Aberdeen’s stones of time
December 2007
The Doupin’ stone, march stone number 31. It was here that the most junior burgess was douped. That is to say he was held aloft and dropped, backside first, on to the stone. photo: Aberdeen City Council
by Chris Croly
Over the years Aberdeen’s Freedom Lands’ march stones have attracted a huge amount of attention. Curious objects in themselves, they relate to some of the more dramatic and intriguing elements of Aberdeen’s history.
The word march is an old term for boundary. In this sense all march stones are boundary stones; not all march stones are Freedom Lands’ march stones, however. It was common practice historically over many centuries to mark the boundaries of one’s property with stones. Many of these private – and sometimes public – march stones survive in unexpected locations around the city.
A Freedom Lands’ march stone is distinguished from the other sort by bearing the letters ‘ABD’ and a number between 1 and 62, or the symbols for Alpha and Omega, and in certain cases the letters CR, for City Royalty.
Aberdeen’s Freedom Lands’ march stones are composed of two separate sets: the inner and the outer. The inner march stones mark the boundary of a series of crofts and croft lands that ringed the medieval Royal Burgh of Aberdeen. On these lands much of the city’s corn, bere (or barley) and wheat was grown. These lands have probably pertained to the Royal Burgh since its inception.
In theory each plot of land within the burgh had a croft associated with it: moreover, when a burgess bought or sold the plot of land, the croft was to retain the association. Over the centuries, however, a lively trade developed in buying and selling of these crofts independently of the plots of land to which they pertained. The inner stones mark this boundary and are the ones which bear the additional letters ‘CR’, for City Royalty, relating to the Royal Burgh of Aberdeen.
The Freedom Lands
The outer march stones define a much larger area, now known as the Freedom Lands. The Royal Burgh of Aberdeen came into possession of these lands in a number of ways. The most common story goes that Robert the Bruce gifted the Stocket Forest to Aberdeen in 1319 by way of thanks for Aberdonian help during the wars of Independence. The Stocket Forest then formed the Freedom Lands, from which Aberdeen derived the Common Good Fund; thus Aberdeen has good reason to be thankful to Robert the Bruce.
There are a number of problems with this story. First of all the Stocket Forest did not form all of the Freedom Lands. (At this time the term ‘forest’ denoted a Royal Hunting ground and not necessarily a wooded forest.) The Freedom Lands also included three other plots of land bought by the city council to augment the grant of Robert the Bruce. These other parts were the lands of Rubislaw, purchased in 1379, the lands of Cruives (which we know as Woodside) purchased in 1459, and finally the lands of Gilcomston, purchased in 1670. Aberdeen also purchased the lands of Caprastone (now known as Hilton) in 1595, although strictly speaking they were never part of the Freedom Lands.
So the Freedom Lands were as much a creation of Aberdeen Burgh Council as they were the result of a gift by Bruce.
In 1313 Robert the Bruce had granted Aberdeen custodianship over his Royal Forest of the Stocket. This was probably a signal to Aberdeen that he was no longer using this hunting ground much. In 1319 he issued a second charter granting Aberdeen fuller rights in return for a large yearly feu, or payment, of £213 6s 8d.
Other burghs eventually got similar feus, but paid considerably less for them (Edinburgh paid £34 13s 4d per year, for example). Moreover Aberdeen paid this feu for many centuries, unlike other burghs. The charter is written in an Aberdonian hand and not what is called a Chancery hand (i.e. the hand writing of someone at the Royal Court). This suggests that the charter was written in Aberdeen and represents an Aberdonian initiative to secure these lands.
This is not to say that Robert was deliberately making Aberdeen pay a higher price: when the Aberdeen charter was issued in 1319 it was a new policy. The Stocket Forest was only one part of this charter. To understand it properly, the charter as a whole needs to be considered.
The charter in effect granted Aberdeen itself: it granted the Burgh and all of its endowments to the burgesses to hold in feu-farm. In feudal terms everything belonged to the crown, so this granted Aberdeen a significant measure of independence and self-government. Aberdeen paid a lot; but it got a lot. Berwick was obliged to pay even more: £333 6s 8d, a level so high that by 1327 it could no longer afford to pay it.
The worst financial blunder
The burgesses of Aberdeen leased out the Stocket Forest and, as we have seen, added to it with other parcels of land. The money generated from this came to form the basis of the Common Good. Aberdeen, then, owes a debt of gratitude to the successful management by its historic burgesses rather than to the munificence of Robert the Bruce.
In 1551, for financial reasons, Aberdeen applied to Mary Queen of Scots and was granted the right to feu these lands. This meant that in return for a yearly feu duty, the lands were now permanently in private hands. It has been said that this was the worst financial blunder in Aberdeen’s history. This is a little strong: history should not be read backwards. No other Royal Burgh which got equivalent lands from Robert ever held on to them in extenso either.
The councillors in Aberdeen feued these lands to the highest bidders, who were often themselves. The prime parcels of land went first. The names of some of the main estates established in 1551 are still recognisable today, such as Countesswells, Forresterhill, Hazlehead and Kingswells. The new feuars then set about developing their lands.
