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Property transfers and the Register of Sasines: urban development in Scotland since 1617

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 February 2009

Richard Rodger  and
Jennifer Newman
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Extract

Walter Scott's assertion in Rob Roy that ‘In those days possession was considerably more than eleven points of the law’ overlooked a pivotal point of Scots Law, the distinction between ownership and possession. Possession or occupancy was not ‘as good as title’ as the sixteenth-century Scottish proverb or old French saying ‘possession vaut titre’ claimed. Though the distinction between ownership and possession might have seemed a nicety to Rob Roy in the sixteenth century, by 1617 a general register of titles to land, the Register of Sasines, was established in Scotland, and has continued virtually uninterrupted until the present day. It is consequently a record of immense importance to urban historians.

Type
Research Article
Information
Urban History Yearbook , Volume 15 , May 1988 , pp. 49 - 57
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1988

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References

Notes

The archival research upon which this is based was funded by the ESRC, project no. D00232155, and the end of grant report deposited in the British Library in June 1987. We should like to acknowledge the assistance of Albert Russell at the Scottish Record Office, and the staff of the Register of Sasines at Meadowbank House, Edinburgh for their advice and forbearance.

1 Walker, D. M., The Scottish Legal System (1969), 156–7;Google Scholar Ross, , Lectures on the History and Practice of the Law of Scotland, 2nd edn (1822) vol. 2, 201;Google Scholar Bell, A. M., Lectures on Conveyancing, 3rd edn (1882), Ch.6;Google Scholar Craigie, J., Scottish Law of Conveyancing: Heritable Rights 3rd edn (1899), 55–62, 270;Google Scholar Encyclopaedia of the Laws of Scotland (1931), paras. 804–10;Google Scholar Ockrent, L., Land Rights: An Enquiry into the History of Registration for Publication in Scotland (1942), 45–55;Google Scholar Williamson, A. B. and Wilson, W. A. (eds), Introduction to the Law of Scotland (1980), 593;Google Scholar The Stair Society, An Introduction to Scottish Legal History (1958), 156–62, 188–93;Google Scholar Livingstone, M., A Guide to the Public Records of Scotland (1905), 166–72.Google Scholar

2 James VI 1617 c.12 and c.16.

3 Early Scottish Land Registration Statutes are those of James IV 1503 c.35; James V 1540 c. 11–14; Mary 1555 c.21; James VI1587 c.44, 50; James VI 1597 c.17, 33, 35, 36; James VI 1600 c.22, 36; James VI1609 c.40; James VI1617 c.12, 16; Charles II1672 c.16; James VII 1686 c.33, William & Mary 1693 c.22, 23; William & Mary 1696 c.18.

4 Home, H. (Lord Karnes), Elucidations Respecting the Common Law and Statute Law of Scotland (1777), 259Google Scholar, quoted in Ockrent, L., Land Rights, 47.Google Scholar

5 Brown, P. H., History of Scotland (1902), Vol.11, 287;Google Scholar Ockrent, L., Land Rights, 49.Google Scholar

6 Farran, C. D'o., The Principles ofScots and English Land Law (1958), 193Google Scholar, revised by Kolbert, C. F. and Mackay, N. A. M. as History of Scots and English Land Law (1977).Google Scholar

7 Innes, J. W. B., ‘Some differences between English and Scots law: II. The origin of the land systems’, Juridical Review, 27 (1915), 28–44.Google Scholar

8 Upjohn, W. H., ‘The Statute of Uses and the present system of conveyancing’, Law Magazine and Review, 4th series, 6 (1980–1981), 134–6.Google Scholar

9 2 Ric II St. 2 (1379); 4 Hen VII c.4(c) (1488); 27 Hen VIII c.10, 16 (1535).

10 Dibben, A. A., Title Deeds; 13th-19th Centuries (1968), 9–11;Google Scholar S. R.Simpson, Land Law and Registration (1976), 37.Google Scholar

11 Tate, W. E., ‘The five English district statutory Registries of Deeds’, Bull. Inst, of Hist. Research, 20 (1944), 97–105;CrossRefGoogle Scholar 15 Car II c.17 (1663).

12 Sheppard, F., Belcher, V. and Cottrell, P., ‘The Middlesex and Yorkshire deeds registries and the study of building fluctuations’, London Journal (1980), 176–217;Google Scholar Archer, C. A. and Wilkinson, R. K., ‘The Yorkshire Registries of Deeds’, Urban History Yearbook (1977), 40–7;CrossRefGoogle Scholar 2 & 3 Anne c.4 (West Riding); 6 Anne c.62 (East); 7 Anne c.20 (Middlesex); 8 Geo II c.6 (North Riding).

