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List of burghs in Scotland
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A burgh (pronounced burruh) is the Scots' term for a town or a municipality. It is correspondent with the Scandinavian 'Borg', the English- 'Borough', and the German 'Burg'
Burghs were highly autonomous units of local government in Scotland from at least the 12th century until their abolition in 1975 when a new regional structure of local government was introduced across the country. Usually based upon a town, they had a municipal corporation and certain rights, such as self-government and representation in the sovereign Parliament of Scotland adjourned in 1707.
Historically, the most important burghs were royal burghs, followed by burghs of regality and burghs of barony. Some newer settlements were only designated as police burghs, a classification which also applies to most of the older burghs.
It should be noted that the word 'burgh' is generally not used as a synonym for 'town' or 'city' in everyday speech, but is reserved mostly for government and administrative purposes. Legally speaking, burghs in Scotland were abolished in 1975, and the term has since fallen into disuse.
For a list of towns and cities in Scotland, see the category Towns in Scotland.
Burghs by county
Burghs are listed below under the name of the county to which they belonged. The county boundaries used are those effective for local government purposes from circa 1890 until 1975. During this period four burghs were also counties, or counties of cities
Royal burghs that were counties of themselves
These four burghs were redesignated as Counties of Cities in 1930
Note: The royal burgh of Aberdeen was part of this county until 1900.
‡ Absorbed by Aberdeen royal burgh 1891
Angus (also known as Forfarshire)
Note: The royal burgh of Dundee was part of this county until 1894.
‡ Absorbed by Dundee royal burgh 1913
| Burgh |
Date of adoption
of police system |
Earlier burghal history |
Post Union
parliamentary burgh status |
| Alloa burgh |
1854 |
Burgh of regality 1497,
rerected 1620 |
None |
| Alva burgh |
1876 |
None |
None |
| Dollar burgh |
1891 |
Burgh of regality 1702 |
None |
| Tillicoultry burgh |
1871 |
Burgh of barony 1634 |
None |
| Burgh |
Date of adoption
of police system |
Earlier burghal history |
Post Union
parliamentary burgh status |
| Annan royal burgh |
1858 |
Royal burgh by 1532 |
One of the Dumfries Burghs 1708 to 1918 |
| Dumfries royal burgh |
1833 |
Royal burgh c 1186
Absorbed Maxwelltown burgh (Kirkcudbrightshire) in 1930 |
One of the Dumfries Burghs 1708 to 1918 |
| Lochmaben royal burgh |
1858 |
Confirmed 1612
Recognised as royal burgh by 1447 |
One of the Dumfries Burghs 1708 to 1918 |
| Sanquhar royal burgh |
1890 |
Royal burgh 1598
Originally burgh of barony 1484 |
One of the Dumfries Burghs 1708 to 1918 |
| Langholm burgh |
1845 |
Burgh of barony 1621
Burgh of regality 1687 |
None |
| Lockerbie burgh |
1863 |
None |
None |
| Moffat burgh |
1864 |
Burgh of regality 1648
Confirmed 1662 |
None |
East Lothian (also known as Haddingtonshire)
Edinburghshire: see Midlothian
Elginshire: see Morayshire
† Burghs merged 1930
‡ Dysart absorbed by Kircaldy royal burgh 1930
Forfarshire: see Angus
Haddingtonshire: see East Lothian
† Maxwelltown burgh was absorbed by Dumfries royal burgh 1931.
Note: The royal burgh of Glasgow was part of the county until 1893.
† Burghs merged 1920
Linlithgowshire: see West Lothian
Midlothian (also known as Edinburghshire)
Note: The royal burgh of Edinburgh and its liberties formed a separate county of itself from the thirteenth century.
† Burghs merged 1920
‡ Burghs absorbed by Edinburgh royal burgh in years shown (Portobello continued, however, as a separate parliamentary burgh until 1918)
Morayshire (also known as Elginshire)
† Burghs merged 1930
† Burghs absorbed by Glasgow royal burgh on dates shown
West Lothian (also known as Linlithgowshire)
References
- ^ "Records of the Convention of the Royal Burghs of Scotland with Extracts from Other Records Relating to the Affairs of the Burghs of Scotland. 1295-1597," p. 10, William Paterson, Edinburgh (1866)
See also
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