Appendix I — Histor y of the Records

HISTORY OF THE RECORDS OF CARRICKFERGUS AND THEIR KEEPING.

It mig ht be wondered why no records earlier than 1569 were copied by Richard Dobbs, and the reason almost cer tainly is g iven in this extract from the char ter of 11 Elizabeth 20 March 15681 (old st yle or 1569 new st yle): “…considering that the said town is an ancient Boroug h and that the inhabi tants thereof claim that many li ber ties privileges and franchise were granted unto them by our ancestors which now they cannot lawfully use because they mislaid and lost the Let ters Patent of the grant of the aforesaid li ber ties privileges and franchises made unto them in the aforesaid time of war by the disturbances and prosecutions of our aforesaid enemies”. It seems reasonable to suppose that if the orig inal Let ters Patent were lost in the disturbances, then so were other earlier records. The char ter goes on to make Carrickfergus a “free and undoubted boroug h and an entire and incorporated count y of i tself and entirely separate and distinct from all other counties and be and be called for ever the Count y of the Town of Knockfergus”. It then says that “the Burgesses and Commonali t y of the said Town upon sig ht of these presents may lawfully proceed to elect Thomas Stephens Mayor and Nicholas Wylles and John Teedes Sherif fs of the said town”—and this is where Dobbs’ record comes in, beg inning as i t does wi th “ThomÛ Stivenson pro tempore Maiorem de Villa Knockfergus existent. et JohanneÚ Teed & Nicholam Wills ejusdem Villa VicecomÒ primo die Junii anno Domini — 1569.” The rest of the material in this appendix has been transcri bed from Reports From Commissioners 1835 star ting at Page 746 and shows the at tempts by the Commissioners to discover what records existed and what happened to them over the years. It will be noted that Samuel M‘Skimin said he had access to the orig inal town records from 1805 to 1807 via a Thomas Hanley who had borrowed them to enable this. Hanley died some time before 1835 and the orig inals were never recovered. The Commissioners seem not to have been aware of Dobbs’ copy and they relied instead on M‘Skimins’s copies of the records and his Histor y.

9. The Muniments of the corporation, according to ancient custom, have been lodged in a strong oaken chest, commonl y called “The Town Chest.” That now in use has three locks, and it is stated to have been made in 1602. According to an ancient rule, the mayor for the time being should hold one of the keys, and each of the others should remain in the custody of an alderman. W hile the commons continued to send representatives to the assembl y, they had charge of one of the keys.

We found one of the keys in the possession of the mayor, Peter Kirk, Esq. This had been in the custody of his father, Sir William Kirk, who had served as mayor almost ever y alternate year from 1780 to 1817; he died in 1819. It was afterwards, for about a year, in the possession of Mr. Gunning, (the treasurer and an alderman,) upon whose death, (in October 1823,) if not before, it was returned to Mr. Kirk, who had been elected a burgess in 1821.

Another key was in the hands of Mr. C. E. Dobbs, (the recorder and a burgess elect.) He had it from the Rev. John Dobbs, who had been an alderman since 1825.

1 Carrickfergus Book (1911) page 13.

The third was in the hands of Mr. Henr y Adair, (the treasurer and an alderman.) He received it while a burgess from the executrix of his uncle, Alderman Henr y Clements Ellis.

The keys were thus handed from one individual or famil y to another, without the intervention of the corporation or assembl y.

There are few instances recorded of the opening of the town chest. It appears to have been opened in 1738, a book being extant purporting to have been compiled in that year, “from the deeds and leases out of the town chest.” In 1768 a committee was appointed to inquire what lands of the corporation were out of lease, and they were empowered to open the town chest for inspecting all deeds and papers. The chest was again opened in 17 75 and 17 7 7. In 1786, on the 27th September, a notice was given of a meeting of the assembl y for the 6th October, “in order to open the town chest on business of importance relative to the said corporation.” And, “at said assembl y it was resolved, that the town chest, containing the deeds and other papers relative to the corporation shall, for greater security, be removed from the market-house, and henceforth kept in the house of the mayor for the time being; and that the following persons be appointed as a committee to examine the said deeds and papers, and put them into regular order, viz., the Rev. Dean Dobbs, Captain Ellis, Marriott Dalway, Thomas Legg, and Snowden Cupples; and to meet when they shall think proper, in the house of the mayor, for that purpose.”

This appears to have been acted upon, a book being extant, in the handwriting of Dean Dobbs, containing a catalogue of deeds and leases in the town chest, pursuant to the above order.

It is stated, that the town chest was opened upon some occasions of trials at nisi prius, but no further entr y appears on the subject in the proceedings, until the 20th September 1822, when it was “resolved, that a committee of five (Marquis of Donegall, Thomas Millar, Thomas Verner, Sir Arthur Chichester, and the Rev. John Dobbs) do open the town chest, and take an account of the papers therein: also, to call on the persons that have papers belonging to the corporation to deposit them therein, and to take such other steps for its future safety, and that ever y three of the above be a quorum.” We were unable to ascertain how far this resolution was acted upon, as the Marquis of Donegall stated, that he never was present at the opening of the town chest; Sir Arthur Chichester stated, that he had no recollection of having acted as one of the committee; Thomas Millar was dead; Thomas Verner out of the countr y; and the Rev. John Dobbs in a state of mental incapacity.

The chest, however, must have been opened, as we found in it two receipts, dated the 14th October 1822, one signed Richard Dobbs, and the other Peter Kirk, for certain deeds out of the town chest by consent of the committee appointed to examine it; each of those parties, with Thomas Millar, witnessed the other’s receipt. These deeds, except one, were returned during our Inquir y, and of that one we procured a copy.

