A
burgh was an
autonomousAutonomy is a concept found in moral, political and bioethical philosophy. Within these contexts, it is the capacity of a rational individual to make an informed, un-coerced decision...
corporate entity in
ScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
and
Northern EnglandNorthern England, also known as the North of England, the North or the North Country, is a cultural region of England. It is not an official government region, but rather an informal amalgamation of counties. The southern extent of the region is roughly the River Trent, while the North is bordered...
, usually a
townA town is a human settlement larger than a village but smaller than a city. The size a settlement must be in order to be called a "town" varies considerably in different parts of the world, so that, for example, many American "small towns" seem to British people to be no more than villages, while...
. This type of
administrative divisionAn administrative division, subnational entity, or country subdivision is a portion of a country or other political division, established for the purpose of government. Administrative divisions are each granted a certain degree of autonomy, and are required to manage themselves through their own...
existed from the 12th century, when
King David IDavid I or Dabíd mac Maíl Choluim was a 12th-century ruler who was Prince of the Cumbrians and later King of the Scots...
created the first
royal burghA royal burgh was a type of Scottish burgh which had been founded by, or subsequently granted, a royal charter. Although abolished in 1975, the term is still used in many of the former burghs....
s. Burgh status was broadly analogous to
borough statusBorough status in the United Kingdom 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...
, found in the rest of the
United KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. Following local government reorganisation in 1975 the title of "burgh" remains in use in many towns, but now has little more than ceremonial value.
History
The first burgh was
BerwickBerwick-upon-Tweed or simply Berwick is a town in the county of Northumberland and is the northernmost town in England, on the east coast at the mouth of the River Tweed. It is situated 2.5 miles south of the Scottish border....
. By 1130, David I had established burghs at
HaddingtonThe Royal Burgh of Haddington is a town in East Lothian, Scotland. It is the main administrative, cultural and geographical centre for East Lothian, which was known officially as Haddingtonshire before 1921. It lies about east of Edinburgh. The name Haddington is Anglo-Saxon, dating from the 6th...
,
StirlingStirling is a city and former ancient burgh in Scotland, and is at the heart of the wider Stirling council area. The city is clustered around a large fortress and medieval old-town beside the River Forth...
,
DunfermlineDunfermline is a town and former Royal Burgh in Fife, Scotland, on high ground from the northern shore of the Firth of Forth. According to a 2008 estimate, Dunfermline has a population of 46,430, making it the second-biggest settlement in Fife. Part of the town's name comes from the Gaelic word...
,
AberdeenAberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas and the United Kingdom's 25th most populous city, with an official population estimate of ....
,
PerthPerth is a town and former city and royal burgh in central Scotland. Located on the banks of the River Tay, it is the administrative centre of Perth and Kinross council area and the historic county town of Perthshire...
and Scone, as well as
EdinburghEdinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
.
Burghs had rights to representation in the
Parliament of ScotlandThe Parliament of Scotland, officially the Estates of Parliament, was the legislature of the Kingdom of Scotland. The unicameral parliament of Scotland is first found on record during the early 13th century, with the first meeting for which a primary source survives at...
. Under the
Acts of Union of 1707The Acts of Union were two Parliamentary Acts - the Union with Scotland Act passed in 1706 by the Parliament of England, and the Union with England Act passed in 1707 by the Parliament of Scotland - which put into effect the terms of the Treaty of Union that had been agreed on 22 July 1706,...
many became parliamentary burghs, represented in the
Parliament of Great BritainThe Parliament of Great Britain was formed in 1707 following the ratification of the Acts of Union by both the Parliament of England and Parliament of Scotland...
.
Under the
Reform Acts of 1832The Representation of the People Act 1832 was an Act of Parliament that introduced wide-ranging changes to the electoral system of England and Wales...
, 32 years after the merger of the Parliament of Great Britain into the
Parliament of the United KingdomThe Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
, the boundaries of burghs for parliamentary
electionAn election is a formal decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy operates since the 17th century. Elections may fill offices in the legislature, sometimes in the...
