The book Arran; - Cook Clan

CHURCHES BEFORE THE REFORMATION 87
(Drumaghiner) land within his gracis landis of Seskene, He
and erldome of Arrane,' on promise to be an obedient tenant
and to maintain the bailie and captain of the Isle, and if the
Duke shall 'flit and remove ony of his tennentis furtht of
his landis within the said He in ony tymes cuming and the
saidis tennentis beand dissobedient and will nocht remove
thairfra without thae be compellit,' in such a case MacAlister
binds himself to assist the Duke's officers ' to put the saidis
rebellis and dissobeyaris furtht of the said He and hald thame
furtht of the samin.' ^ In other words, part of the old abbey
lands were to maintain a henchman of the Earl of Arran
the Hamiltons, in fact, as other events show, had struck an
alliance with the MacAlisters. The possible trouble with
tenantry is another indication of the fact that rack-renting,
evictions, and resistance to evictions were phenomena already
familiar in Scotland ; very likely there had been Arran
incidents. But the main fact which concerns us is that the
Shisken abbey-lands have dropped like an alms into the
capacious wallet of the chief proprietorial family. In 1615
there is a further charter of the lands of ' Ceskin, Saddell,
etc.,' to James Marquis of Hamilton and his heirs, by Andrew,
Bishop of Argyll, the Protestant bishop.^ There is now no
burden of feu. Similarly, what there may have been of
church land in Sannox fell to the Montgomerys of Skelmorlie,^
who held Sannox with their Loch Ranza estates.
' Hist. MSS., XI., 'Hamilton Papers,' App. vi. p. 38.
''
Ibid., iv., 'Argyll Papers,' p. 480. In 1607 David Creychtoun of Lugtoun
was served heir to his father Patrick Creychtoun in the lands of ' Saxan ' (Shisken) in
the island of Arrane, of the old extent of 18 marks, in warrandice of certain lands in
Stirling (Orig. Paroch. citing Retours). The bearing of this transaction cannot be
traced.
' It is repeatedly stated, as e.g. by Chalmers in Caledonia, vol. vii. p. 36, in his
account of Buteshire, that the land from Corrie round to Loch Ranza was ecclesiastical,
having been granted to Kilwinning Abbey ; but no reference is ever given, and the
statement cannot be verified.
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