Crukysfu etc.

Crukysfu etc

 

We have three assessments of major units of land in Renfrewshire. We learn of the 100m unit of Eaglesham, the (possible) 100m unit of Erskine and the £100 (150m) unit of Crukysfu. These estates would have been very large and we usually meet them via the individual farms. The reason they are worth looking at is that they help indicate early divisions in Renfrewshire. We know of the enormous fee which was granted by the Scottish kings to Walter Fitzalan, the first Stewart, in the twelfth century. (RRS I (184) 1161 x 1162). This included Renfrew, Paisley, Pollok, an unknown place called ‘Talahret’, Cathcart, Mearns, Eaglesham and Lochwinnoch. Unfortunately we don’t know quite how big each of these places was. Did it just mean the main settlement, or the whole parish, or something between the two?

 

The name ‘Crukysfu’ implies an estate involving a family called Croc who were associated with the first of the Stewarts established in Renfrew. Robert de Croc appears to have been endowed with a large fee based on Crookston (literally ‘Croc’s toun’) Castle at the eastern extremity of Paisley parish. When first granted to Robert Croc it may have been separate to the Stewart estate. However, it appears to have been acquired by the Stewarts relatively early. Crawfurd, 1710, p 29, writes:

 

This Barony of Crocstoun, with many other Lands, came by Marriage of the Heiress of Robert de Croc, to a Son of the Illustrious Family of Stewart, Ancestor of the Dukes of Lenox.

 

We have a number of references to this very large estate of Crukysfu. These start with very sparse information – just the name of the estate. As time rolls on so we learn more about the components. Subdivisions of this fee appear to have included the Mains of Darnley (Eastwood) and properties in Neilston (some of which we know to have belonged to Robert Croc).

 

The relevant documents are given below – in rough chronological order.

 

Lennox II No 19 1330 refers to the land of Crukysfu.

 

Lennox II No 23 1356 refers to a Sir John Stewart, lord of Crokiston.

 

Lennox II No 26 c. 1361 is a charter of Crokysfou, Inchenane and Perthaykscot (Partick-Scot). This was only part of Partick. At the time Renfrew had not yet been separated from Lanark. Ainslie’s map of 1796 helps to show the differentiation. Between Yocker and the White Inch Burn was that part of Partick which belonged to Renfrew parish and included the settlement of Scotston. This must have been Partick-Scot. From the White Inch Burn east to the Kelvin Water was that part of Partick which remained with Lanark.

 

RMS II (3680) 18 January 1511/1512 confirms the above charter of 1361. It goes on to specify the lands which were to maintain this castle of Crokisfow and palace of Inchenane. They included:

The Mains of Dernlie.

£20 AE Dormondside, Nethirtoun & Ald-Crukistoun (There appears to be some duplication of phrasing here since these are said to be the lands around the castle. The castle of Crokisfow must therefore be the castle of Crookston).

£20 AE manor & palace of Inchenane, Mains of Inchenane, Quhithill, town of Inchenane, Raschelee, Wirthland, Fluriis, Cragtoun & Gardenarland with their common land. (Also in GD220/1/F/6/1/1 18 January 1511/12 where Wirthland is Wrightland).

 

There are similar lists in RMS IV (2042) 1572; (2785) 1578; (2971) 1579-80; RMS VI (1413) 1603; Renfrew Retours (64) 1625; (147) 1655; (163) 1662 and (181) 1680. (The last includes a list of properties, in connection with levying teinds, which closely resembles parts of the list given in RSS IV (2295) 1553 below. The 1680 Retour claims they were part of the old parish of Paisley although later they were associated with Eastwood).

 

Memorials of the Montgomeries II, No 94 1513, gives Crukisfew, Inchenane and Perthekstok. It goes on to say that the said castle, lordship and mill (Crukisfew), palace (Inchenane), and aforementioned lands (presumably Perthekstok), were now worth per annum, as a whole, £400 (600m) and in time of peace were worth £100 (150m).

 

(This can be interpreted as saying the lands were £100 AE (Auld Extent) and £400 NE (New Extent). Unfortunately the waters are muddied, as so often, by the inclusion of the phrase ‘per annum’. Extent was supposed to give a benchmark of value – which is why ‘Auld Extent’ remained the same for centuries – and was acknowledged for centuries. In contemporary documents such as the Retours we often find that New Extent is arrived at simply by using a multiplier on Auld Extent – x 4 is a very common multiplier. But this confusion between an absolute value and an annual return is perhaps the reason New Extent never established itself in the same way).