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 in 1975, the term is still used in many of the former burghs....
, 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....
, granted to a nobleman or "lord of regality".
- Burgh of barony
A burgh of barony is a type of Scottish town .They were distinct from royal burghs as the title was granted to a tenant-in-chief, a landowner who held his estates directly from the crown....
, granted to a tenant-in-chief, with narrower powers.
- Parliamentary burgh or 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...
, a type of parliamentary constituency.
- 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 Act, 1833...
, 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 hocAd hoc is a Latin phrase meaning "for this". It generally signifies a solution designed for a specific problem or task, non-generalizable, and not intended to be able to be adapted to other purposes. Compare A priori....
bodies.
Two pieces of reforming legislation were enacted in 1834: The
Royal Burghs (Scotland) Act (3 & 4 Will. IV c. 76) and the
Burghs and Police (Scotland) Act (3 & 4 Will. IV c.46).
The Royal Burghs Act 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 burghs 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. 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 Burghs and Police Act allowed the inhabitants of Royal Burghs,
Burghs of RegalityA 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....
and of
BaronyA burgh of barony is a type of Scottish town .They were distinct from royal burghs as the title was granted to a tenant-in-chief, a landowner who held his estates directly from the crown....
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 burghA 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 Act, 1833...
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 in 1850 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 ProvostA Lord Provost is the figurative and ceremonial head of one of the principal cities of Scotland. Four cities, Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow, have the right to appoint a Lord Provost instead of a provost...
.
The last major legislation to effect burghs came into effect in 1930. The
Local Government (Scotland) Act 1929The Local Government Act 1929 reorganised local government in Scotland from 1930, introducing joint county councils, large and small burghs and district councils...
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
In 1930, the Scottish burghs were split into two types, large burghs and small burghs. The councils of large burghs had more responsibilities and power than those of small burghs....
s": independent of the county council except in major services such as police and education.
- "Small burgh
Small burghs were units of local government in Scotland created by the Local Government Act 1929 in 1930.The Act reclassified existing burghs into two classes, large and small burghs. While large burghs became largely independent of the county councils of the county in which they lay, small burghs...
s": performing minor local government functions such as street-cleaning, housing, lighting and drainage..
The
Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973The Local Government Act 1973 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, that reformed local government in Scotland, on May 16, 1975....
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 councilsFor local government purposes, Scotland is divided into 32 areas designated as "council areas" which are all governed by unitary authorities designated as "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.
Provost
The chief magistrate or convener of a burgh, equivalent to a
mayorIn many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
, was called a
provostA provost is the ceremonial head of many Scottish local authorities, and under the name prévôt was a governmental position of varying importance in Ancien Regime France.-History:...
. Many different titles were in use until the Town Councils (Scotland) Act 1900 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 and
community councilA 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...
s.
Bailies
Under the provost were
magistrateA magistrate is an officer of the state; in modern usage the term usually refers to a judge or prosecutor. This was not always the case; in ancient Rome, a magistratus was one of the highest government officers and possessed both judicial and executive powers. Today, in common law systems, a...
s or
baillieA baillie or bailie is a civic officer in the local government of Scotland. The position arose in the burghs, where baillies formerly held a post similar to that of an alderman or magistrate...
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 grants the title in an honorary capacity to senior councillors, while Stirling Council appoints four bailies to act in lieu of the provost in specific geographical areas.
Burgesses
The common citizen of a burgh was a burgess (
pl. burgessess), a title also used in English boroughs. These were freemen, a class which did not include dependants, servants and so on, though freemen might not be wealthy.
Dean of Guild
This was a title held by one of the bailies of the burgh who presided over a
Dean of GuildA Dean of Guild, under Scots law, was a burgh magistrate who, in later years, had the care of buildings.Originally, the post was held by the head of the Guild brethren of Scottish towns, and dates back to the 12th century. Later, the phrase Dean of Guild also described the courts set up in the 14th...
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
GlasgowGlasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
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 and
craftsmenAn artisan is a skilled manual worker who makes items that may be functional or strictly decorative, including furniture, clothing, jewellery, household items, and tools...
