Ten Provosts

• Portsoy was made a Burgh of Barony in 1550.

• This meant that it was in charge of many of its own affairs.

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Ten Provosts• The burgh system

was revised in 1833 to bring an element of uniformity.

• Each burgh was to have a common council consisting of a provost (or lord provost), magistrates (or bailies) and councillors.

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Ten Provosts• The council was

charged with looking after the ‘common good’.

• This included "paving, lighting, cleansing, watching, supplying with water, and improving such Burghs respectively, as may be necessary and expedient".

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Ten Provosts• In 1893 further

legislation helped to create more uniformity in the system whereby Councils were to be headed by a chief magistrate who was to be known as the provost.

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Ten Provosts• The Local Government

(Scotland) Act 1973 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. lm-6020

Ten Provosts• Between 1889

and 1975 Portsoy had ten Provosts.

• They came from a range of backgrounds and some were more dynamic and innovative than others.

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Ten Provosts• The early

provosts oversaw the development of Seafield Street as a main thoroughfare; and the harbour area deteriorated.

• In the 1960s reconstruction of the harbour area began. lm-6022

Ten Provosts

• We owe much to our late provosts who, despite their warts, were shakers and movers and ensured that the burgh did not slip into terminal decline.

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Ten Provosts

• It is interesting to consider the relative merits of the more centralised system of local government that has been in place since 1975.

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Ten Provosts

• “Of the best leaders, when they are gone, the people all say,

• ‘We did it ourselves’”

• (Tao teh Ching)

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Ten Provosts

Portraits of the former provosts

can be viewed in the

old Council Chamber in the Town Hall