FEU 0R LEASE?
A. I. B. Stewart, C.B.E., D.L.
A story has persisted for nearly three hundred years that the Duke of Argyll had, in the early years of the 18th Century done his Campbeltown feuars out of their feus by trickery or otherwise. In 1705 John, Second Duke of Argyll, although only 25 years of age, was already a man of great importance in the State. He was Queen Anne's Commissioner at the Scottish Parliament which met on 3rd July 1705 to consider the Queen's recommendation that the Scots Parliament should treat with England, with a view to effecting a Union of the two kingdoms.
Meantime, his Kintyre estates were managed by his formidable mother, Elizabeth Tollemache, Dowager Duchess, who resided at Limecraigs House. There appears to be no foundation for the story that by a subterfuge she obtained the Feu Writs from the Campbeltown feuars and destroyed them. There would have been little purpose in so doing, because the writs were recorded in the Register of Sasines and could be proved by the production of Extracts from the Register.
However, there does exist in the Argyll Archives, a document which indicates the intention of the Superiors to substitute leases for the perpetual feus given to certain Campbeltown citizens. This document dated "the Sixt day of Apryll, Seventeen hundred and six yeirs" narrates that "Alexander Rowat, Donald Clerk, John Montgomerie, late baillies of Campbeltown, John Cunisone, John Wyllie, Andrew Dickie, Smiths, John McKinley, Taylor, John Patersons Younger and Elder, merchants, all feuars within the Burgh of Campbeltown Forasmuch as it is thought fitt be his Grace the Duke of Argyll and hir Grace the Dutchess Dowager of Argyll as conjunct fiar of the Brugh of Campbeltown To alter our rights of fewes and to turn the same into herell (heritable) tacks....Whereinto ilk ane of us for our parts considering our own weill utility and Profeit in changing our former ryts unto herell tacks be advyse foresaid we hold us weill content and satisfied therewith...."
Whatever was the intention it does not seem to have been carried out, at least in respect of all the subscribing feuars. Amongst others, all are still shown as feuars in a list of properties dated 1710, and some at least of the feus still exist at the present day.
John Cunison (whose brother James Cunison was Provost of the Burgh from 1712 to 1717) was granted a few of the property 37-39 Main Street in 1694 and the present owners hold under that Feu Charter.
I have seen a number of other late Seventeenth Century titles for properties particularly in Main Street. The 1710 list mentioned above gives 58 properties in Fore Street (Main Street), Church Lane (Kirk Street), Bridge Street (later Back Street, now Union Street), Balcom (Bolgam) Street and Milne Street (Cross Street). Of these 24 are shown as feued, one about to be feued, 25 are held under tacks (or leases, of which 11 are said to be expired), one belongs to the Duke himself, while no note of the type of holding is given for 6 tenements. As well as the promised feu to John McEachran, it is remarked that in the case of the tenement possessed by Donald McNeill and John Blair the tack expired and it has been feued to Provost Campbell. There seems therefore to have been no policy against feuing at that time and no evidence that the proposals in the 1706 agreement were ever carried out. But the correspondence of the Dowager Duchess still awaits study and publication. It must hold a great deal of interest for Campbeltown and Kintyre.
Page 2: Arms of the Royal Burgh of Campbeltown