, and the tensions between the interests of the two classes was often a feature of the cities. Craftsmen were usually organised into
guildA guild is an association of craftsmen in a particular trade. The earliest types of guild were formed as confraternities of workers. They were organized in a manner something between a trade union, a cartel, and a secret society...
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 languageScots is the Germanic language variety spoken in Lowland Scotland and parts of Ulster . It is sometimes called Lowland Scots to distinguish it from Scottish Gaelic, the Celtic language variety spoken in most of the western Highlands and in the Hebrides.Since there are no universally accepted...
word
burgh is derived from the Old English
Burh. In
ScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
it refers to corporate entities whose
legalityLaw is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
is peculiar to Scotland. (Scottish law was protected and preserved as distinct from laws of
EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
under the
Acts of Union of 1707The Acts of Union were two Parliamentary Acts - the Union with Scotland Act passed in 1706 by the Parliament of England, and the Union with England Act passed in 1707 by the Parliament of Scotland - which put into effect the terms of the Treaty of Union that had been agreed on 22 July 1706,...
.) Pronunciation is the same as the English word
boroughA borough is an administrative division in various countries. In principle, the term borough designates a self-governing township although, in practice, official use of the term varies widely....
, which is a near
cognateIn linguistics, cognates are words that have a common etymological origin. This learned term derives from the Latin cognatus . Cognates within the same language are called doublets. Strictly speaking, loanwords from another language are usually not meant by the term, e.g...
of the Scots word. The identical English word
Burgh (in place names such as
BamburghBamburgh is a large village and civil parish on the coast of Northumberland, England. It has a population of 454.It is notable for two reasons: the imposing Bamburgh Castle, overlooking the beach, seat of the former Kings of Northumbria, and at present owned by the Armstrong family ; and its...
,
CarrawburghCarrawburgh is a settlement in Northumberland. In Roman times, it was the site of a 3½ acre auxiliary fort on Hadrian's Wall called Brocolitia, Procolita, or Brocolita This name is probably based on the Celtic name for the place, and one possible translation put forward is 'badger holes'...
and
Dunstanburgh) sounds exactly like the Scots
Burgh, with the emphasis on the 'r'.
The English language
borough, like the Scots
Burgh, is derived from the same
Old English languageOld English or Anglo-Saxon is an early form of the English language that was spoken and written by the Anglo-Saxons and their descendants in parts of what are now England and southeastern Scotland between at least the mid-5th century and the mid-12th century...
word
burhA Burh is an Old English name for a fortified town or other defended site, sometimes centred upon a hill fort though always intended as a place of permanent settlement, its origin was in military defence; "it represented only a stage, though a vitally important one, in the evolution of the...
(whose dative singular and nominative/accusative plural form
byrig sometimes underlies modern place-names, and which had dialectal variants including
burgBurg is the word for castle in various Germanic languages.Burg or Bürg or Buerg may refer to:*Burg bei Magdeburg, a city in Germany*Den Burg, a town in the Netherlands* Burg, former name of Melber, Kentucky...
; it was also sometimes confused with
beorh,
beorg, 'mound, hill', on which see Hall 2001, 69-70). The Old English word was originally used for a fortified town or proto-
castleA castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble...
(e.g., at
Dover CastleDover Castle is a medieval castle in the town of the same name in the English county of Kent. It was founded in the 12th century and has been described as the "Key to England" due to its defensive significance throughout history...
or
Burgh CastleBurgh Castle is the site of one of several Roman shore forts constructed around the 3rd Century AD, to hold cavalry as a defence against Saxon raids up the rivers of the east and south coasts of southern Britain; and is located on the summit of ground sloping steeply towards the estuary of the...
) and was related to the verb
beorgan (cf. Dutch and German
bergen), meaning "to keep, save, make secure". In
GermanGerman is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
Burg means
castleA castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble...
or fortress, though so many towns grew up around castles that it almost came to mean
cityA city is a relatively large and permanent settlement. Although there is no agreement on how a city is distinguished from a town within general English language meanings, many cities have a particular administrative, legal, or historical status based on local law.For example, in the U.S...
