Thirlage

Obligation to do suit to a mill.

Definition source

Kinnear, J. B., Digest of House of Lords Cases Decided on Appeal from Scotland, 1709-1864 — Glossary of Scottish Law Terms (Edinburgh, 1865). Public domain.

Legal Subject: Thirlage

Case	Date	Legal Subject	Abstract
Belsches v. Paterson and Anderson	1786	Tack, Thirlage, Interlocutor, Decreet-Arbitral, Charter, Reduction	Robert Belsches pursued the action against Mrs Mary Paterson and Alexander Farquharson regarding the extent of thirlage over the lands of Greenyards. Belsches argued that the thirlage did not extend to wheat or barley, while Paterson and Farquharson maintained that the lands of Easter Greenyards were thirled to the mill of Skeoch for omnia grana crescentia.
Duckett v. Williams	1832	Fraud, Insurance, Aliment, Thirlage, Policy coverage, Evidence
General Greme's Trustees v. Thomas Bruce	1799	Aliment, Thirlage, Trustees, Arbitration, Succession, Sale	Thomas Bruce pursued General Greme's Trustees to void his purchase of the Braco estate, alleging the trustees had concealed a material alteration to the course of Keir Burn that diminished the property's value and safety. The trustees denied withholding information and argued that any damage was compensable and insufficient to annul the bargain. Bruce additionally sought authority to alter the burn's course, prompting disputes over jurisdiction and damages, while technical reports assessed flooding risks and construction costs.
Hepburn and Massow v. Duff and Davidson	1793	Prescription, Tack, Aliment, Thirlage, tenant, Sasine	Robert William Duff and his tenant John Donaldson, defenders in the action by Hepburn and Massow, petitioned against Lord Monboddo's interlocutors. Based on the single document cataloged for this case.
Inhabitants of the Parish of Crailing v. Hunter	1791	Prescription, Heritor, Adjudication, Inhibition, Aliment, Thirlage	The inhabitants of the Parish of Crailing petitioned as pursuers in May 1791 to overturn a recent interlocutor against the defender Mr. Hunter, citing ancestral burial rights and a 1763 Sheriff judgment. Based on the single document cataloged for this case.
John Aitchison and others v. The Magistrates and Billet-Master of Haddington	1795	Interlocutor, Burgh, Thirlage, Suspension, Representation, Magistrate
John Scott and Others v. The College of Glasgow	1792	Teinds, Valuation, Heritor, Teind, Tack, Thirlage	John Scott of Heatherieknow and others pursued the Principal and Professors of the College of Glasgow regarding the payment of valued teinds in victual. The College petitioned the Court to alter its recent interlocutor on 28 May 1792, submitting a reclaiming petition, and Scott and others answered on 11 October 1792, responding to the demand for payment.
M'Leod v. Incorporation of Bakers	1784	Tack, Thirlage, Possession, Aliment, Tax, Charter	Malcolm M'Leod, tackman of the ladle-dues, pursued the Incorporation of Bakers of Glasgow for payment of ladle-dues on wheat and flour, including grain ground at the Partick mills. After M'Leod proved that such dues applied to all wheat entering Glasgow including that ground at Partick, the Bakers petitioned to alter the interlocutor and claimed immunity, whereupon M'Leod answered and produced a 1693 decree-arbitral between the Town and the Bakers. Following remits from the Lord Ordinary, the Bakers argued that the Magistrates had no right to levy dues on grain brought to Partick without entering the city, while the Magistrates maintained their entitlement to levy on such grain.
Mackenzie and Dunbar v. Mackenzie	1793	Succession, Property, Prescription, Thirlage, Debt, Tack	Sir Hector Mackenzie defended against a thirlage petition by Mackenzie and Dunbar regarding the Logierioch lands, arguing that his obligations were limited by custom rather than feudal tenure and that tenants had long paid no multure for grain. Based on the single document cataloged for this case.
Magistrates of Dunfermline v. Lord Monboddo's Interlocutor	1789	Tack, Interlocutor, Thirlage, Possession, Onus Probandi, Burgh	The Magistrates and Town-Council of Dunfermline petitioned the Court to alter Lord Monboddo's interlocutor. Based on the single document cataloged for this case.
Ramsay v. Moray, et al	1794	Heritor, Succession, Glebe, Valuation, Thirlage, Inhibition	John Clerk petitioned the Court to alter its interlocutor against the heritors of his parish, which suspended his right to dig and sell marl from his glebe. Based on the single document cataloged for this case.
Trustees upon the Berwickshire Turnpike Roads v. Mayor, Bailies, and Burgesses of the Borough of Berwick	1793	Trustees, Thirlage, Mala Fides, Statute, Interdict, Act of Parliament	The Trustees upon the Berwickshire Turnpike Roads defended the placement of a toll-bar on the Eyemouth road against the Mayor, Bailies, and Burgesses of the Borough of Berwick, who sought suspension of the tolls under a 1793 turnpike act. The Corporation argued that the trustees had violated the statute by situating the gate closer to Eyemouth than to Berwick, thereby creating unequal distances prohibited by the act. The Trustees maintained that the gate was properly positioned as near as may be to the required distance from Berwick and that the Corporation's bill of suspension lacked legal foundation.