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Inchcolm Abbey - Tibbermore
Scone Charters
Overview
Initially established about 1120 by
Alexander I as an Augustinian priory, it became an abbey
in the 1160's in the reign of Malcolm IV. It was sited
a couple of miles north of Perth on the east bank of
the Tay and being so close to the royal court at that
time and the location of the Stone of Destiny, played
an important part in the history of Scotland.
References to roads in its charters are a little disappointing;
streets in Perth and the bridge at Perth. More interesting
is the request of Robert the Bruce to obtain stones
from quarries near Scone for use on Perth bridge and
the bridge of Earn, and a charter for Tibbermore that
refers to a "stratam" or paved road which
from its location must be the Old Gallows Road and a
couple of other, probably more local roads. The Inchcolm
charter for Tibbermore may be a continuation of the
Old Gallows Road.
As with other abbeys we can assume movement to their
farms and to mills. For example, we know they had property
north of Scone near Blairgowrie and Coupar Angus to
which they would have made regular journeys. Perth itself
was served by important routes which would have been
available to the abbey.
SOURCES
• Liber
Ecclesie de Scon, Maitland Club, Edinburgh 1843
• People of Medieval Scotland (POMS),
Details of charters pre-1314 can be found
on the PoMS website. Search
"sources" by reference number, e.g.
3/646/10
Amanda Beam, John Bradley,
Dauvit Broun, John Reuben Davies, Matthew Hammond, Michele
Pasin (with others), The People of Medieval
Scotland, 1093–1314 (Glasgow and London, 2012)
www.poms.ac.uk.
Reign of Alexander II r.1214-1249
PERTH
No. 80, Page 49 Confirmation of Roger de Quincey count
of Winton of the land that was William de Lens
.This charter relates to some land in Perth, "viz.
that land with a stone house in the street which proceeds
from the great north road leading to the island which
lies between the said street and the water of Tay."
….viz. terram illam cum domo lapidea
in vico qui procedit de magna via aquilonari tendente
versus insulam que jacet inter dictum vicum et aquam de
Tay.
Nos. 88 & 89 Page 56 & 57 Charter of Richard
of Leicester burgess of Perth of a booth in Perth
This was a grant of a booth in Perth, "situated
in the corner next to the great north road of Perth
and the road which proceeds from it towards the church
of St John the Baptist on the western side…."
.scilicet sita est in angulo contingente
magnam viam aquilonarem de Perth et viam que de ea procedit
versus ecclesiam Sancti Johannis baptiste in occidentali
parte
POMS 3/646/10 & 11
No. 97, Page 62 Quitclaim by William son of Ketell
of a croft held in feu
This charter refers to a toft in the south street
of Perth, namely "that toft in the south street
of Perth which at one time was Alan de Ponte‘s
which the said William held in feu from the foresaid
abbot and canons..."
…toftum illum in via australi de
Perth qui quondam fuit alani de ponte quem predictus
Willelmus de prefatis abbate et canonicis in feodo tenuerat
POMS 3/646/1
STIRLING
No. 200, Page 162 Enquiry into four perches of land
in Stirling, dated 1411
.This has a reference to the King’s highway or lane
(viam seu venale Regium) in Stirling.
BRIDGE OF PERTH
No. 82 Page 51 Charter of sale of the site of a toft
inundated by flooding of the Tay, dated 1219
This was a sale to Scone of the site of a toft on the
south side of the bridge beside the Tay which had been
carried away by violent flooding.
John Ylbaren of Perth sold to the canons of Scone the
site of a toft which he had before it was carried away
by a violent flood, and which was on the south side of
the bridge, and on the east, facing the River Tay....
...... Johannes ylbaren de Perth vendidit
canonicis de Scona locum tofti quem habuerant antequam
inundatio fluminis per violentiam eum asportaverat in
australi parte pontis proximi in oriente versus flumen
de They...
POMS 3/646/2
No. 169, Page 126 Charter of arrangement with Margaret
Blund and her son Serlone
This mentions a Richard, chaplain of the bridge.
There was a chapel over the bridge.
POMS 4/21/1
Note: A bridge was carried away in floods of 1209 but
seems to have been rebuilt shortly after. It is not
clear however if the request made by Robert the Bruce
to Scone abbey in 1329 (see next entry) was for stones
that would be used for its repair or complete rebuilding.
So far as Perth is concerned we know a bridge existed
before the dates of these charters so it could have
been repaired or completely rebuilt but was not a new
build. The situation is not as clear with the Bridge
of Earn.
BRIDGES
OF EARN AND OF PERTH
 No.
143, Page 103, Request by King Robert of stones
from Kincarrathie and Balcormac, 1329
"An order was issued by King Robert Bruce, in 1329,
commencing, " Robertus, Dei gratia," &c.
of which the following is a translation: Robert, by the
grace of God, King of Scots, to our beloved and religious
men, the Abbot and Convent of Scone, greeting. We request,
and that very earnestly, that you would grant liberty
of taking hewed stones from Kincarrathie and Balcormac,
for the edification of the Church of Perth, and of the
Bridges of Perth and Eryn, providing always that the liberty
shall not be of any prejudice or damage to you.Given at
Glasco, the fourth day of July, in the twenty-third year
of our reign."