, and is incorporated into many placenames, such as
Hamburg-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
,
FlensburgFlensburg is an independent town in the north of the German state of Schleswig-Holstein. Flensburg is the centre of the region of Southern Schleswig...
and
StrasbourgStrasbourg is the capital and principal city of the Alsace region in eastern France and is the official seat of the European Parliament. Located close to the border with Germany, it is the capital of the Bas-Rhin département. The city and the region of Alsace are historically German-speaking,...
.
The word has cognates, or near cognates, in other
Germanic languagesThe Germanic languages constitute a sub-branch of the Indo-European language family. The common ancestor of all of the languages in this branch is called Proto-Germanic , which was spoken in approximately the mid-1st millennium BC in Iron Age northern Europe...
. For example,
burgBurg is the word for castle in various Germanic languages.Burg or Bürg or Buerg may refer to:*Burg bei Magdeburg, a city in Germany*Den Burg, a town in the Netherlands* Burg, former name of Melber, Kentucky...
in
GermanGerman is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
, and
borgBorg may refer to:* Borg * Borg means Castle in some Nordic languages.-Places:*Borg, Saarland, Germany*Borg á Mýrum, Iceland*Borg, Vestvågøy, Norway*Diocese of Borg, Norway*Borg Massif, Antarctica*Borg El Arab, Egypt...
in both
DanishDanish is a North Germanic language spoken by around six million people, principally in the country of Denmark. It is also spoken by 50,000 Germans of Danish ethnicity in the northern parts of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, where it holds the status of minority language...
and
SwedishSwedish is a North Germanic language, spoken by approximately 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along its coast and on the Åland islands. It is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Danish...
. The equivalent word is also to be found in Frisian,
DutchDutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...
,
NorwegianNorwegian is a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Norway, where it is the official language. Together with Swedish and Danish, Norwegian forms a continuum of more or less mutually intelligible local and regional variants .These Scandinavian languages together with the Faroese language...
, and
IcelandicIcelandic is a North Germanic language, the main language of Iceland. Its closest relative is Faroese.Icelandic is an Indo-European language belonging to the North Germanic or Nordic branch of the Germanic languages. Historically, it was the westernmost of the Indo-European languages prior to the...
. In southern England, the word took the form
bury, as in Canterbury (Stewart 1967:193).
A number of other
EuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an languages have cognate words which were borrowed from the
Germanic languagesThe Germanic languages constitute a sub-branch of the Indo-European language family. The common ancestor of all of the languages in this branch is called Proto-Germanic , which was spoken in approximately the mid-1st millennium BC in Iron Age northern Europe...
during the
Middle AgesThe Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
, including
brog in
IrishIrish , also known as Irish Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people. Irish is now spoken as a first language by a minority of Irish people, as well as being a second language of a larger proportion of...
,
bwr or
bwrc, meaning "wall, rampart" in
WelshWelsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, by some along the Welsh border in England, and in Y Wladfa...
,
bourg in
FrenchFrench is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
,
borgoBorgo is an Italian word , cognate with English borough, German Burg, French bourg, that now usually means the new town outside the walls of an old town...
in
ItalianItalian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
, and
burgo in
SpanishSpanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
(hence the place-name
BurgosBurgos is a city of northern Spain, historic capital of Castile. It is situated at the edge of the central plateau, with about 178,966 inhabitants in the city proper and another 20,000 in its suburbs. It is the capital of the province of Burgos, in the autonomous community of Castile and León...
).
The most obviously derivative words are burgher in English, Bürger in German or burger in Dutch (literally
citizen, with connotations of middle-class in English and other
Germanic languagesThe Germanic languages constitute a sub-branch of the Indo-European language family. The common ancestor of all of the languages in this branch is called Proto-Germanic , which was spoken in approximately the mid-1st millennium BC in Iron Age northern Europe...
