A burgh ( ) is an

autonomous In developmental psychology and moral, political, and bioethical philosophy, autonomy is the capacity to make an informed, uncoerced decision. Autonomous organizations or institutions are independent or self-governing. Autonomy can also be defi ...

municipal corporation Municipal corporation is the legal term for a local governing body, including (but not necessarily limited to) cities, counties, towns, townships, charter townships, villages, and boroughs. The term can also be used to describe municipally o ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

, usually a

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

, or toun in Scots. This type of

administrative division Administrative divisions (also administrative units, administrative regions, subnational entities, or constituent states, as well as many similar generic terms) are geographical areas into which a particular independent sovereign state is divi ...

existed from the 12th century, when

King David I David I or Dauíd mac Maíl Choluim ( Modern Gaelic: ''Daibhidh I mac haoilChaluim''; – 24 May 1153) was a 12th century ruler and saint who was Prince of the Cumbrians from 1113 to 1124 and King of Scotland from 1124 to 1153. The youngest ...

created the first

royal burgh A royal burgh ( ) was a type of Scottish burgh which had been founded by, or subsequently granted, a royal charter. Although abolished by law in 1975, the term is still used by many former royal burghs. Most royal burghs were either created by ...

s. Burgh status was broadly analogous to

borough status Borough status is granted by royal charter to local government districts in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The status is purely honorary, and does not give any additional powers to the council or inhabitants of the district. In Scotland, si ...

, found in the rest of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. Following local government reorganisation in 1975, the title of "royal burgh" remains in use in many towns, but now has little more than ceremonial value.

History

The first burgh was Berwick. By 1130,

David I David I may refer to: * David I, Caucasian Albanian Catholicos c. 399 * David I of Armenia, Catholicos of Armenia (728–741) * David I Kuropalates of Georgia (died 881) * David I Anhoghin, king of Lori (ruled 989–1048) * David I of Scotland ...

(r. 1124–53) had established other burghs including

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 ...

Stirling Stirling (; ; ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in Central Belt, central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town#Scotland, market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the roya ...

Dunfermline Dunfermline (; , ) is a city, parish, and former royal burgh in Fife, Scotland, from the northern shore of the Firth of Forth. Dunfermline was the de facto capital of the Kingdom of Scotland between the 11th and 15th centuries. The earliest ...

, Haddington,

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 ...

Dumfries Dumfries ( ; ; from ) is a market town and former royal burgh in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, near the mouth of the River Nith on the Solway Firth, from the Anglo-Scottish border. Dumfries is the county town of the Counties of Scotland, ...

Jedburgh Jedburgh ( ; ; or ) is a town and former royal burgh in the Scottish Borders and the traditional county town of the Shires of Scotland, historic county of Roxburghshire. History Jedburgh began as ''Jedworð'', the "worth" or enclosed settlem ...

, Montrose,

Rutherglen Rutherglen (; , ) is a town in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, immediately south-east of the city of Glasgow, from its centre and directly south of the River Clyde. Having previously existed as a separate Lanarkshire burgh, in 1975 Rutherglen lo ...

and

Lanark Lanark ( ; ; ) is a town in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, located 20 kilometres to the south-east of Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, Hamilton. The town lies on the River Clyde, at its confluence with Mouse Water. In 2016, the town had a populatio ...

. Most of the burghs granted charters in his reign probably already existed as settlements. Charters were copied almost verbatim from those used in England, and early burgesses usually invited

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

and

Flemish Flemish may refer to: * Flemish, adjective for Flanders, Belgium * Flemish region, one of the three regions of Belgium *Flemish Community, one of the three constitutionally defined language communities of Belgium * Flemish dialects, a Dutch dialec ...

settlers.A. MacQuarrie, ''Medieval Scotland: Kinship and Nation'' (Thrupp: Sutton, 2004), , pp. 136-40. They were able to impose tolls and fines on traders within a region outside their settlements. Properties known as

Burgage Burgage is a medieval land term used in Great Britain and Ireland, well established by the 13th century. A burgage was a town ("borough" or "burgh") rental property (to use modern terms), owned by a king or lord. The property ("burgage tenement ...

tenures were a key feature, whose tenants had to be of the

Burgher Burgher may refer to: * Burgher (social class), a medieval, early modern European title of a citizen of a town, and a social class from which city officials could be drawn ** Burgess (title), a resident of a burgh in northern Britain ** Grand Bur ...

class, known as a " Burgesses", and therefore eligible to participate in trade within the town, and to elect town officials. Most of the early burghs were on the east coast, and among them were the largest and wealthiest, including Old and

New Aberdeen New Aberdeen is a neighbourhood in Aberdeen, Scotland. A Royal Burgh was established by the reign of David I in the middle of the twelfth century with Alexander II establishing a Guild of Merchants in New Aberdeen in 1222. It was a fishing and ...

