP 6586

NLS GB113

Ex Beauly Priory. Rent suggests ½ davach in RMS IV (2020) 1571. 3 oxgangs (⅜) in RS37/7/31r 1648. NLS Lovat036.
Platchaig

(Kilmorack Parish)

½ davach 1653 NH 497450 NLS Lovat036 Ex Beauly Priory. Rent suggests ½ davach in RMS IV (2020) 1571. ST(2) pp 107-8. See below.
Groam (of Annat)

(Kilmorack Parish)

(½ davach) 1571 NH 5143 RHP 6586 Ex Beauly Priory. According to the Reddendo in 1571 Grome is almost certainly a ½ davach.
Farley

(Kilmorack Parish)

(½ davach) 1571 NH 471454 Blaeu(Extima S.)

RHP 6586

Ex Beauly Priory. According to the Reddendo in 1571 Fernilie is almost certainly a ½ davach. NLS Lovat237, Lovat351, Lovat022, GB123, GB125, Lovat026. Retours (Inverness) (83) 1657.
Teachnuick

(Kilmorack Parish)

1 davach? 1571 NH 513461 RHP 6586

NLS Lovat038

NLS GB115

ST(2) p 119. Ex Beauly Priory. Only a silver rent paid but that suggests the farm could have been as much as a davach. Pendicles given of Uvir-Croaresis, the Relict and Grenefald. (Over Croyard, Ruilick & Grayfields?).
Croyard

(Kilmorack Parish)

  1571 NH 5146 RHP 6586

NLS Lovat181

NLS GB105

It appears from the Beauly Charters that Over-Croyard was a pendicle of Teachnuick and ex Beauly Priory.
Ruilick

(Kilmorack Parish)

  1571 NH 5146 RHP 6586

NLS Lovat034

NLS Lovat038

It appears from the Beauly Charters that Ruilick was a pendicle of Teachnuick and ex Beauly Priory.
Grayfields

(Kilmorack Parish)

  1571 NH 5146 NLS Lovat038 Grayfields possibly = Grenefald. It appears from the Beauly Charters that Grenefald was a pendicle of Teachnuick and ex Beauly Priory.
Urchany

(Kilmorack Parish)

¼ davach? 1571 NH 4445 Blaeu(Extima S.)

RHP 6586

ST(2) p 127. Ex Beauly Priory. Rent suggests about a ¼ land.

NLS Lovat289, Lovat264, Lovat215, Lovat290, Lovat279, Lovat291, GB127, GB129. Retours (Inverness) (83) 1657.

Half-Davach

(Kilmorack Parish)

½ davach 1571     Ex Beauly Priory. See below under Lettoch and Coracharabic.
Bocht/Po/Boah

Loch a’ Bhodha

Allt a’ Bhodha

(Kilmorack Parish)

  1571 c. NH 4243

NH 417440

NH 4143

NLS GB135

NLS Lovat345

Po in NLS GB135. Boah in NLS Lovat345. Large area of hill grazing stretching NNW of Lochan Fada in NH 4243.

Ex Beauly Priory.

Coracharabic

(Kilmorack Parish)

¼ or ½ davach? 1571 NH 3146   Ex Beauly Priory. ST(2) pp 73-4. Quarter or Half-davach with Bocht? See below.
⅓ Meikle Culmill

(Kiltarlity Parish)

(¼? davach) 1670-9 NH 5140 RHP 23986 Ex Beauly Priory.

Ex Convinth parish. See below.

⅓ East Glen de Convinth

(Kiltarlity Parish)

  1571 & 1592     Ex Beauly Priory.

This might mean ⅓ of ½ davach. See below.

¼ of Fanblair

(Kiltarlity Parish)

¼ davach 1571 NH 5036   Ex Beauly Priory. Ex Convinth parish. See below.
Ferryhouse & Croft   1571     Ex Beauly Priory.
Annat

(Kiltarlity Parish)

⅛ or ¼ davach? 1571 NH 506438 NLS GB111 Ex Beauly Priory. Ainocht in RMS IV (2020) 1571. Rent suggests either ⅛ or ¼ davach. See below.
Auldtown ⅛ or ¼ davach? 1571     The Auldtoun called the ‘Commoun Pastuir’ in RMS IV (2020) 1571. Rent suggests either ⅛ or ¼ davach.
Teafrish

(Kilmorack Parish)

⅛ davach? 1571 NH 498445 NLS Lovat036

NLS Lovat261

Ex Beauly Priory. Rent suggests about an ⅛ land. NLS GB111.
Maisounland ¼ davach? 1571     Ex Beauly Priory. I cannot locate this or the following areas of land but suspect they were all in the neighbourhood of the Priory.
John Cook’s Land (⅛ davach) 1571     Ex Beauly Priory. See below.
Makhucheon’s Croft ⅛ davach? 1571     Ex Beauly Priory.
Mains of Beauly

(Kilmorack Parish)

½ davach 1571 c. NH 5246 Blaeu(Extima S.)

RHP 6586

Ex Beauly Priory. The ‘terras dominicales’ or Mains Farm of Beauly Priory gave the rent of a half-davach in 1571.
Dean James Pape’s Croft ¼ davach? 1571     Ex Beauly Priory.
Merscheli’s croft   1571     Ex Beauly Priory. Judging by the Reddendo this was very small.
Mackallesteris croft   1571     Ex Beauly Priory. Judging by the Reddendo this was very small.
Wellhouse     NH 522472 NLS Lovat093

NLS Lovat121

NLS GB105

OPS II, II p514 states that at Wellhouse there was a consecrated spring and a cross. This makes it likely that Wellhouse was part of the Priory lands.
Gardens & Orchards   1571     Mentioned from 1571. Orchard marked on later plans e.g. NLS Lovat023, Lovat024, Lovat032. See Batten pp 220-21 & 323.
Fishings   1571     From the Carnecott to the sea. See Batten p 271.
Total 6⅝ + davachs       Probably at least 8 davachs.