 

We then have to unscramble what follows. The castle of Crukisfew, Mains etc; the Mains of Dernle and its mill; the lands of Dormondsyd, Nethertoun & Auld Crukistoun, extending yearly to £20 AE; as well as the palace of Inchenane, with the Mains, Quhithill, town of Inchenane, Raschele, Vrichtland, Flwris, Cragtoun & Gerdnerland, with their common land, also extending to £20 AE; were now worth 280 merks per year.

 

Although this appears confusing it makes arithmetic sense:

 

We were told in RMS II (3680) 1511/1512 of three particular units of land:

Firstly there were the Mains of Darnley.

Secondly there was a £20 AE unit around Crookston Castle.

Thirdly there was a £20 AE unit in Inchinnan.

 

We know from GD220/1/F/6/2/5 1511/1512 (see below) that the Mains of Darnley was a 10 merk unit. £20 is the same as 30 merks so if we add the three units together (10m + 30m + 30m) we arrive at a total of 70m AE. If we then apply the fourfold multiplier used earlier in the same document we can see how it totals to 280 merks (4 x 70m) NE.

 

Why isn’t this the £100 (150m) AE or £400 (600m) NE that were mentioned? Because other lands such as Perthekstok are missing. In fact these missing lands amounted to 320m NE or 80m AE. (280m NE + 320m NE = 600m NE; 70m AE + 80m AE = 150m AE ; the ratio of NE to AE is here 4:1).

 

For that part of Renfrew North of the Clyde (i.e. Perthekstok or Partick-Scot) the table I have compiled gives 34m. But even if we add that to the 70m already accounted for we are still only at 104m out of a supposed total of 150m AE. As will be seen below, it appears that some of the missing components are to be found in Eastwood; or rather those parts of the western fringe of Eastwood parish that were formerly part of Paisley parish. Others may have been in Neilston.

 

(We have a similar set of calculations in ER XIV p 554 of 1514. This appears again in ER XIX pp 559-560 1567).

 

GD220/1/F/6/2/5 18 March 1511/1512 adds extra detail about Darnley and some lands in Neilston:

the 10 merkland of the Mains of Darnley, including the Mains and lands of Greenhills, the lands of Kirkton and Holehouse, extending to a £5 land, the £4 land of the 2 Carsewells and the £5 land of Craig of Neilston lying in the lordship of Darnley and sheriffdom of Renfrew

This comes to a 31 merkland in total. All but Darnley are in Nielston parish. See also RMS II (3712) dated 8 March 1511-1512.

 

RSS I (3963) 7 May 1528 concerns the lands of Dargavell and Roscheille, lying in the lordship of Crukisfe, parish of Inchenane. These were ex Lennox estate. Roscheille (now Rashielee) is certainly in Inchinnan and was part of the £20 Inchinnan portion of Crukysfu. But was Dargavel then in Inchinnan parish or Erskine parish? This is the first time Dargavel is mentioned in the context of the Lennox estate.

 

Bain., J., The Stirlings of Craigbernard and Glorat, Edinburgh, 1883, prints (p 90 No 30) an Abstract of a Renunciation by Sir James Hamilton of Fynnart in 1531. He resigned the non-entry and ward of ‘Crukisfu, Inchinnan, Scotstoun, and Dargavill’. Scotstoun will be the ‘Partick-Scot’ referred to above. Unfortunately, I do not yet have a valuation for Dargavel, (Erskine parish), but it appears to have been part of the £100 estate.

 

RSS III (929) 1544 refers to £100 (150m) AE of Crukisfe and Inchynnane.

 

RMS III (3175) 1545 gives ‘Cruikestoun, Dernlie, Neilstoun, Kowglennis, Pottertoun, Dikkonisband, Kowanoris (Kowmoris?), Glanderstanis, Helfeild, Crukisfie, Neilstounissyde & Inschynnane’. (This list includes extra properties in Eastwood).