, Berwick, Perth and Edinburgh, whose growth was facilitated by trade with other

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Denmark, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. A sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Se ...

ports on the continent, in particular in the

Low Countries The Low Countries (; ), historically also known as the Netherlands (), is a coastal lowland region in Northwestern Europe forming the lower Drainage basin, basin of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta and consisting today of the three modern "Bene ...

, as well as ports on the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by the countries of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and the North European Plain, North and Central European Plain regions. It is the ...

. In the south-west,

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

Ayr Ayr ( ; ; , meaning "confluence of the River Àir"), is a town situated on the southwest coast of Scotland. A former royal burgh, today it is the administrative centre of South Ayrshire Council, and the historic county town of Ayrshire. With ...

and

Kirkcudbright Kirkcudbright ( ; ) is a town at the mouth of the River Dee, Galloway, River Dee in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, southwest of Castle Douglas and Dalbeattie. A former royal burgh, it is the traditional county town of Kirkcudbrightshire. His ...

were aided by the less profitable sea trade with Ireland and to a lesser extent France and Spain. Burghs were typically settlements under the protection of a castle and usually had a market place, with a widened high street or junction, marked by a

mercat cross A mercat cross is the Scots language, Scots name for the market cross found frequently in Scotland, Scottish cities, towns and villages where historically the right to hold a regular market or fair was granted by the monarch, a bishop or ...

, beside houses for the burgesses and other inhabitants. The founding of 16 royal burghs can be traced to the reign of David I (1124–53)K. J. Stringer, "The Emergence of a Nation-State, 1100-1300", in J. Wormald, ed., ''Scotland: A History'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005), , pp. 38-76. and there is evidence of 55 burghs by 1296.B. Webster, ''Medieval Scotland: the Making of an Identity'' (St. Martin's Press, 1997), , pp. 122-3. In addition to the major

s, the late Middle Ages saw the proliferation of baronial and ecclesiastical burghs, with 51 created between 1450 and 1516. Most of these were much smaller than their royal counterparts. Excluded from foreign trade, they acted mainly as local markets and centres of craftsmanship.R. Mitchison, ''A History of Scotland'' (London: Routledge, 3rd edn., 2002), , p. 78. Burghs were centres of basic crafts, including the manufacture of shoes, clothes, dishes, pots, joinery, bread and ale, which would normally be sold to "indwellers" and "outdwellers" on market days. In general, burghs carried out far more local trading with their hinterlands, on which they relied for food and raw materials, than trading nationally or abroad.J. Wormald, ''Court, Kirk, and Community: Scotland, 1470-1625'' (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1991), , pp. 41-55. Burghs had rights to representation in the

Parliament of Scotland In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

. Under the

Acts of Union of 1707 The Acts of Union refer to two acts of Parliament, one by the Parliament of Scotland in March 1707, followed shortly thereafter by an equivalent act of the Parliament of England. They put into effect the international Treaty of Union agre ...

many became

parliamentary burghs The Act of Union 1707 and pre-Union Scottish legislation provided for 14 Members of Parliament (MPs) from Scotland to be elected from districts of burghs. All the parliamentary burghs (burghs represented in the pre-Union Parliament of Scotland ...

, represented in the

Parliament of Great Britain The Parliament of Great Britain was formed in May 1707 following the ratification of the Acts of Union 1707, Acts of Union by both the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland. The Acts ratified the treaty of Union which created a ...

. Under the

Scottish Reform Act 1832 The Scottish Reform Act 1832 ( 2 & 3 Will. 4. c. 65) was an act of Parliament that introduced wide-ranging changes to the election laws of Scotland. The act was passed at approximately the same time as the Reform Act 1832, which applied to Englan ...

, 32 years after the merger of the Parliament of Great Britain into the

Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, and may also legislate for the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace ...

, the boundaries of burghs for parliamentary

election An election is a formal group decision-making process whereby a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold Public administration, public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative d ...

s ceased to be necessarily their boundaries for other purposes.

Types

There were several types of burgh, including; *

Royal burgh A royal burgh ( ) was a type of Scottish burgh which had been founded by, or subsequently granted, a royal charter. Although abolished by law in 1975, the term is still used by many former royal burghs. Most royal burghs were either created by ...

, founded by royal charter. *

Burgh of regality A burgh of regality is a type of Scottish town. They were distinct from royal burghs as they were granted to "lords of regality", leading noblemen. (In distinction, burghs of barony were granted to a tenant-in-chief, a landowner who held his est ...

, granted to a nobleman or "lord of regality". *

Burgh of barony A burgh of barony was a type of Scottish town (burgh). Burghs of barony were distinct from royal burghs, as the title was granted to a landowner who, as a tenant-in-chief, held his estates directly from the crown. (In some cases, they might also ...