From Perth:
Its Annals and Its Archives, David Peacock, 1849,
page 586
Interpretation
As noted immediately above it is not clear if both
bridges were to be repaired or constructed. While there
was a pre-existing bridge at Perth it is not certain
if there was a pre-existing Bridge of Earn. From other
sources we can be sure that it was on a route north
from Edinburgh, even at this early date.
Both quarries were centred on the Annaty Burn about
one mile north of Bridgend on the east side of the Tay,
opposite Perth and just south of Scone. See the Gannochy
Trust for details.
Both places appear on a Pont
map.
TIBBERMORE
 No.125,
Page 90 Confirmation by William of Ruthven of a charter
of Walter son of Alan of lands of Tibbermore and the fishing
of Carnes
POMS 3/516/6
The lands are described as "that whole land which
Swaine son of Thor my Grandfather gave to them in Tubermore
by these divisions, namely from the King’s Well
which is above the road (strata) which comes from Perth
and leads to the foresaid villa (i.e. Tubermore) with
the toft which was the goldsmith’s and other contiguous
and adjacent tofts in the eastern side of the village,
and so as far as a certain ditch which is between the
aforesaid toft and the church, and so by the ditch towards
the north to the road which comes from the foresaid
church and goes to the east as far as the ford of Lochelyn,
and so by Lochelyn east and south to the stream which
comes from the foresaid King’s Well, with a certain
field above the foresaid well which lies on the south
side of the street which comes from Perth as far as
the wood of Aberdalgyn and so westerwards to the church
lands of Tubermore; the abbot and canons however quitclaim
the whole claim that they had in the land which lies
from the north side of the road which comes from the
church and leads to the aforesaid ford of Lochelyn for
the good peace of me and my heirs in perpetuity …"
The charter also granted the abbey common pasture and
easements of the woods and other common easements that
they had need of.
....totam terram illam quam Swanius
filius Thory auus meus eis dedit in Tubermure per has
diuisas, scilicet a fonte Regis qui est super stratam
que venit de Perth et tendit in uillam prefatam cum
tofto quod fuit aurifabri et aliis toftis contiguis
et adiacentibus in orientali parte ville • et sic
vsque ad quoddam concauum (hollow, ditch) quod est inter
prefata tofta et ecclesiam • et sic per concauum
versus aquilonem usque ad uiam que uenit de prefata
ecclesiam et tendit uersus orientem usque in vadum de
Lochelyn [Et sic per Lochelyn] uersus orientem et meridiem
usque ad riuulum que descendit de prefato fonte Regis
• cum quendam terrula super fontem prefatum que
iacet ex australi parte strate que venit de perth usque
ad nemus de Aberdalgyn et sic versus occidentem usque
ad terram ecclesiam de Tubermore • Abbas vero et
canonici totum clamium quod habebant in terra que iacet
ex aquilonali parte vie que venit de ecclesiam et tendit
ad prefatum vadum de Lochelyn pro bono pacis quietum
me et heredibus meis in perpetuum clamaverunt……
Interpretation
Stobie's
map of 1783 is very useful as it shows the King's
Well to have been about one mile east of Tibbermore
church and just beside what is now known as the Old
Gallows Road. Following Stobie, the layout of Tibbermore
itself was somewhat different as shown on Stobie with
houses clustered near the church and nothing at all
at the crossroads north of the church as shown on modern
maps. A stream is shown passing to the east of King's
Well and running north to the East Pow or as it was
known at an earlier time, the Lochty Burn. It intersects
with a road that ran north-east from Tibbermore.
Given that the King's Well was beside the Old Gallows
Road there is a strong likelihood that the ford of Lochelyn
was north-east of Tibbermore where the other road was
to be found, since following the stream would take one
back to the well and then west to the church lands.
On this stretch the Old Gallows Road forms the parish
boundary between Tibbermore and Abergaldie which may
explain the Abergaldie reference.
While the Old Gallows Road seems incontrovertible one
other interpretation is possible for the other road.
This is to have a road lead from Tibbermore to the East
Pow (Lochty Burn) then follow this burn to the confluence
with the stream coming from near the well and so up
to the well and then west to Tibbermore. Both depend
very much on whether Lochelyn is different from the
Lochethin of other charters which from their context
is clearly Lochty.
The use of the term strata may be significant as it
implies a paved road rather than a beaten track or "way"
but it would be too speculative to assume that it was
identical to the lost stretch of Roman road between
its last known location on the Gask Ridge and the fort
of Bertha at the confluence of the Almond and the Tay.
See Inchcolm abbey below for a possible continuation
of this road.
Inchcolm
Abbey
Charter XXXVII, page 36. Notes page 154.
Charters of the Abbey of Inchcolm, edited by D E Easson
and Angus Macdonald, Scottish History Society, 1938
TIBBERMORE
A charter of Inchcolm Abbey dating from 1362 refers
to a road in the Tibbermore area. This mentions a grant
of "the whole land between the bishop's march and
the toft of Gilchrist MacMal, on the south side of that
township, and the whole land which they can reclaim
from his wood, which is next to the said toft, for the
breadth of that toft to the other bishop's march, namely,
the road which goes through the middle of the wood,
east and west." (Transl. Easson and Macdonald).
There is a strong possibility that it is a continuation
of the road in the Scone charter above (i.e. the Old
Gallows Road) - it lies to the south of Tibbermore,
runs in the same direction of east and west, and is
associated with ecclesiastical lands.
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