The Auchtenparts Lands of Elgin

Within the township of Elgin there was a group of lands which went by the name of the Auchten or Auchteen Parts. In area they extended to some 373 acres and 30 square falls,¹ Scots measure, all of arable land, situated on both sides of the River Lossie, to the north of the estate of Bilbohall. At one time, they were said to have been divided into sixty-four parts and belonged to the burgesses of the town. However, there was utter confusion as to where an owner's lands lay since they were held in run-rig lots by some twenty-five different proprietors! Every proprietor would have his land in ten or twenty different rigs, each one, perhaps, let to a different tennant. Each tennant knew exactly where his land was, scattered as they may have been across a number of rigs. But each rig proprietor, although he knew who his tennants were, only partially knew in whose other rigs an individual tennant had land. It was a recipe for complete confusion and a measure of deceit! In summer the land was cropped by the tennants, and in winter the whole ground was one common herding for cattle who grazed at will since no enclosures had been erected.

When completing the parish entry in the Old Statistical Account of Scotland, the Rev. Mr John Grant, one of the Ministers of Elgin, wrote:

Borough Lands: There is a large field of arable land, to the west of Elgyn, through which the [River] Lossie runs, divided into what are called auchteen parts, but consisting of sixty-four, which vary in extent from 4 to 6 acres each. Originally, they belonged to 64 distinct proprietors, burgesses of Elgyn. The soil of a great part of this ground is good, being a rich loam, over a clay bottom; and the whole might be greatly improved, were the separate parts thrown into one connected field; but they lie in run-rig, and so disjoined, that different portions, of the same lot, may be almost an English mile asunder. The Lossie is making great encroachments on some of them; and as they still are the property of a number of different persons, though many of them have been acquired by one individual, no common measure has been adopted, to imbank the river, which might be done by piles, at small expense. These havocks of the river, have discovered in different places, a foot or two of excellent peat moss, buried from 4 to 6 feet, under the loam and clay. It is uncertain, who originally granted these lands to the 64 burgesses of Elgyn. Tradition has uniformly reported that they were given, as a compensation, to the families of men who had fallen in battle, on some important occasion.²

This state of affairs became so inconvenient, leading to countless disputes, that a remedy had to be provided. But, in true Moryshire style, only two auld chiels (old worthies) knew the different lots and they, being jealous of their knowledge (which gave them a measure of status in the community), differed when any attempt was made to bring their individual bodies of knowledge together! At length, in 1800, the town officials put the matter to the Court of Session. A commission was appointed (a much favoured approach employed by the Court), and the task of division was remitted to Alexander Leslie of Belnageith, and William Young of Burghead, then residing at Inchbroom. Sir George Abercromby of Birkenbog, Sheriff of the County of Elgin, was appointed to take the evidence. The two Elgin worthies, who claimed an expert knowledge, James Gow and Alexander Stronach, both farmers, were examined. Stronach averred that, "the Gow wauvered," but that he himself had never any doubt as to the lots. It would have been entertaining to see the exasperation of the illustrious Sheriff when faced with these two! The commissioners then appointed Mr George Brown, Linkwood, to make a plan of the whole ground, and to report to them how, in his opinion, the land should be divided. A poisoned chalice if ever there was one!

Brown and his assistants, along with the two 'founts of wisdom', Messrs. Gow and Stronach, set to the task and, in time, produced a very minute plan, by which the exact extent of every proprietor's land was known. Following this, every proprietor was allocated a single piece of ground, equal in area to what he had held previously, but now situated at a single place, so that he could have it altogether. In this way, the entire Auchteen Part Lands were put into twenty-five lots. The commissioners, on 28 October 1801, reported the whole case to Lord Armadale (Ordinary), who made avizandum with same to the Court on 19 November thereafter; and the whole matter was thus finally settled, with much satisfaction on all parts.

The following table gives an abstract of the division:

 

 

A map of these lands was produced which is copied here:

Unfortunately, this excellent map lacks one important detail - a scale. However, using modern GIS computer software, but with an apology for being something of a beginner in this exciting field, we present here an approximate overlay showing the Auchteen Parts or Grieshop Lands on a modern map of Elgin.

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References .