 

Things become more complicated again with RSS III (2768) of 1548 which refers to the £100 AE of Crukisfe, Inschynnane and Neilstoun. What appears to have happened is that Partick-Scot is dropped and instead we have a unit of land within Neilston parish. This unit is first mentioned in a sasine of 1495 to Elizabeth Hammiltone, divorced wife of Mathew, Earl of Lennox (Fraser, Lennox II, No 98). The lands comprised the two ‘Kersvellis’ (the two Carswells), ‘le Crag de Neylstone’ (the Craig of Neilston), ‘Hoylhous’ (Holehouse), ‘Greynhillis’ (Greenhills) and ‘Kyrktoune de Neylstone’ (Kirktoun of Neilston). (See also GD220/2/1/98). These are the £14 (21m) within Neilston viz. £5 Kirkton & Holehouse, £4 of the 2 Carsewells, £5 Craig of Neilston, which are given in GD220/1/F/6/2/5 1511/1512 (above).

 

RMS IV (199) 1548 gives Crukistoun, Crukisfee, Neilstounside & Inschynnane.

 

RMS IV (111) 1547 and RSS IV (2295) 1553 are two documents which help us resolve these complications. The first gives a listing of the estate of Mathew, earl of Lennox. Because it is easier to make comparisons if we set out the data in tabular form, the component farms are given in the leftmost column of the table below. RSS IV (2295) 1553 gives a very similar list, but with extra information about properties in Erskine and Inchinnan. It refers to £100 (150m) AE and gives the properties which are entered in the second column of the table. The name Crukisfew is probably meant as the name of the whole fee, rather than an individual place – the castle of Crukisfew was Crookston Castle. (RSS IV (2295) 1553 is also given under AHC Volume 2 No 147).

 

Later evidence always has to be treated cautiously but GD220/1/G/5/1/3 of 1654 deals with the teinds from the Duke of Lennox’s lands which are given as ‘lying within the regality of Darnley and parish of Paisley’. Despite the omission of properties in other parishes, such as Inchinnan and Neilston, it is immediately apparent that this bears a close resemblance to the lists from 1547 & 1553. There are some different spellings and minor variations e.g. Magdalenis is now Maidlin and Arden has become Nether and Over Airden. There are three new entrants, Damshot, Salterland and Keilslack but these may be names which were previously subsumed under another heading – and were now to be thought of as independent. This list is given in the third column below and I have prefixed the entries with a ‘T’ in brackets. Renfrew Retours (181) 1680 also lists properties in connection with their teinds. These are entered in similar fashion in the fourth column below.

 

 

RMS IV (111) 1547	RSS IV (2295) 1553	GD220/1/G/5/1/3 1654	Renfrew Retours (181) 1680	Parish
Crukstoun	Crukistoun	(T) Cruxton	(T) Cruikstoune	Paisley
	Crukisfew		Cruikisfie	Paisley
Ovir Kowglennis	Ovir Kowglennis	(T) Over Cowglen	(T) Over Couglen	Eastwood
	Nethir Kowglennis			Eastwood
Sclaittis	Sclaittis	(T) Sclaitts	(T) Sklaits	Eastwood
Linthauch	Linthauch			Eastwood
Blindmanniswell	Blindmanniswell	(T) Blindmanswell	(T) Blindmansuell	Eastwood
Mains of Crukistoun	Mains of Crukistoun			Eastwood
Laveraneschelis	Laveranschelis	(T) Levrensheills	(T) Laveransheills	Eastwood
		(T) Salterland	(T) Salterland	Eastwood
Auld Crukistoun	Auld Crukistoun	(T) Old Cruxton	(T) Auld Cruikstoune	Paisley
Dormontsyde	Dormontside	(T) Dormontside	(T) Donnonsyd	Paisley
		(T) Damshot	(T) Damshott	Eastwood
		(T) Nethertown of Crookston	(T) Neithertoune of Cruikstoune	Paisley
		(T) Greensidehaugh	(T) Greinsydehaugh	Paisley
Kendishorne	Kendischorne	(T) Kamesthorn	(T) Camsthorne	Paisley
Mills of Dernlie	Mill of Dernly			Eastwood
lie Magdalenis	the Magdalenis	(T) Maidlin	(T) Maidlands	Eastwood
Kendisheid	Kendisheid	(T) Kennyshead	(T) Kendershead	Eastwood
Arden	Arden	(T) Netherairden, Overairden	(T) Neither Airden, Over Airden	Eastwood
Clogholis	Clogholis	(T) Clogholls	(T) Clegholls	Eastwood
Medoflat	Medoflatt	(T) Meadowflatt	(T) Meadouflatt	?
lie Newlandis	the Newlandis	(T) Newlands	(T) Newlands	Eastwood
		(T) Keilslack	(T) Ryleslack*	Eastwood
Drumhauch	Drumhauch			?
Wardhill	Wardhill	(T) Wairdhill	(T) Wardhill	Eastwood
Mains of Dernlie	Mains of Darnly	(T) Mains of Darnley	(T) Maynes of Darnlie	Eastwood
Town of Inchechynnane	toun of Inschynnane			Inchinnan
	Mains of Inschynnane			Inchinnan
	Inschynnane		Inshsynnan	Inchinnan
lie Newmanis	Newmanis			Inchinnan
Quhithill	Quhithill			Inchinnan
Wrychtland	Wrichtland			Inchinnan
Mill of Inchechynnane	mill & park of Inschynnane			Inchinnan
	the Fluris			Inchinnan
	Rauchely			Inchinnan
	the Bar			Inchinnan
	Dargawell		Dargavell	Erskine
	Barscube			Erskine
Neilstoun	Neilstoun		Generic only?	Neilston
lie Ovir & Nethir Kerswellis	Ovir and Nethir Kerswellis			Neilston
Langlochmure	Langlochmure			Neilston
Grenehillis	Grenehillis			Neilston
Holehouse	Hoilhous			Neilston
Glanderstoun with mill	Glanderstoun			Neilston
Over & Nethir Kirktoun	Ovir Kirktoun & Nethir Kirktoun			Neilston
	Neilstounside		Generic only?	Neilston

