The book Arran; - Cook Clan

THE OWNERS OF ARRAN 57
In 1563 ' Alan Makcloy ' resigned his office and lands to the
Hamiltons, and James, son and heir to the Duke of Chatel-
herault, with consent of his father, granted them anew to the
same Alan. This seems to have been an attempt on the part
of the Hamiltons to secure the superiority of the FuUarton
properties, but in 1572 King James vi. confirmed the charter
of Robert iii. in 1400 ; indication that the attempt, so far,
had failed and that the Fullartons had regained for their
land the status of a Crown holding.^ And so there and thus
they remain to this day. Nothing particular appears in
their history ; probably they owe to this modesty their
security of tenure. It might be expected that they would
not adventure in the troubled waters of Hamilton politics :
the pot of clay should not swim with the iron pot. Where
they expanded, it was in the timid way of business. In
1459 Fergus FuUarton was tenant of the Crown in the farm
of Clachlanbeg, the rent of which, £l, 13s. 4d., was remitted
to him in that year ' because the said Fergus lost his goods
in the service of our lord the King, in great quantity.' ^ In
1590 the Earl of Arran admitted James (or Allan) ' Lord
M'Clowy ' (a courtesy title) as kindly tenant for life of the
lands of ' Scalpaden,' Mayish, Brodick, Glen Ormidale, and
Glen Sherraig. The rest is immaterial.
Martin expounds the coronership as follows :
' The
present possessor obliged me with the sight of his old and
new charters, by which he is one of the King's coroners
within this island, and as such he hath a halbert peculiar
to his office. He has his right of late from the family of
Hamilton, wherein his title and perquisites of coroner are
confirmed to him and his heirs. He is obliged to have three
men to attend him upon all public inquiries, and he is bound
by his office to pursue all malefactors and to deliver them to
the steward, or in his absence to the next judge. And if
any of the inhabitants refuse to pay their rents at the usual
But see extract from Martiiij below. ^ Exchequer Rolls, vol. vi. p. 531.
VOL. II.
H