, granted to a tenant-in-chief, with narrower powers. *

Parliamentary burgh In the United Kingdom (UK), each of the electoral areas or divisions called constituencies elects one member to the House of Commons. Within the United Kingdom there are five bodies with members elected by electoral districts called "constituenc ...

burgh constituency A burgh constituency is a type of parliamentary constituency in Scotland. It is a constituency which is predominantly urban, and on this basis has been designated as a burgh constituency. They are the successors of the historic parliamentary bu ...

, a type of

parliamentary constituency An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provi ...

. *

Police burgh A police burgh was a Scottish burgh which had adopted a "police system" for governing the town. They existed from 1833 to 1975. The 1833 act The first police burghs were created under the Burgh Police (Scotland) Act 1833 ( 3 & 4 Will. 4. c. 46 ...

, a burgh operating a "police system" of town government.

Modern history

Until 1833, each burgh had a different constitution or "sett". The government of the burgh was often in the hands of a self-nominating corporation, and few local government functions were performed: these were often left to

ad hoc ''Ad hoc'' is a List of Latin phrases, Latin phrase meaning literally for this. In English language, English, it typically signifies a solution designed for a specific purpose, problem, or task rather than a Generalization, generalized solution ...

bodies. Two pieces of reforming legislation were enacted in 1833: The Royal Burghs (Scotland) Act 1833 ( 3 & 4 Will. 4. c. 76) and the Burgh Police (Scotland) Act 1833 ( 3 & 4 Will. 4. c. 46). The Royal Burghs (Scotland) Act 1833 ( 3 & 4 Will. 4. c. 76) provided for the election of magistrates and councillors. Each burgh was to have a common council consisting of a provost (or lord provost), magistrates (or bailies) and councillors. Every parliamentary elector living within the "royalty" or area of the royal burgh, or within seven statute miles of its boundary, was entitled to vote in burgh elections. One third of the common council was elected each year. The councillors selected a number of their members to be bailies, who acted as a magistrates bench for the burgh and dealt with such issues as licensing. The provost, or chief magistrate, was elected from among the council every three years. The Royal Burghs Act was also extended to the 12

parliamentary burgh In the United Kingdom (UK), each of the electoral areas or divisions called constituencies elects one member to the House of Commons. Within the United Kingdom there are five bodies with members elected by electoral districts called "constituenc ...

s which had recently been enfranchised. These were growing industrial centres, and apart from the lack of a charter, they had identical powers and privileges to the royal burghs.Mabel Atkinson, ''The Organisation of Local Government in Scotland'', ''Political Science Quarterly'', Vol. 18, No. 1. (March, 1903), pp. 59-87. Royal Burghs retained the right to corporate property or "common good". This property was used for the advantage of the inhabitants of the burgh, funding such facilities as public parks, museums and civic events. The Burgh Police (Scotland) Act 1833 ( 3 & 4 Will. 4. c. 46) allowed the inhabitants of royal burghs, burghs of regality and of bBarony to adopt a "police system". "Police" in this sense did not refer to law enforcement, but to various local government activities summarised in the act as ''"paving, lighting, cleansing, watching, supplying with water, and improving such Burghs respectively, as may be necessary and expedient"''. The act could be adopted following its approval in a poll of householders in the burgh. Burghs reformed or created under this and later legislation became known as

police burgh A police burgh was a Scottish burgh which had adopted a "police system" for governing the town. They existed from 1833 to 1975. The 1833 act The first police burghs were created under the Burgh Police (Scotland) Act 1833 ( 3 & 4 Will. 4. c. 46 ...

s. The governing body of a police burgh were the police commissioners. The commissioners were elected by the existing town council of the burgh, not by the electorate at large. The town council of a burgh could by a three-quarters majority become police commissioners for the burgh. In many cases this led to the existence of two parallel burgh administrations, the town council and the police commissioners, each with the same membership, but separate legal identity and powers. Further legislation, the

Police (Scotland) Act 1850 A police burgh was a Scottish burgh which had adopted a "police system" for governing the town. They existed from 1833 to 1975. The 1833 act The first police burghs were created under the Burgh Police (Scotland) Act 1833 ( 3 & 4 Will. 4. c. 46 ...

( 13 & 14 Vict. c. 33), allowed "populous places" other than existing burghs to become police burghs. In 1893, most of the anomalies in the administration of burghs were removed: police commissioners were retitled as councillors and all burghs were to consist of a single body corporate, ending the existence of parallel burghs. All burghs of barony and regality that had not adopted a police system were abolished. Councils were to be headed by a chief magistrate using the "customary title" of the burgh. In 1900, the chief magistrate of every burgh was to be known as the provost – except in burghs granted a

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 ...

