310 Greyfriars' Convent of Dumfries. 



" quhilks landis John Maxwell elder baud in tak of the said 

 place befoir. ' '^^ In endeavouring to define the position of 

 the lands thus held we are aided by the Burgh Register of 

 Sasines at Dumfries, wherein the titles of many of them are 

 recorded. The interesting point about these lands to us 

 to-day is that on the Crown gift of the Friars' properties to 

 the Burgh of Dumfries in 1569 they came under the superiority 

 of the latter, and they are still held from the burgh in feu or 

 in burgage. While this claim of superiority has little mone- 

 tary value to-day, yet I do not think that it should be for- 

 gotten either by those who hold it or by those who are thus 

 relieved from payment of casualties to other adjacent 

 superiors. The superiority was for a century or so jealously 

 guarded by the burgh. On 19th October, 1673 [the town 

 council of Dumfries], " being informed that severall of the 

 inhabitants of this brugh ar cited to the heid court of the 

 regality of brigend, And seeing these lands qrof the inhabi- 

 tants ar heritors are holdin of this brugh burgadge, therefore 

 the counsall appoints bailie Kennan, bailie Craik and Jon 

 Schortrig to goe to the sd court at brigend the morrow and 

 protest by way of instrument that the sds heritors and inhabi- 

 tants of this brugh ar not lyable to appear."!^ 



This incident seemingly made the owners more careful 

 in the registration of their titles, for several appear with 

 definite statements that the subjects were friary lands. ^^ 



In endeavouring to define the position of these properties, 

 let us take, first, a piece of land, a portion of the Friars' Pro- 

 perties, which is not described, but in 1571 was held by David 

 Tod, for which he paid annually thirty-four shillings. ^^ It 

 seems probable that it was subsequently known as " Toddies- 

 land." It is thus described in a sasine of 7th September, 

 1678 ■A'^ " These four ackers of lands in noltmercat commonly 

 callit Toddiesland lyand near the brigend of the said burgh 

 [of Dumfries] in the parochine of Troqueer with ane barn 

 and dwelling-house constructed thervpon. Bounded betwixt 

 the loaning and passage from the brigend to Cairgenbrig on 

 the eist and north, the lands callit Baxters^^ close on the west, 

 and the lands perteining to Mareon Thomson on the south." 



The bailies and some of the council of Dumfries attended 



