Burgh of regality facts for kids

A burgh of regality was a special kind of town in Scotland a long time ago. Think of it like a town with its own boss and its own rules!

These towns were different from other types of Scottish towns. They were given their special status by the King or Queen to powerful noblemen called "lords of regality." These lords were important people who owned a lot of land.

What Was a Burgh of Regality?

A burgh of regality was a town that had been given special rights by the King or Queen of Scotland. These rights allowed the local lord to have a lot of control over the town and its people. It was like having a mini-kingdom within the larger kingdom!

When Were They Created?

These special towns were set up between the years 1450 and 1707. This was a time when Scotland was developing its own unique ways of governing its towns.

How Were They Different from Other Towns?

Scotland had a few types of towns with different rules:

• Royal Burghs: These towns were directly controlled by the King or Queen. They often had the most important trading rights.
• Burghs of Regality: These were given to powerful noblemen, the "lords of regality." They had many special powers, almost like the King's own powers in their area.
• Burghs of Barony: These were given to other landowners. They had fewer special powers compared to burghs of regality.

So, burghs of regality were somewhere in the middle. They weren't directly controlled by the King, but they had more power than a regular landowner's town.

What Special Powers Did They Have?

The lords of regality who owned these towns had a lot of power. They could make their own local rules and handle many local issues.

Trading Rights

One big power was the right to trade. This meant they could:

• Hold weekly markets where people could buy and sell goods.
• Even trade with other countries, which was a big deal back then!

These trading rights helped the towns grow and become busy places.

Local Justice

The most important power was handling local justice. The lord of regality could set up courts and deal with almost all local problems. They were responsible for keeping order and settling disagreements in their town. This was a very important job!

The End of Their Special Powers

The special powers of the burghs of regality didn't last forever. In 1746, a new law was passed called the Heritable Jurisdictions (Scotland) Act 1746. This law took away most of the unique powers that the lords of regality had.

After this law, burghs of regality became much more like the simpler burghs of barony. They still existed as towns, but their special legal powers were gone. This was a big change in how Scotland was governed.