. The last major legislation to effect burghs came into effect in 1930. The

Local Government (Scotland) Act 1929 The Local Government (Scotland) Act 1929 ( 19 & 20 Geo. 5. c. 25) reorganised local government in Scotland from 1930, introducing joint county councils, large and small burghs and district councils. The Act also abolished the Scottish poor law s ...

( 19 & 20 Geo. 5. c. 25) divided burghs into three classes: *"Counties of cities": the four largest royal burghs, they combined the powers of a burgh and county council. *"

Large burgh Large burgh was a type of municipal structure in Scotland, which existed from 1930 to 1975. History When county councils had been established in 1890 under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1889, there were 26 burghs which were excluded from ...

s": independent of the county council except in major services such as police and education. *"

Small burgh A small burgh was a unit of local government in Scotland created by the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1929 in 1930. The Act reclassified existing burghs into two classes, large and small burghs. While large burghs became largely independent of t ...

s": performing minor local government functions such as street-cleaning, housing, lighting and drainage.. The

Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 The Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 (c. 65) is an Act of Parliament (UK), act of Parliament of the United Kingdom that altered local government of Scotland, local government in Scotland on 16 May 1975. The act followed and largely impleme ...

(c. 65) formally abolished burghs. Section 1(5) of the act stated: ''On 16 May 1975, all local government areas existing immediately before that date, that is to say, all counties, counties of cities, large burghs, small burghs and districts, shall cease to exist, and the council of every such area shall also cease to exist.'' The use of the title continues in informal use, however. The common good properties and funds of the royal burghs continue to exist. They are administered by the present area councils, who must make "have regard to the interests of the inhabitants of the area to which the common good formerly related". The use of these assets are to be for the benefit of the inhabitants of the former burgh. Any person or body holding the honorary freedom ''of any place... formerly having the status of a city, burgh or royal burgh'' continued to enjoy that status after the 1975 reorganisation.

Features

Provost

The chief magistrate or convener of a burgh, equivalent to a

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

, was called a

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 ...

. Many different titles were in use until the

Town Councils (Scotland) Act 1900 A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

standardised the term as "provost", except in cities with a lord provost. Since 1975 local authorities have been free to choose the title of their convener and provosts are appointed to chair a number of

area Area is the measure of a region's size on a surface. The area of a plane region or ''plane area'' refers to the area of a shape or planar lamina, while '' surface area'' refers to the area of an open surface or the boundary of a three-di ...

and

community council A community council is a public representative body in Great Britain. In England they may be statutory parish councils by another name, under the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007, or they may be non-statutory bodies. ...

Bailies

Under the provost were

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 ...

s or

baillie A bailie or baillie is a civic officer in the local government of Scotland. The position arose in the burghs, where bailies formerly held a post similar to that of an alderman or magistrate (see bailiff). Baillies appointed the high constables ...

s who both acted as councillors, and in the enforcement of laws. As well as general tasks, they often had specific tasks such as inspecting wine, or ale, or other products sold at market. The title of bailie ceased to have any statutory meaning in 1975, although modern area councils do sometimes make appointments to the office on a purely ceremonial basis. For example,

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 ...

grants the title in an honorary capacity to senior councillors, while

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 to act in lieu of the provost in specific geographical areas.

Burgesses

A resident granted the rights of a "freeman" of the burgh, was styled a burgess (''pl. burgesses''), a title also used in English boroughs. These freemen and their wives were a class which did not include dependants (e.g. apprentices) and servants, though they were not guaranteed to be wealthy.

Dean of Guild

This was a title held by one of the bailies of the burgh who presided over a

Dean of Guild A Dean of Guild, under Scots law, was one of a group of burgh magistrates who, in later years, had the care of buildings. The leader of the group was known as Lord Dean of Guild. Originally, the post was held by the head of the Guild brethren of ...

Court which was given the specific duty of building control. The courts were abolished in 1975, with building regulation transferred to the relevant local authority. Appointments to the office of Dean of Guild are still made in some areas: for instance the Lord Dean of Guild of

is described as the "second citizen of Glasgow" after the Lord Provost although the appointment is in the hands of the Merchants House of Glasgow, and not the city council.

Trading privileges

Early Burghs were granted the power to trade, which allowed them to control trade until the 19th century. The population of burgesses could be roughly divided between

merchants A merchant is a person who trades in goods produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Merchants have been known for as long as humans have engaged in trade and commerce. Merchants and merchant networks operated i ...

and craftsmen, and the tensions between the interests of the two classes was often a feature of the cities. Craftsmen were usually organised into

guild A guild ( ) is an association of artisans and merchants who oversee the practice of their craft/trade in a particular territory. The earliest types of guild formed as organizations of tradespeople belonging to a professional association. They so ...

s. Merchants also had a guild, but many merchants did not belong to it, and it would be run by a small group of the most powerful merchants. The class of merchants included all traders, from stall-holders and pack-men to shop-holders and traders of considerable wealth.

