burghs
Historic Scottish towns
Burghs are Scottish towns that historically held special trading privileges and a degree of self-governance, similar to English boroughs.
The term survives in place names and historical references, though the administrative category was abolished in 1975.
Royal burghs held charters directly from the crown, while burghs of barony were granted by local lords.
Edinburgh was one of Scotland's most important royal burghs.
Scotland's seat of government
- GlasgowScotland's most populous city
- royalOf monarchs
- charterFounding organizational document
- medievalOf the Middle Ages
Aberdeen · Dundee · Stirling · Perth · Inverness · market · trading · privileges
Of tiered landownership
- medievalOf the Middle Ages
- chartersDocuments establishing rights
- monarchyRule by crowned sovereign
- crownSovereign's ornamental headpiece
grants · merchants · trade · guilds · craftsmen · burgesses · privileges · nobility
Vertical enclosing structures
- gatesMovable barriers at openings
- town centerMunicipal gathering area
- high streetTown's central shopping road
- kirkScottish word for church
marketplace · guildhall · courthouse · fortification · stone · cobblestone · closes · tenements
Local governing district
- townshipCounty's smaller division
- jurisdictionLegal authority's scope
- governanceHow authority is exercised
- civicPertaining to community affairs
authority · representation · parliamentary · constituency · electorate · franchise · burgess · voting
Edinburgh
Scotland's seat of government
medieval · Aberdeen · Dundee · Stirling · Perth · Inverness · market · trading · privileges · freemen
feudal
Of tiered landownership
crown · grants · merchants · trade · guilds · craftsmen · burgesses · privileges · nobility · sovereignty
walls
Vertical enclosing structures
- gatesMovable barriers at openings
- town centerMunicipal gathering area
- high streetTown's central shopping road
kirk · marketplace · guildhall · courthouse · fortification · stone · cobblestone · closes · tenements · spires
municipality
Local governing district
- townshipCounty's smaller division
- jurisdictionLegal authority's scope
- governanceHow authority is exercised
civic · authority · representation · parliamentary · constituency · electorate · franchise · burgess · voting · rights
burghswilderness
Uncultivated, uninhabited natural region
countryside · rural areas · hamlets · unincorporated areas · villages