13 Blyth, E. K., ‘Land transfer and land registry’, Law Quarterly Review, 12 (1896), 354–67.Google Scholar

14 Greenwood, H., ‘Registration – or simplification – of title?’, Law Quarterly Review, 6 (1890), 144–56;Google Scholar H. W. Challis, ‘The compulsory registration of title’, ibid., 157–68 provides an account of efforts to register title 1862–90.

15 Blyth, , ‘Land transfer’, 359.Google Scholar

16 Because of the voluntary and belated nature of English property registration before 1925, Green, G., ‘Title deeds: a key to local and housing markets’, Urban History Yearbook (1980), 84–91CrossRefGoogle Scholar makes no reference to them as a historical source.

17 Ockrent, L., Land Rights, 20.Google Scholar Green, G., ‘Title deeds’, 86Google Scholar also refers to the secrecy of the English registration process.

18 This process has continued to the present, and these volumes can be consulted at Meadowbank House, Edinburgh, by members of the public on payment of a fee or by professional searchers and historical researchers by arrangement with the Registrar. The General Register at Register House, Edinburgh, is open to the public, with the indexes freely available and the minute books provided on payment of a fee or, without payment, through the Historical Search Room. Before 1868 the reference number is RS.27 and after 1868 RS.108. By contrast, contemporary English property registries remain closed to the public.

19 All the examples given in the following pages refer to Edinburgh and rise from a study, funded by the ESRC, of residential development in that city between 1840 and 1914. References to the Register of Sasines are given by date and name only as they appear in the indexes. See, for example, feu charter of 18 April 1876 between Heriot's Hospital and James Steel.

20 Feu charter 15 April 1869, James Walker University of Essex and James Steel. Disposition 17 May 1878, Alexander Learmonth and James Steel.

21 Feu charter 9 January 1867, James Home Rigg and James Steel. Feu charter 22 March 1876, Heriot's Hospital and James Steel. Disposition 3 April 1887, William Hardinge and James Steel.

22 See, for example, feu charters of 29 May 1867 James Steel and Clunas and Wilson, builders.

23 All these points are found in the bond given over 9 Darnaway Street by James Steel to the Methuen Family on 29 May 1884, partially repaid on 1 April 1892 and the balance was repaid on 13 November 1909. It was reassigned twice in this period.

24 Marriage contract funds were sometimes used to provide the recipients with a home as in the case of Alexander Donaldson's purchase of 19 Eglinton Crescent on 19 May 1881 when £10, 000 was paid out of his marriage contract fund. On 4 March 1896 the Trustees of Alexander MacTier provided £3, 600 against a mixed shop and housing development at 234–41 Dairy Road.

25 James Lindesay, James Steel's solicitor, frequently provided him with funds including a loan of £2, 500 on 3 January 1873 over 3 Caledonian Place. The Earl of Moray also made funds available to Steel on several occasions, including a loan of £26, 000 on 15 May 1893 over 1–15 Belgrave Place.

26 The Edinburgh Mutual Investment and Building Society, the St Bernard's Friendly Society and the St Cuthbert's Co-operative Society were frequent lenders on property in Comely Bank. See, for example, the loan of £250 on 16 May 1898 to Alexander and Agnes Auchterlonie for the purchase of the northmost house on the first flat of 22 Comely Bank Avenue.

27 James Steel received only one loan from a bank – on 2 February 1871 the Commercial Bank of Scotland loaned him £7, 000 over property at Lonsdale Terrace and Antigua Street.

28 Feu charter 15 April 1869, James Walker to James Steel; feu charter 9 June 1874.

29 Disposition 17 May 1878, Alexander Learmonth to James Steel; 8 March 1878 feu contract James Home Rigg to James Steel. In the Murieston Crescent development Steel sold only one tenement on 20 May 1889 to David Turner.

30 At 22 Comely Bank Avenue, for example, Steel retained three flats for rental and sold the remaining six to individual purchasers.

31 Nos. 32–6 Comely Bank Avenue were sold to two purchasers on 17 and 23 May 1898. The main door house at 32, plus the northmost flats on the first, second and third floors, were sold to Sydney Smith. The main door house at 36, with the southmost and centre flats on each upper floor, were sold to Agnes and Margaret Logan. It was very common in Edinburgh for housing to be purchased to give an income to widows and unmarried daughters. This could take the form of that adopted for the Misses Logan, by letting houses, but for those less well-endowed, the investment could take the form of providing a home for the lady concerned and she made an income from taking in lodgers. The provision of lodgings could also, of course, be made in rented accommodation, as was the case with James Steel's nieces, Susan and Mary Percival, who rented 4 Torphichen Street from him for this purpose.

32 Quite a large number of Steel's tenants in rented accommodation bought property from him at different addresses. For example, 14 May 1912, Alexander Cruickshank purchased 2 Comely Bank Grove having been a tenant at 3 Comely Bank Terrace.