Burghs in the landscape and the landscape of burghs: conquest, culture and urban design in north-east Scotland, 1150–1230

Abstract

ABSTRACT This study considers the planting and planning of burghs in Moray, by kings of Scots, during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. The king’s burghs were placed in the Moray landscape as a key element in an exemplary Anglo-Norman culture zone created in the coastal lowlands. This study focuses upon the arrangement of internal space within each town: especially exploring the dimensions of burgage plots as evidence of deliberate planning. Design commonalities among the Moray burghs are considered as evidence for stringent royal direction of burgh foundation by a cadre of professional town planners, using a common template and regularised standard measures for urban design.