). Also related are the words
bourgeois and
belfryA bell tower is a tower which contains one or more bells, or which is designed to hold bells, even if it has none. In the European tradition, such a tower most commonly serves as part of a church and contains church bells. When attached to a city hall or other civic building, especially in...
(both from the
FrenchFrench is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
), and
burglar. More distantly, it is related to words meaning
hillA hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. Hills often have a distinct summit, although in areas with scarp/dip topography a hill may refer to a particular section of flat terrain without a massive summit A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. Hills...
or
mountainImage:Himalaya_annotated.jpg|thumb|right|The Himalayan mountain range with Mount Everestrect 58 14 160 49 Chomo Lonzorect 200 28 335 52 Makalurect 378 24 566 45 Mount Everestrect 188 581 920 656 Tibetan Plateaurect 250 406 340 427 Rong River...
in a number of languages (
cf.cf., an abbreviation for the Latin word confer , literally meaning "bring together", is used to refer to other material or ideas which may provide similar or different information or arguments. It is mainly used in scholarly contexts, such as in academic or legal texts...
the second element of
icebergAn iceberg is a large piece of ice from freshwater that has broken off from a snow-formed glacier or ice shelf and is floating in open water. It may subsequently become frozen into pack ice...
).
http://germazope.uni-trier.de/Projects/WBB/woerterbuecher/dwb/wbgui?lemid=GB04143 http://www.bartleby.com/61/roots/IE59.html
Linguistics
Burgh is commonly used as a
suffixAn affix is a morpheme that is attached to a word stem to form a new word. Affixes may be derivational, like English -ness and pre-, or inflectional, like English plural -s and past tense -ed. They are bound morphemes by definition; prefixes and suffixes may be separable affixes...
in place names, in Scotland, England and other countries to which people of these nations
emigrateEmigrate is a heavy metal band based in New York, led by Richard Z. Kruspe, the lead guitarist of the German band Rammstein.-History:Kruspe started the band in 2005, when Rammstein decided to take a year off from touring and recording...
d:
- Aldeburgh
Aldeburgh is a coastal town in Suffolk, East Anglia, England. Located on the River Alde, the town is notable for its Blue Flag shingle beach and fisherman huts where freshly caught fish are sold daily, and the Aldeburgh Yacht Club...
- Bamburgh
Bamburgh is a large village and civil parish on the coast of Northumberland, England. It has a population of 454.It is notable for two reasons: the imposing Bamburgh Castle, overlooking the beach, seat of the former Kings of Northumbria, and at present owned by the Armstrong family ; and its...
- Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
- Fraserburgh
Fraserburgh is a town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland with a population recorded in the 2001 Census at 12,454 and estimated at 12,630 in 2006. It lies at the extreme northeast corner of Aberdeenshire, around north of Aberdeen, and north of Peterhead...
- Helensburgh
Helensburgh is a town in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It lies on the north shore of the Firth of Clyde and the eastern shore of the entrance to the Gareloch....
- Jedburgh
Jedburgh is a town and former royal burgh in the Scottish Borders and historically in Roxburghshire.-Location:Jedburgh lies on the Jed Water, a tributary of the River Teviot, it is only ten miles from the border with England and is dominated by the substantial ruins of Jedburgh Abbey...
- Leverburgh
Leverburgh is the second largest village, after Tarbert, on the island of Harris in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland.-History:In his 30's, English businessman William Lever, 1st Viscount Leverhulme had taken a boat trip and fallen in love with the Western Isles of Scotland...
- Maryburgh
Maryburgh is a village in the Highland council area of Scotland, 2 miles south of Dingwall.It is situated on the northern bank of the River Conon...
- Musselburgh
Musselburgh is the largest settlement in East Lothian, Scotland, on the coast of the Firth of Forth, six miles east of Edinburgh city centre.-History:...
- Newburgh
-Places:Scotland*Newburgh, Fife, a former royal burgh*Newburgh, Aberdeenshire, a village*Newburgh, Borders, a village*Newburgh, Moray, a village*Newburgh, Orkney, a villageEngland*Newburgh, Lancashire, a village*Newburgh, North Yorkshire, a village...
