818
at the accustomed amount of £10 yearly (i). From the date of that exchange
till the Reformation, the bishops of St. Andrews enjoyed the revenues of the
rectory while the cure was served by a vicar. In Bagimont's Roll, as it stood
under James V., the vicarage of Cranston was taxed at £2 13s. 4d. The
vicarage also appears in the bishop's Tax Roll, 1547, Meantime, the barony
of Cranston-Riddel continued with the Riddels till the reign of David II., when
it passed successively, by various transmissions, through the Murrays to the
Macgills, who acquired the church of Cranston (k). Sir James Macgill, in
1651, was created Viscount Oxenford and Lord Macgill of Cousland, who
dying in 1663, left the whole estates and patronage to his son Robert, who
died without male issue, in 1706. By another series of heirs, those estates
and patronages came to Lady Dalrymple-Hamilton-Macgill, the spouse of Sir
John Dalrymple, baronet. There was of old a chapel at Cranston, which
served the lord and the tenants of the manor. In the 12th century, the
advowson of this chapel was granted to the monks of Dunfermline, and the
grant was confirmed by the diocesan, Bishop Richard, soon after 1163 (l).
This chapel the monks probably retained, till the Reformation dissolved such
connections. The manor and chapelry of Cousland were now annexed to
the parish of Cranston. The chapel stood on the south side of the village of
Cousland, where its remains may still be traced, with its almost forgotten
cemetery, and it was probably dedicated to St. Bartholomew, as some lands
near it retain the name of Bartholomew's Firlot (m), [The Parish Church has
338 communicants, stipend, £334. A U.P. Church at Ford has 174 members.]
The name of CRICHTON parish, in the records of the 12th and 13th centuries,
is written Crechtun, and Creichtoun, and in the charter of David I., it appears
in the form of Crectun. There is nothing in the Saxon speech that would make
a rational prefix to the Anglo-Saxon tun, except we can suppose that some
man, called Crec, Creich, or Crech, may have settled here, whereof there is
not any intimation in record or in history. In the British speech, Crech-ton,
and Crych-ton, signify the rough or rugged surface; and sufficiently describe
(i) Chart. Kelso, 31. In 1317, William de Alncrom, the abbot of Kelso, gave to Bishop Lam-
berton the church of Cranston, with all its tithes and pertinents, in exchange for Naythanthirn
and the chapel of Newton ; and in consideration of the superior value of the church of Cranston,
the bishop obliged himself to pay the abbot 25 marks sterling during 10 years. Chart. Kelso,
309-10.
(k) Roberts. Index, 45-124 ; Bolls of David II., Rob. II., and of Albany. Inquisit. Speciales,
viii. 146.
(l) Chart. Dunferm.; Sir Lewis Stewart's MS. Col., 45.
(m) Stat. Acco., ix. 281.