Other parcels of land were slower to go: Northfield was feued to Provost Rutherford in 1610, but the yearly fee remitted because the land was too sterile to make any money from. It was only in the 18th century with the agricultural revolution that the lands of Northfield became profitable for farming.
There would have been boundary markers from the earliest times, although we do not know what they were. They probably comprised natural features, like burns; stones embedded in the earth, described as ‘earthfast’ stones and saucer stones; and small, purpose-built cairns.
The marches were regularly ridden by the magistrates to ensure that neighbouring landowners had not encroached on to them. The first description of the marches dates to a ‘riding of the marches’ in 1525, although the practice was no doubt older. The ridings were accompanied by much ceremony, which developed over the years.
At other times the ridings were serious and business-like affairs. For example, in 1578, several councillors were appointed to ride the marches and consider ‘the wrangis done’. Ridings often produced evidence of ‘enormities’ committed by neighbouring landowners and by the burgesses themselves: principally neighbours encroached on to the Freedom. The march stones were thus an essential feature of the Freedom Lands.
After 1790 the saucer stone system was replaced by a new scheme of lettered and numbered stones, forming the basis of the system we employ today. In the years following 1790, the stones up to number 48 were replaced with the new letter stones and the series was completed by 1810. The new series was not entirely the same as the older one; some stones were omitted and new ones introduced. Over the years the courses of older natural boundaries, such as burns, had been altered, thus necessitating changes.
There are 65 numbered Freedom Lands march stones and the additional Alpha and Omega stones, which start and end the series, making a total of 67. Six additional stones in town are marked CR, no doubt relating to the division of the inner and outer marches. There are also three cases of duplicates stones. March stones Alpha and Omega do not seem to date to earlier than the 19th century.
Saint Peter’s Keys
Stone No. 1 is of ancient origin and an early description is intriguing: in 1578 it was noted that it was a ‘grey stone which it is pottit (holed) and engraved with the towns common mark’. Thus it would seem that the town’s mark (possibly the motto Bon Accord or a rough version of the town’s arms) had been engraved into it. Curiously, in the 17th century a number of stones were described as being marked by keys: for example stone 56 and stone 57, are described, intriguingly, as marked by Saint Peter’s Keys.
Most of the old earthfast stones have long gone, but a number remain in situ next to their modern counterparts. These older stones, which have marked the line of the marches for some 500 years, can be found adjacent to the following stones: March Stone 16, in the boggy ground next to the summer house of ‘The Policies’, off Baillieswells Road; March Stone 18, in a field 150 metres south-west of the entrance to Hilton Farm, west of Hillhead Road; March Stone 23, on the summit of Bean’s Hill at the junction of fences; March Stone 25, on the east side of rock outcrop at Brunt Hill near Silver Burn (access from track at East Brotherfield Farm); March Stone 29, adjacent to Littlemill Burn in the corner of the field west of Wynford Farm, off Blackburn Road; March Stone 31 ‘The Doupin Stone’, in a field north of Wynford, opposite the road junction; March Stone 32, in a field south of Southside Croft, close to the burn, and March Stone 33, in a field 130 metres north-east of No. 32, near the stepped approach to Elrick Hill. These stones are much rarer survivals than the march stones themselves.
Perhaps the stone most written about is the Doupin Stane. ‘Doup’ has a number of meanings: it can refer to the bottom of an egg, or the action of thrusting or dropping. It was here that the most junior burgess was douped. That is to say he was held aloft and dropped, backside first, on to the stone, to remind him of his humble origins (and possibly for the amusement of all those assembled for this indignity).
March Stone 27, adjacent to Brodiach Burn, and accessed from Brotherfield Farm was previously known as the Ringing Stone, but the origins of this intriguing name are obscure. It seems to indicate that the stone made a ringing noise when struck.
Changes to the stones have been necessary over time as the city has grown. Stone numbers 2, 53 and 63 no longer stand upright, but have been set flush into the ground to accommodate the needs of modern traffic.
The Short Mile pub
Stones numbers 44, 49 and 62 have duplicate, older stones nearby. In all of these cases newer stones were erected as the older stones became inaccessible as the natural environment changed. Stone 44 is the newest example of this practice: the older one stands on the west side of the Bucksburn, but can no longer be reached by a path which used to run down the west bank of the burn. In 2005 a new stone was erected on the east of the burn, on the line of the public footpath, this maintaining the ancient line of the marches.
The march stones continue to be well-loved in Aberdeen, even if in the past they have caused some confusion, having been taken for milestones. Indeed the pub, The Short Mile, is located in between stones three and four, which gave rise to its name. I have even heard people say, on seeing march stones, marked for example AB15, that they show the post code area you are in.
A free leaflet published by Aberdeen City Council can be picked up in town or downloaded at: www.aberdeencity.gov.uk
Chris Croly gained an BA (Hons) in History at the University of Strathclyde and a M.Phil and Ph.D. in History from the University of Cambridge. Assistant Keeper (Research) with Aberdeen City Council’s Archaeological Unit since 2001 with a remit for historical research, curating the Tolbooth Museum and the city’s commemorative plaques_.
This is an article from the December 2007 edition of Leopard Magazine. To read much more like this every month, see our subscription details.