Etymology

As used in this article, the Scots language word is derived from the

Old English Old English ( or , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...

. In

it refers to corporate entities whose

legality Legality, in respect of an act, agreement, or contract is the state of being consistent with the law or of being lawful or unlawful in a given jurisdiction, and the construct of power. ''Merriam-Webster'' defines legality as "1: attachment to or ...

is peculiar to Scotland. (

Scottish law Scots law () is the List of country legal systems, legal system of Scotland. It is a hybrid or mixed legal system containing Civil law (legal system), civil law and common law elements, that traces its roots to a number of different histori ...

was protected and preserved as distinct from laws of

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

under the

.) Another variant pronunciation, , is heard in several Cumbrian place names, e.g.

Burgh by Sands Burgh by Sands () is a village and civil parish in the Cumberland unitary authority area of Cumbria, England, situated near the Solway Firth. The parish includes the village of Burgh by Sands along with Longburgh, Dykesfield, Boustead Hill, Moor ...

, Longburgh,

Drumburgh Drumburgh ( ) is a small settlement in Cumbria, England. It is northwest of the city of Carlisle and is on the course of Hadrian's Wall, near to Burgh by Sands. The village is sited on a gentle hill with a good view in all directions over the s ...

Mayburgh Henge Mayburgh Henge is a large prehistoric monument in the county of Cumbria in northern England. The henge is in the care of English Heritage and is a Scheduled Ancient Monument. It is 400 metres from King Arthur's Round Table Henge. Location Th ...

. The English language ''borough'', like the Scots , is derived from the same

Old English language Old English ( or , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo- ...

word (whose dative singular and nominative/accusative plural form sometimes underlies modern place-names, and which had dialectal variants including ''"burg"''; it was also sometimes confused with , , 'mound, hill', on which see Hall 2001, 69–70). The

word was originally used for a fortified town or proto-

castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

(e.g. at

Dover Castle Dover Castle is a medieval castle in Dover, Kent, England and is Grade I listed. It was founded in the 11th century and has been described as the "Key to England" due to its defensive significance throughout history. Some writers say it is the ...

Burgh Castle Burgh Castle is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. Burgh Castle is located south-west of Great Yarmouth and east of Norwich. The parish was part of Suffolk until 1974. History Burgh Castle was likely the site of a ...

) and was related to the verb (

cf. The abbreviation cf. (short for either Latin or , both meaning 'compare') is generally used in writing to refer the reader to other material to make a comparison with the topic being discussed. However some sources offer differing or even contr ...

Dutch and German ) 'to keep, save, make secure'. In the

German language German (, ) is a West Germanic language in the Indo-European language family, mainly spoken in Western Europe, Western and Central Europe. It is the majority and Official language, official (or co-official) language in Germany, Austria, Switze ...

, means '

' or '

fortress A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from L ...

', though so many towns grew up around castles that it almost came to mean ''

'', and is incorporated into many

placenames Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of '' toponyms'' (proper names of places, also known as place names and geographic names), including their origins, meanings, usage, and types. ''Toponym'' is the general term for a proper nam ...

, such as

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

Flensburg Flensburg (; Danish language, Danish and ; ; ) is an independent city, independent town in the far north of the Germany, German state of Schleswig-Holstein. After Kiel and Lübeck, it is the third-largest city in Schleswig-Holstein. Flensburg's ...

and Strasburg. The word has cognates in other

Germanic languages The Germanic languages are a branch of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family spoken natively by a population of about 515 million people mainly in Europe, North America, Oceania, and Southern Africa. The most widely spoke ...

. For example, in German, and in both Danish and

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

. The equivalent word is also to be found in Frisian,

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

, Norwegian, Icelandic and Faroese. Burgh in placenames is found in its greatest UK concentration in the

East Anglia East Anglia is an area of the East of England, often defined as including the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire, with parts of Essex sometimes also included. The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the East Angles, ...

region of southern England, where also the word has taken the form ''bury'', as in Canterbury. A number of other

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

an languages have cognate words which were borrowed from the Germanic languages during the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

, including in Irish, or , meaning 'wall, rampart' in

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, of or about Wales * Welsh language, spoken in Wales * Welsh people, an ethnic group native to Wales Places * Welsh, Arkansas, U.S. * Welsh, Louisiana, U.S. * Welsh, Ohio, U.S. * Welsh Basin, during t ...

, in

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

, in

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

, and in

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

(hence the place-name

Burgos Burgos () is a city in Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is the capital and most populous municipality of the province of Burgos. Burgos is situated in the north of the Iberian Peninsula, on the confluence of th ...