The next instance was in Februar y 1826, when an assembl y having been called to consider the propriety of executing (to Lord Blaney) “a recognition of the grant of the lands of Windmill Hill, the original thereof being mislaid, and the description of the premises not being perfectl y defined by the deeds under which, said property is held,” and an opinion of counsel as to the lands referred to having been read, by which opinion the propriety of searching the corporation records was recommended, —

“It was ordered, on the motion of Sir Stephen May, seconded by Sir Arthur Chichester, that the mayor be requested to take the most effectual mode of examining the town chest

and records of the corporation for the original deed under which these lands were claimed, or any document relating thereto, and to make his report next meeting. Ordered, that Mr. Macartney, Mr. Kirk, with the mayor and sheriffs, be a committee to assist the mayor in the above business.”

In the month of Jul y following, the committee reported, that they had searched the corporation records and papers, and did not find any deed or paper relating to the lands referred to. 10. The Town Chest having been opened during our Inquir y, we return a catalogue of the Documents in the contents as now forthcoming. They may be summed up as follows: 1. Letters patent 7th Jul y, 7 James I. 2. Letters patent 1st May, 20 James I. 3. An old book, headed, “An Abstract of the Deeds and Leases out of the Town Chest, taken August the 14th and 15th 1738, by a Committee appointed by Act of Assembl y, and also out of the Old Books of Record belonging to the Corporation of Carrickfergus,” containing abstracts of deeds, names of grantees, description of premises, tenures, and rents. 4. A book, headed, “Catalogue of Deeds and Leases in the Town Chest, undertaken by Order of an Assembl y held in October 1786, when Hercules Ellis, and Marriott Dalway, aldermen, Thomas Legg, Rev. Snowden Cupples, and Rev. Richard Dobbs, burgesses, were appointed a Committee for that purpose,” &c. (Signed) “Richard Dobbs.” (N. B. This book was not in the town chest at the time of its being opened, but was produced by the recorder, son of Dean Richard Dobbs, in whose handwriting it is.) 5. Three loose sheets in the handwriting of Thomas Legg, containing some abstracts from deeds, and memoranda respecting others. 6. A book containing proceedings in assembl y from 28th May to 29th September 1787. 7. There are 141 feefarm grants from the corporation, 133 of which were in the chest when opened, and eight were brought in during our Inquir y, for seven of which receipts had been given.

A copy of another, for which a receipt had been given by the Rev. Richard Dobbs, has been brought in, verified by the mayor during, our Inquir y. 8. There are 21 leases for years, 18 of which were in the chest when opened, the other three were brought in during, our Inquir y. 9. Twenty-nine feefarm grants from the corporation were returned in the catalogue of 1738, in which the premises are described as from the grants; they were returned in the catalogue of 1786, as being then missing, and are not now forthcoming. There are receipts for four of them.

The new catalogue, which we return, was made out during our Inquir y.

There were also found in the chest several other documents of various descriptions. 10. Among these are 83 other leases from the corporation for terms of years expired; and, of three other such leases, not now forthcoming, one was returned in 1786, as then missing, and the other two as then in the town chest. 11. It appeared that certain documents relating to the corporation were in the possession of George Macartney, Esq., of Lissanoure Castle, in the county of Antrim, the devisee of the estates of the late Lord Macartney, whose ancestors had been members of the assembl y, and had possessed property in the town.

We found the following, viz. an exemplification of the charter of 15th December, 10 Jac. I., a translation of that charter, and copies of some bye-laws of the town, ( from 1569 to 167 7,) in the hands of the law agent of Lord Belfast, to whom Mr. Macartney had lent them.

Mr. Macartney required that those documents should be returned to him, and declined our request to search among his papers “for documents of a public nature relative to the corporation of Carrickfergus,” unless, as he said, compelled to it by the House of Commons. He said, if a list of documents to be searched for were handed to him, he was willing to make search for them; and that if a proper application were made to him by the mayor for the exemplification of the charter, &c. he would then consider the propriety of his giving them over to the corporation. 12. Two Books onl y, containing entries of Corporate Proceedings, were produced before us, the earlier of the two commencing at the date of 27th of September 1765.

It was ver y distinctl y proved that similar books of prior dates existed at a recent period; but they have disappeared.

Mr. Samuel M‘Skimin (a freeman) published, about the year 1810, his first edition of a book, entitled “The Histor y and Antiquities of the County and Town of Carrickfergus, from the earliest records to the present time;” a third edition appeared in 1829. In this work are various passages purporting to refer to the “Records of Carrickfergus” and proceedings of the corporation, at dates extending back to the year 1573.

Mr. M‘Skimin stated, that he derived this information from ancient books of proceedings of the corporation commencing in 1568, (the year of the grant of the charter 11 Elizabeth,) and continued down to 1725 or 1730; that he had constant access to them in 1805,1806, 1807; and had made extracts with such care and accuracy, that they might be relied upon as perfect transcripts of the original entries. He produced a manuscript book containing the extracts as he had originall y made them. He denied having seen or heard of these books since 1807, and stated that they were then in the possession of Mr. Thomas Hanl y, (a freeman and a resident manufacturer in the town,) who had intimated to him that the books had been borrowed to assist M‘Skimin in compiling his histor y. Hanl y died a few years ago; we examined his relatives and representatives, but were unable to obtain any information respecting the books from them or from any other source. Under these circumstances we have considered ourselves warranted in treating the extracts and information contained in M‘Skimin’s histor y, when derived from this source, as evidence of the proceedings of the corporation prior to the year 1765 when the records now extant commence.

WILLIAM E. HUDSON, MATTHEW R. SAUSSE Commissioners