*Ryleslack = Kyleslack, later Leggatstown.

 

At first sight these may appear to be rather chaotic lists of properties. But within the table we can recognise the £20 AE Inchinnan and the £20 Crookston described in earlier documents. There is also the 10m Mains of Darnley. There is an estate in Neilston, the full extent of which I cannot determine, but which exceeded 20m. There are also a number of properties in Eastwood parish which are separate to Darnley. Again, I do not have valuations for all of these but they must have come to at least 33¼m.

 

So our revised total for the Crukisfew estate is now about 123¼m and it is perfectly possible it did once total 150m (£100). One of the difficulties that remains is whether we should include a farm like Barscube. Was it once part of Crukisfew? What we can reasonably assume is that the £100 (150m) Crukisfew estate included £20 Crukistoun etc, £20 Inchinnan etc, 10m Darnley, perhaps £20 Partick-Scot, with another 50m scattered between Neilstoun and Eastwood.

 

Both Purves and Stewart give figures of £100 (150m) for the combined estate of Cruxfie and Inchechinnane.

 

Why does any of this matter? Analysis of a huge estate like Crukisfew perhaps gives us a better idea of how the Normans divided up Renfrewshire in the twelfth century. This was a period of enormous social change. The Norman adventurers who settled in the area after King David’s accession were responsible for the complete overthrow of the existing framework of land-ownership. We do not know whether they met a landscape of davachs or pennylands, or some sort of mixture of both. But they operated according to a new and imported system of merklands and poundlands. (A merk was two-thirds of a pound). We have very little knowledge of quite how these newly-acquired lands were parcelled out but when we come across reckonings in 100 merks or £100 it seems fair to assume that these were the units of disposal.

 

Merklands and poundlands became the new system of land-assessment in Scotland – to which all earlier systems were geared. We do not know exactly how; quite possibly by converting reckonings in pennylands and davachs to merklands, via the mechanism of an official exchange rate. The new system lasted for further centuries; although it was itself, from inception, undermined by a system based on precise measurement of area.

 

Robertson (1818) gives us a good example of these large units of disposal. During the Norman period many leading families, Norman, Flemish, Breton, Anglo-Norman, held estates on either side of the Anglo-Scottish border. This was the case with the greatest families such as the Bruces and Balliols, but also with the lesser nobility. For much of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries they managed the political juggling involved in keeping in line with both monarchs. The Wars of Independence, from the end of the thirteenth century, disrupted all cosy arrangements. Robertson (p 514) discusses the Ross family (also Ros, Roos) whose fortunes were caught up in this turmoil. He points out that Godfrey Ross, in 1341, was granted a tenement in Berwick by Edward III in recompense for 100 merklands forfeited in Scotland. Robertson’s source can be seen in Rotuli Scotiae, Volume I, pp 615-616.

For the sake of completeness I give the following other references:

RSS IV (3263) 1556

RSS V Part I (964) 1561-2

RSS V Part I (1851) 1564

RMS V (294) 1581