). The most obviously derivative words are

burgher Burgher may refer to: * Burgher (social class), a medieval, early modern European title of a citizen of a town, and a social class from which city officials could be drawn ** Burgess (title), a resident of a burgh in northern Britain ** Grand Bur ...

in English, in German or in Dutch (literally '

citizen Citizenship is a membership and allegiance to a sovereign state. Though citizenship is often conflated with nationality in today's English-speaking world, international law does not usually use the term ''citizenship'' to refer to nationality ...

', with connotations of

middle-class The middle class refers to a class of people in the middle of a social hierarchy, often defined by occupation, income, education, or social status. The term has historically been associated with modernity, capitalism and political debate. Commo ...

in English and other Germanic languages). Also related are the words and ''

belfry The belfry /ˈbɛlfri/ is a structure enclosing bells for ringing as part of a building, usually as part of a bell tower or steeple. It can also refer to the entire tower or building, particularly in continental Europe for such a tower attached ...

'' (both from the

), and ''

burglar Burglary, also called breaking and entering (B&E) or housebreaking, is a property crime involving trespass to land, the illegal entry into a building or other area without permission, typically with the intention of committing a further criminal ...

''. More distantly, it is related to words meaning '

hill A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. It often has a distinct summit, and is usually applied to peaks which are above elevation compared to the relative landmass, though not as prominent as Mountain, mountains. Hills ...

' or '

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher t ...

' in a number of languages (cf. the second element of ''

iceberg An iceberg is a piece of fresh water ice more than long that has broken off a glacier or an ice shelf and is floating freely in open water. Smaller chunks of floating glacially derived ice are called "growlers" or "bergy bits". Much of an i ...

'').

Toponymy

Burgh is commonly used as a

suffix In linguistics, a suffix is an affix which is placed after the stem of a word. Common examples are case endings, which indicate the grammatical case of nouns and adjectives, and verb endings, which form the conjugation of verbs. Suffixes can ca ...

in place names in Great Britain, particularly Scotland and northern England, and other places where Britons settled, examples:

England

Examples: *

Alburgh Alburgh is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. It lies about four miles (6 km) north-east of Harleston and 16 miles (26 km) south of Norwich. Heritage The earliest evidence of settlement is from the Mesolith ...

Aldeburgh Aldeburgh ( ) is a coastal town and civil parish in the East Suffolk District, East Suffolk district, in the English county, county of Suffolk, England, north of the River Alde. Its estimated population was 2,276 in 2019. It was home to the comp ...

Bamburgh Bamburgh ( ) is a village and civil parish on the coast of Northumberland, England. It had a population of 454 in 2001, decreasing to 414 at the 2011 census. Bamburgh was the centre of an independent north Northumbrian territory between 867 a ...

Barnburgh Barnburgh is a village and civil parish in the City of Doncaster in South Yorkshire, England. The village is adjacent to the village of Harlington - the parish contains both villages, and according to the 2001 census it had a population of 1, ...

Bawburgh Bawburgh () is a village and civil parish in the South Norfolk district of Norfolk, England, lying in the valley of the River Yare about west of Norwich city centre. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 466, increasing to 595 ...

Blythburgh Blythburgh is a village and civil parish in the East Suffolk district of the English county of Suffolk. It is west of Southwold and south-east of Halesworth and lies on the River Blyth. The A12 road runs through the village which is spli ...

Burghfield Burghfield is a village and large civil parish in West Berkshire, England, with a boundary with Reading. Burghfield can trace its history back to before the Domesday Book, and was once home to three manors: Burghfield Regis, Burghfield Abbas, ...

Carrawburgh Carrawburgh is a settlement in Northumberland. In Roman times, it was the site of a -acre (1.5 ha) auxiliary fort on Hadrian's Wall called Brocolitia, Procolita, or ''Brocolita''. The name "Procolita" is found in the 5th-century docum ...

Chedburgh Chedburgh is a village and civil parish in the West Suffolk (district), West Suffolk district of Suffolk in eastern England. Located on the A143 road, A143 around five miles south-west of Bury St Edmunds, in 2005 its population was 650, reduci ...

Dickleburgh Dickleburgh is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Dickleburgh and Rushall, in the South Norfolk district of the English county of Norfolk. The village is located east of Diss and south-west of Norwich. History Dickle ...

* Dunstanburgh *

Fleggburgh Fleggburgh, also known as Burgh St Margaret, is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. The village is located north-west of Great Yarmouth and east of Norwich, bisected by the A1064. History Burgh's St. Margaret's a ...