 

 

Ardnagrask

RMS VII (2078) 1619, Retours (Ross) (130) 1673 & Retours (Ross) (162) 1697 refer to half of Arnegrask. GD305/1/128/2 1670 gives ‘over half davach lands of Ardnachrask’ – which suggests a ‘nether’ half as well. See also Retours (Inverness) (58) 1635. S Taylor (p 17) says in Kilmorack parish till 1891 – see Shennan p 133. CW No 19 1574; CW No 133 1631 for march issue with Rheindown.

 

Rheindown

1568 tack given in Batten pp 254-8 for an ‘auchtant’ part (i.e. ⅛). CW No 133 1631 for march issue with Ardnagrask. See RH MacDonald pp 63, 123-4; CW No’s 12-13, 15, 34-6, 42, 51 (2 oxgangs), 76, 1004; RMS IV (2465) 1575.

 

Altyre

Alter a parish name in Bagimond’s Roll (1274). One-third of Altyre was given to Beauly Priory c. 1315 (Batten pp 74-6) and another third c. 1315 x 1325 (Batten pp 78-80). RMS IV (2020) gives the Priory lands in 1571 and it seems most likely that they then included a half-davach of Altyre. If two-thirds of Altyre was a half-davach then the whole of Altyre would be ¾ davach. This seems unlikely and I suspect that a quarterland was ‘lost’ before the gifts to Beauly. Was it churchland?

 

Platchaig

PRO SP46/129 97626 refers to ‘the twa plewis of Platchaige’ in 1653. Two ploughs would be 4 bovates or half a davach. This matches exactly with what the rental in RMS IV (2020) 1571 would lead us to expect.

 

Lettoch

Name < Gaelic leth-dabhach or half-davach. Unlike ST(1) I do not think this is necessarily the site called ‘Half-davach’ in the Beauly Priory Charters. ST links this with Both and Coracharabic. Since Lettoch is a considerable distance from Coracharabic I am sceptical. I think it more likely there was another, and quite separate, half-davach unit hard by Both & Coracharabic which also belonged to Beauly Priory. ST(1) gives ‘half Duagh of Lettock’ NAS E.769/69 f8v 1755. See also Shennan p 133.

 

Coracharabic

RMS IV (2020) 1571, RMS V (2165) 1592, RMS IX (227) 1634 & NLS Dep 327/48/3 1738 all describe a group of lands called The Half-Davach, Bocht (or Boytht etc) and Conharbre (or Conharberie etc). They were properties of Beauly Abbey and in 1571 returned a silver rent of 3m, 2m and 1m respectively. It is quite possible that collectively they amounted to a davach but I have no proof of this.

 

Culmill

Little Culmill was joined with Belladrum as a davach in RMS IX (658) 1636 and FM 772 No 106 1800.

A Ross (Table 23) gives Belladrum: Cullimullen as a davach in 1510 quoting NLS Dep.327/59 and suggests this was the same as part of Moy. He also gives Coulimulline as a ½ davach in 1670-9 (NAS RS38 (Inv) 2nd Ser. iv, 50r) and Culmiln as a ½ davach in 1772-80 (NAS RS38 (Inv) 2nd Ser. xiii, 177v).

Two parts of Colmullyne-More occur in RMS II (2320) 1496 and a two-part Colmolinmore in RMS II (3730) 1512. I think ‘a part’ here meant a third because ⅓ Meikle Culmuling belonged to Beauly Priory in RMS IV (2020) 1571.

Three parts (here perhaps three-quarters?) of Beldrum were linked with Culmullyne-Bege in RMS II (2320) 1496. RMS II (3730) 1512 gives three-quarters Balladrum and then Culmolinbeg later in the same document.

It is difficult to marry all this data up. It seems most likely that Culmill was originally a davach that was divided. One portion (quarter-davach?) was called Little Culmill and sometimes paired with (three-quarters of?) Belladrum as a davach. The other portion (three-quarters-davach?) – sometimes called Culmill, sometimes Culmill more – was ⅔ lay (half-davach), ⅓ ecclesiastic (quarter-davach – Beauly Priory), and is treated separately in the records.

 

Convinth

RMS X (406) 1655 refers to ‘the easter two pleughs [ploughs] of Glenconich, the wester pleuch of Glenconich’. (1 plough = ¼ davach).

 

Fanblair

Three-quarters of Fenblare in RMS II (3730) 1512. ¼ Faynblair belonged to Beauly Prior in 1571 – RMS IV (2020). (These two references suggest Fanblair was originally a davach).

 

Annat

This now lies north of the River Beauly but the OS 6″ 1st Series Inverness-shire (Mainland) Sheet X 1872 marks the old course of the Beauly River which shows that in earlier times Annat lay south of the river. ST(2) pp 135-6 doubts this is a true Annat name.

 

John Cook’s Land

Batten p 254 prints a tack to John Clerk in 1568. The land is evidently the same as John Cook’s land which is given in RMS IV (2020) 1571 and subsequently. (See also Batten p 271). Both the rental and a rather ambiguous phrase in the tack (‘said auchtant part … callit John Writhts land’) suggest that it was an eighthland.

 

 

Lands of Beauly Priory c. 1570 (APS III pp 356-7).

 

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