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. |
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| Rheindown
(Urray Parish) |
1 davach | 1594 | NH 5247 | Blaeu(Moray)
Roy(FC) |
GD128/23/1/3 1594. Ex Beauly Priory.
See below. |
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| 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. |
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| 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. |
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| 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. |
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| 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. |
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| ⅓ East Glen de Convinth
(Kiltarlity Parish) |
1571 & 1592 | Ex Beauly Priory.
This might mean ⅓ of ½ davach. See below. |
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| 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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