Flookburgh Flookburgh is an ancient village on the Cartmel peninsula in Cumbria, England. Within the boundaries of the historic county of Lancashire and being close to Morecambe Bay, cockle and shrimp fishing plays a big part in village life. Flookbur ...

Grundisburgh Grundisburgh () is a village of 1,584 residents situated in the English county of Suffolk. It is in the East Suffolk district, six north-east from Ipswich and north-west of Woodbridge located on the B1079. Flowing through the village are ...

Happisburgh Happisburgh () is a village civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. The village is on the coast, to the east of a north–south road, the B1159 from Bacton on the coast to Stalham. It is a nucleated village. The nearest substantial ...

Hoo St Werburgh Hoo St Werburgh, commonly known as Hoo, is a large village and civil parish in the Medway, Medway district of Kent, England. It is one of several villages on the Hoo Peninsula to bear the name ''Hoo'', a Saxon word believed to mean "spur of l ...

Ickburgh Ickburgh is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. Ickburgh is located north of Thetford and west of Norwich. History Ickburgh's name is of Anglo-Saxon origin and derives from the Old English for ''Icca's'' fortifica ...

Kettleburgh Kettleburgh is a small village and civil parish in the East Suffolk district, in the county of Suffolk. The population of this Civil Parish at the 2011 Census was 231. It is near the small towns of Wickham Market and Framlingham in the valley ...

* Longburgh *

* Newburgh (disambiguation) *

Oxburgh Hall Oxburgh Hall is a moated country house in Oxborough, Norfolk, England. The hall was built for Sir Edmund Bedingfeld who obtained a licence to crenellate in 1482. The Bedingfelds gained the manor of Oxborough through marriage in the early 15t ...

Rumburgh Rumburgh is a village and civil parish in the English county of Suffolk. It is north-west of the market town of Halesworth in the East Suffolk District. The population of the parish at the 2011 United Kingdom census was 327. The village is ce ...

* Ryburgh * Shuckburgh *

Smallburgh Smallburgh is a village and a civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. The village is south-east of Cromer, north-east of Norwich and north-east of London. The village lies south-east of the nearby town of North Walsham. The nearest r ...

Southburgh Cranworth is a village and civil parish in the Breckland district of the English county of Norfolk. Cranworth is located north-east of Watton and west of Norwich. History Cranworth's name is of Anglo-Saxon origin and derives from the Old ...

St Werburghs St Werburghs is an inner suburban neighbourhood in Bristol, England. It is in the Ashley electoral ward and Bristol Central parliamentary constituency, northeast of The Centre. St Werburghs does not have formal boundaries, but in typical u ...

Tasburgh Tasburgh ( ) is a civil parish and a village in the south of Norfolk, England, located approximately 8 miles south of Norwich. It lies on the A140 road, north of Long Stratton and south of Newton Flotman. The River Tas flows nearby and Tasb ...

* Whinburgh *

Winfrith Newburgh Winfrith Newburgh (), commonly called just Winfrith, is a village and civil parish in Dorset, England. It is about west of Wareham and east of the county town Dorchester. It was historically part of the Winfrith hundred. In the 2011 Census ...

Yarburgh Yarburgh is a village and civil parish in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England, and situated approximately north-east from the town of Louth. The name 'Yarburgh' means 'fortification made of earth'. St John the Baptist's Chur ...

Scotland

Branderburgh Lossiemouth () is a town in Moray, Scotland. Originally the port belonging to Elgin, Moray, Elgin, it became an important fishing town. Although there has been over 1,000 years of settlement in the area, the present day town was formed over the ...

Dryburgh Dryburgh is a village in the Borders region of Scotland, within the county of Berwickshire. It is most famous for the ruined Dryburgh Abbey. Dryburgh Abbey Hotel lies on the edge of the village. The village K6 red telephone box outside th ...

Fraserburgh Fraserburgh (; ), locally known as the Broch, is a town in Aberdeenshire (unitary), Aberdeenshire, Scotland, with a population recorded in the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 Census as 13,100. It lies in Buchan in the northeastern corner of th ...

Helensburgh Helensburgh ( ; ) is a town on the north side of the Firth of Clyde in Scotland, situated at the mouth of the Gareloch. Historically in Dunbartonshire, it became part of Argyll and Bute following local government reorganisation in 1996. Histo ...

* Leverburgh *

Maryburgh Maryburgh () is a village in the Highland council area of Scotland, south of Dingwall Dingwall (, ) is a town and a royal burgh in the Highland (council area), Highland council area of Scotland. It has a population of 5,491. It was an e ...

Musselburgh Musselburgh (; ; ) is the largest settlement in East Lothian, Scotland, on the coast of the Firth of Forth, east of Edinburgh city centre. It had a population of as of . History The name Musselburgh is Old English language, Old English in ...

