A bailie or baillie is a civic officer in the

local government of Scotland Local government in Scotland comprises thirty-two local authorities, commonly referred to as ''councils''. Each council provides public services, including education, social care, waste management, libraries and planning. Councils receive the ma ...

. The position arose in the

burgh A burgh ( ) is an Autonomy, autonomous municipal corporation in Scotland, usually a city, town, or toun in Scots language, Scots. This type of administrative division existed from the 12th century, when David I of Scotland, King David I created ...

s, where bailies formerly held a post similar to that of an

alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law with similar officials existing in the Netherlands (wethouder) and Belgium (schepen). The term may be titular, denotin ...

magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judi ...

(see

bailiff A bailiff is a manager, overseer or custodian – a legal officer to whom some degree of authority or jurisdiction is given. There are different kinds, and their offices and scope of duties vary. Another official sometimes referred to as a '' ...

). Baillies appointed the high constables in Edinburgh,

Leith Leith (; ) is a port area in the north of Edinburgh, Scotland, founded at the mouth of the Water of Leith and is home to the Port of Leith. The earliest surviving historical references are in the royal charter authorising the construction of ...

and

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

. Modern bailies exist in Scottish local councils, and the position being a courtesy title, appointees are often requested to provide support to the

lord provost A lord provost () is the convenor of the local authority, the civic head and the lord-lieutenant of one of the principal cities of Scotland. The office is similar to that of a lord mayor. Only the cities of Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh, Stirlin ...

provost Provost may refer to: Officials Ecclesiastic * Provost (religion), a high-ranking church official * Prince-provost, a high-ranking church official Government * Provost (civil), an officer of local government, including the equivalent ...

- the ceremonial and civic head of the council - in their various engagements.

History

The name was derived from

Old French Old French (, , ; ) was the language spoken in most of the northern half of France approximately between the late 8th

. Several officials held this role often at the appointment of the Church. The jurisdiction of a bailie is called a ''bailiary'' (alt. ''bailiery''). The office of bailie was abolished in law in Scotland in 1975, and today the position of bailie is a courtesy title.

Use

Aberdeen City Council Aberdeen City Council is the Local government in Scotland, local authority for Aberdeen City, one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. In its modern form it was created in 1996. Aberdeen was formerly governed by a municipal corporation, corporat ...

- appoints five bailies. *

Dundee City Council Dundee City Council is the Local government in Scotland, local authority for Dundee City council area, Dundee City, one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. In its modern form it was created in 1996. Dundee was formerly governed by a municipal c ...

- appoints five bailies. The position was reintroduced in 2003. *

Edinburgh City Council The City of Edinburgh Council (Scottish Gaelic: ''Comhairle Baile Dhùn Èideann'') is the local government authority covering the City of Edinburgh council area. Almost half of the council area is the built-up area of Edinburgh, capital of Sco ...

- appoints six bailies. The position was reintroduced in the 2000s following the title falling into disuse after the 1975 reform of local government. *

Glasgow City Council Glasgow City Council (Scottish Gaelic: ''Comhairle Baile Ghlaschu'') is the Local government in Scotland, local government authority for Glasgow, Glasgow City council area, Scotland. In its modern form it was created in 1996. Glasgow was former ...

- appoints eighteen bailies. *

Perth and Kinross Council Perth and Kinross Council () is the local authority for Perth and Kinross, one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. The council has been under no overall control since 1999. It is based in Perth. History A district called Perth and Kinross was ...

- appoints five bailies. *

Stirling Council Stirling (; ; ) is a city in central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the royal citadel, the medieval old town with its merchants and tradesmen, the ...

- appoints four bailies *

West Dunbartonshire Council West is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some Romance langu ...

- revived the title in 2017 to appoint to veteran councillor Denis Agnew.

Notable Scottish bailies

As a title

Alasdair MacMhaighstir Alasdair Alasdair mac Mhaighstir Alasdair (c. 1698–1770), legal name Alexander MacDonald, or, in Gaelic Alasdair MacDhòmhnaill, was a Scottish war poet, satirist, lexicographer, and memoirist. He was born at Dalilea into the Scottish nobility () an ...

, Bailie of Canna *

Mary Barbour Mary Barbour ( Rough; 20 February 1875 – 2 April 1958) was a Scotland, Scottish Activism, political activist, local councillor, bailie and magistrate. Barbour was closely associated with the Red Clydeside movement in the early 20th century ...

Glasgow Corporation Glasgow City Council (Scottish Gaelic: ''Comhairle Baile Ghlaschu'') is the local government authority for Glasgow City council area, Scotland. In its modern form it was created in 1996. Glasgow was formerly governed by a corporation, also kno ...

's first woman Baillie (1924–1927) *

Alexander Comyn, Earl of Buchan Alexander Comyn, 2nd Earl of Buchan (died 1289) was a Scoto-Norman magnate who was one of the most important figures in the 13th century Kingdom of Scotland. Life He was the son of William Comyn, Lord of Badenoch, and wife Marjory, Counte ...

, Bailie of

Inverie Inverie (; ) is the main village on the Knoydart peninsula in the Scottish Highlands. It is located on the north side of Loch Nevis and, although on the mainland of Britain, the network of single-track roads surrounding the village is not conne ...

