1600 to 1699

Town Sergeants

In 1593 we find the reference to a Town Drummer, an office that was to survive till 1878. Prior to this announcements having been made by a Bellman with a handbell. The city also mad use of a Town Piper, who played for the entertainment of citizens and visiting dignitaries. However, in 1630, the Council dispensed with his services describing his performance as ‘ane incivill forme to be usit within a famous burgh’.

In 1615 there is a mention of a uniform for the Town Sergeants (a post which continues today)- a tunic of red worsted embroidered with the town’s arms. The Sergeants were also armed with halberds and swords since they were responsible for public order, providing a day patrol in the streets and for keeping the peace within the Council chamber.

James VI

The 17th century opened with the granting of a confirmatory charter by James VI. The same year, 1601, a company of players under the direction of Lawrence Fletcher visited the city, carrying with them the personal recommendation of the King. The Council duly bestowed the Freedom of the Burgh on the players and voted them the sum of thirty merks in payment.

Town Printer

The establishment of the first printing house in the north came in 1621. Officials of university and town were instrumental in bringing Edward Raban north from St Andrews and in 1622 he was officially appointed Town Printer with a year stipend of forty pounds, augmented by a contribution from each scholar in the town’s schools. He set up a printing house on the north side of the Castlegate under the sign of the ‘Townes Arms’ and for almost 30 years printed proclamations, official documents, the classics and works by local authors.

Troubled Times

In 1634 civic pride was shaken when Charles I asserted his right to interfere in the town’s affairs. The elected Provost was Patrick Leslie of Eden, a staunch Presbyterian and critic of the King. A stiff letter from Whitehall hinted at a possible withdrawal of the Burgh’s rights so the Magistrates hurriedly declared the election void and appointed Sir Paul Menzies instead.

The next two decades were one of the most troubled times in the history of Aberdeen. Britain was in the grip of the civil war and from 1639-52 the city was a battleground for the opposing factions, and a source of revenue for both. In 1638 Aberdeen was staunchly Royalist, earning the commendation of Charles I. The refusal of most councillors and inhabitants to sign the Covenant despite a visit of Montrose and the Covenanting commissioners increased their favour in the King’s eyes and led to the granting of the Great Charter in 1638 reaffirming all the rights and privileges of the Burgh. During a subsequent visit, the town was put in a state of defence but on the approach of Montrose’s army the Magistrates realised that resistance was useless and the Covenant was signed in April 1639.

During the next few years Royalist and Covenanting forces in turn harassed and occupied Aberdeen. The most momentous event of the war for the Burgh was the Battle of Justice Mills, when the wrath of Montrose descended on the inhabitants. In 1644, the Marquis, now an ardent Royalist, marched on Aberdeen to demand its surrender. Unfortunately his drummer boy, sent into the town under a flag of truce, was shot on his way back. The enraged Montrose let loose his ‘wild Irishers’ on the town in a three-day orgy of pillage, rape and murder. Few tears would have been shed in Aberdeen when the mutilated arm of Montrose was exhibited at the Justice port after his execution in 1650.

The year 1652 saw the end of Aberdeen’s part in the ‘Troubles’ with the restoration of civic government to the Magistrates in a commission granted to the town by Cromwell’s commissioners to make sure that a properly acquiescent council was elected - the same tactic as was used by Charles I and James VII.

Close of the Century

In 1664 the Council debated the erection of a new market cross, considering the old one unfitting to the dignity of the city. It was not, however, until 1686 that the present cross was erected opposite the Tolbooth by John Montgomery.

The 17th century saw the establishment of the first regular postal service from Aberdeen to Edinburgh. Prior to this the delivery of letters had been irregular, but in 1667 the magistrates organised a twice weekly service with a postal rate of 2/- for a single letter. In 1674 the service was taken over by the Postmaster General of Scotland.

The closing years of the century brought famine to the city following successive years of bad weather. The Magistrates tried hard to procure grain, two of them being dispatched to the south in search of it. In spite of their efforts however, many people died in the streets from starvation.