* Newburgh (disambiguation) * Osnaburgh *

Roxburgh Roxburgh () is a civil parish and formerly a royal burgh, in the historic county of Roxburghshire in the Scottish Borders, Scotland. It was an important trading burgh in High Medieval to early modern Scotland. In the Middle Ages it had at lea ...

Salsburgh Salsburgh is a semi-rural former coal mining village in greenbelt farmland within the district of North Lanarkshire, Scotland. The closest major towns to the village are Shotts, southeast, and Airdrie northwest. Salsburgh is perhaps best k ...

Winchburgh Winchburgh is a village in the Subdivisions of Scotland, council area of West Lothian, Scotland. It is located approximately west of the city centre of Edinburgh, east of Linlithgow and northeast of Broxburn, West Lothian, Broxburn. Demograp ...

* Williamsburgh *

Kingsburgh, Skye Kingsburgh ( Gaelic: ''Cinnseaborgh'') is a scattered crofting township, overlooking Loch Snizort Beag on the Trotternish peninsula of the Isle of Skye in the Highlands of Scotland. It is in the council area of Highland. Kingsburgh is located ...

Other

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Harrisburg Harrisburg ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat, seat of Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, Dauphin County. With a population of 50, ...

* Greenburgh,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

* Hamptonburgh,

Plattsburgh Plattsburgh is a city in and the county seat of Clinton County, New York, United States, situated on the north-western shore of Lake Champlain. The population was 19,841 at the 2020 census. The population of the surrounding (and separately in ...

Newburgh Newburgh (''"new"'' + the English/Scots word ''"burgh"'') may refer to: Places Scotland *Newburgh, Fife, a former royal burgh *Newburgh, Aberdeenshire, a village England *Newburgh, Lancashire, a village * Newburgh, North Yorkshire, a village ...

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

Edithburgh Edithburgh is a small town on the south-east corner of Yorke Peninsula situated on the coastline of Salt Creek Bay, in the state of South Australia. Edithburgh is about west of Adelaide across Gulf St Vincent, but away by road. Edithburgh ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

* Enosburg Falls, Vermont, United States *

Louisburgh, County Mayo Louisburgh () is a small town on the southwest corner of Clew Bay in County Mayo, Ireland. It is home to Sancta Maria College and the Gráinne O'Malley Interpretive Centre. Transport Road access Louisburgh is located on the R335 regional roa ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

And as a placename on its own, in the

West Germanic The West Germanic languages constitute the largest of the three branches of the Germanic languages, Germanic family of languages (the others being the North Germanic languages, North Germanic and the extinct East Germanic languages, East Germ ...

countries: * Burgh, Renfrewshire, Scotland * Burgh (Netherlands) - a town in the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

in the municipality of

Schouwen-Duiveland Schouwen-Duiveland () is a municipality and an island in the southwestern Netherlands province of Zeeland. The municipality has 33,737 inhabitants (1 January 2016) and covers an area of (of which is water). The northside of the island has two fi ...

. *

Burgh, Suffolk Burgh () is a village and civil parish in the East Suffolk district of Suffolk, England, about north-west of Woodbridge. St Botolph's church stands within a ploughed-flat iron-age enclosure - the "burgh" - near the site of a possible Roman ...

, England *

, Cumbria, England (''pronounced Bruff by Sands'') *

, Suffolk, England *

Burgh le Marsh Burgh le Marsh is a town and civil parish in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England.OS Explorer map: Skegness, Alford & Spilsby: (1:25 000): Geography The town is built on a low hill surrounded by former marsh land, and the marsh ...

, Lincolnshire, England * Burgh on Bain, Lincolnshire, England *

Burgh Island Burgh Island is a tidal island on the coast of South Devon in England near the small seaside village of Bigbury-on-Sea. There are several buildings on the island, the largest being the Art Deco Burgh Island Hotel. The other buildings are thre ...

, Devon, England *

Burgh next Aylsham A burgh ( ) is an autonomous municipal corporation in Scotland, usually a city, town, or toun in Scots. This type of administrative division existed from the 12th century, when King David I created the first royal burghs. Burgh status was broad ...

, Norfolk, England *Fleggburgh, Burgh St Margaret, Norfolk, England *Burgh St Peter, Norfolk, England *Burgh Hill, (Wealdon), Sussex *Burgh Hill, (Rother), Sussex *Burgh Heath, Surrey

Notes

References

*Hall, Alaric
'Old MacDonald had a Fyrm, eo, eo, y: Two Marginal Developments of < eo > in Old and Middle English'
Quaestio: Selected Proceedings of the Cambridge Colloquium in Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic, 2 (2001), 60-90. * * *George R. Stewart, Stewart, George R. (1967) ''Names on the Land.'' Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company. {{authority control Burghs, Types of subdivision in the United Kingdom