- Osnaburgh
- Roxburgh
Roxburgh , also known as Rosbroch, is a village, civil parish and now-destroyed royal burgh. It was an important trading burgh in High Medieval to early modern Scotland...
- Williamsburgh
Williamsburgh is a place name, derived from the name William and the Scots language and Scottish English word burgh:*Williamsburgh, Paisley, a residential area in Paisley, Scotland, originally a separate village outwith the boundary of the ancient Burgh of Paisley*Williamsburg, Brooklyn, originally...
(Scotland and the United States)
- Kingsburgh (Scotland and South Africa)
- Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
, PennsylvaniaThe Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
- Plattsburgh, New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, United States
- Edinburgh
Edinburgh is a town in Bartholomew, Johnson, and Shelby Counties in the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 4,480 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Columbus, Indiana metropolitan statistical area. Edinburgh was named in honor of Edinburgh, Scotland and for many years was pronounced the...
, IndianaIndiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
, United States
- Edithburgh South Australia
And as a placename on its own, in the West Germanic countries:
- Burgh, Renfrewshire, Scotland
- Burgh (Netherlands)
Burgh is a town in the Dutch province of Zeeland. It is a part of the municipality of Schouwen-Duiveland, and lies about 23 km north of Middelburg....
- a town in the NetherlandsThe Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
in the municipality of Schouwen-DuivelandSchouwen-Duiveland is a municipality and an island in the southwestern Netherlands.The Brouwersdam is a dam, part of the Delta Works, from Schouwen-Duiveland to Goedereede, the west part of the island of Goeree-Overflakkee in South Holland....
.
- Burgh, Suffolk
Burgh is a village and civil parish in the Suffolk Coastal district of Suffolk, England, about north-west of Woodbridge.St. Boltoph's church stands near the site of a Roman villa that stretches towards Clopton churchyard...
, England
- Burgh by Sands
Burgh by Sands is a village and civil parish in the City of Carlisle district of Cumbria, England, situated near the Solway Firth. The parish includes the village of Burgh by Sands along with Longburgh, Dykesfield, Boustead Hill, Moorhouse and Thurstonfield....
, Cumbria, England (pronounced Bruff by Sands)
- Burgh Castle
Burgh Castle is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. It is situated on the east bank of the River Waveney, near Great Yarmouth, some 6 km west of Great Yarmouth and within the Broads National Park.-Roman Fort:...
, Norfolk, England
- Burgh le Marsh
Burgh-le-Marsh is a town to the west of Skegness in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. The A158 used to run through from west to east but this was rerouted when a new bypass opened in late 2007. The village has a population of 2,016....
, Lincolnshire, England
- Burgh on Bain
Burgh on Bain is a village and civil parish in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. The village is about 7 miles west of Louth. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 114....
, Lincolnshire, England
- Burgh Island
Burgh Island is a small tidal island off the coast of South Devon in England near to the small seaside village of Bigbury-on-Sea. There are several buildings on the island, the largest being the Art Deco Burgh Island Hotel...
, Devon, England
- Burgh next Aylsham, Norfolk, England
- Burgh St Margaret
Fleggburgh is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk, sometimes also known as Burgh St Margaret. It is situated to the west of the Trinity Broads complex with the Broads National Park, some north-west of the town of Great Yarmouth and east of the city of Norwich.The civil...
, Norfolk, England
- Burgh St Peter, Suffolk, England
See also
- List of burghs in Scotland
- List of UK place names with royal patronage
- Royal burgh
A royal burgh was a type of Scottish burgh which had been founded by, or subsequently granted, a royal charter. Although abolished in 1975, the term is still used in many of the former burghs....
- Five Burghs
The Five Boroughs or The Five Boroughs of the Danelaw were the five main towns of Danish Mercia . These were Derby, Leicester, Lincoln, Nottingham and Stamford...
- Borough
A borough is an administrative division in various countries. In principle, the term borough designates a self-governing township although, in practice, official use of the term varies widely....