Knoydart Knoydart () is a peninsula in Lochaber, Highland, on the west coast of Scotland. Knoydart is sandwiched between Lochs Nevis and Hourn — often translated as "Loch Heaven" (from the Gaelic ''Loch Néimh'') and "Loch Hell" (Gaelic: ''Loch ...

*Dr

George Coull Dr George Coull FRSE (1862? – 10 January 1934) was a Scottish pharmaceutical chemist. He served as Managing Director of Raimes Clark & Co, parent company to Scotland's largest independent chemist, Lindsay & Gilmour. Life He was born in Edinb ...

FRSE Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and Literature, letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". ...

, Bailie of

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

Sir John Lauder, 1st Baronet Sir John Lauder, 1st Baronet, of Newington and Fountainhall (1595 – 2 April 1692) was a notable Scottish baillie and Treasurer of the City of Edinburgh Council, who was raised to a Nova Scotia baronetcy in 1688. Antecedents Lauder was born ...

, Bailie of

Sir James Steel Sir James Steel, 1st Baronet (1829–1904) was a Scottish builder and businessman who served as Lord Provost of Edinburgh from 1900 to 1903. He was the largest building firm in Edinburgh in his day. His rise to fame and fortune is described ...

, 1st Baronet (1829–1904), Bailie of

from 1888 to 1900 *Thomas Watt, Bailie to the

Baron of Cartsburn Baron of Cartsburn is a title of nobility in the Baronage of Scotland. Created for Thomas Crawfurd of Cartsburn in 1669, when the lands of Cartsburn in the Parish of Easter Greenock in the Shire of Renfrew were erected , as a free barony held of ...

, grandfather of

James Watt James Watt (; 30 January 1736 (19 January 1736 OS) – 25 August 1819) was a Scottish inventor, mechanical engineer, and chemist who improved on Thomas Newcomen's 1712 Newcomen steam engine with his Watt steam engine in 1776, which was f ...

*Bailie William Landale, winner of the silver cup at the first open championship held at St Andrews Old Course in 1754, see

Timeline of golf history (1353–1850) The following is a partial timeline of the history of golf: *1421 – A Scottish regiment aiding the French against the English at the Siege of Baugé is introduced to the game of chole. Hugh Kennedy, Robert Stewart and John Smale, three of th ...

* "Baillie Vass" - the ''

Aberdeen Evening Express The ''Evening Express'' is a daily local newspaper serving the city of Aberdeen, Scotland. History Its first issue was published on 20 January 1879. It was a tabloid during the 1930s to the 1950s until it resumed as a broadsheet in November 19 ...

'' accidentally used a picture of

Sir Alec Douglas-Home Alexander Frederick Douglas-Home, Baron Home of the Hirsel ( ; 2 July 1903 – 9 October 1995), known as Lord Dunglass from 1918 to 1951 and the Earl of Home from 1951 to 1963, was a British statesman and Conservative Party (UK), Conservative ...

over a caption referring to a baillie called Vass. ''

Private Eye ''Private Eye'' is a British fortnightly satirical and current affairs (news format), current affairs news magazine, founded in 1961. It is published in London and has been edited by Ian Hislop since 1986. The publication is widely recognised ...

'' then affected to believe that Home was an imposter.

As a surname

Alexander Baillie Alexander Baillie (born 6 January 1956) is an English cellist, recognised internationally as one of the finest of his generation. He is currently professor of cello at the Bremen Hochschule and previously taught at Birmingham Conservatoire, as ...

- internationally recognised cellist, born 1956. * Chris Baillie - Scottish hurdler * Chris Baillie (politician) - New Zealand politician * David Baillie - Writer, born in West Lothian, known for comicbook work such as 2000 AD and Red Thorn. * Edmund J. Baillie - Welsh businessman, horticulturalist and activist *

Jackie Baillie Dame Jacqueline Marie Baillie (' Barnes; born 15 January 1964) is a Scottish politician who has served as Deputy Leader of the Scottish Labour Party since 2020 Scottish Labour deputy leadership election, 2020. She has been Member of the Scottis ...

Member of the Scottish Parliament Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP; ; ) is the title given to any one of the 129 individuals elected to serve in the Scottish Parliament. Electoral system The additional member system produces a form of proportional representation, where ...

for

Dumbarton Dumbarton (; , or ; or , meaning 'fort of the Britons (historical), Britons') is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, on the north bank of the River Clyde where the River Leven, Dunbartonshire, River Leven flows into the Clyde estuary. ...

. *

Jim Baillie James Baillie (8 June 1902 – date of death unknown) was a Scottish professional footballer. Career Born in Hamilton, Baillie played for local youth side Wishaw before joining Derry Celtic. In 1926, he joined Football League First Division si ...

- Scottish footballer * Thomas Baillie - Royal Navy officer known for a celebrated libel case. * William Baillie - Irish print maker. *James Bailie - American real estate developer of Scottish descent.

Outside of government

Scottish

baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often Hereditary title, hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than ...

s often appointed a Bailie as their judicial officer.

References

{{reflist Scottish titles Political office-holders in Scotland Local government in Scotland

History

Use

Notable Scottish bailies

As a title

As a surname

Outside of government

See also

References