  a burgh  was an autonomous corporate entity in scotland and northern england, usually a town, or toun in scots. this type of administrative division existed from the 12th century, when king david i created the first royal burghs. burgh status was broadly analogous to borough status, found in the rest of the united kingdom. following local government reorganisation in 1975 the title of "royal burgh" remains in use in many towns, but now has little more than ceremonial value. ==history== the first burgh was berwick. by 1130, david i (r. 1124â53) had established other burghs including edinburgh, stirling, dunfermline, perth, dumfries, jedburgh, montrose and lanark.j mackay, the convention of royal burghs of scotland, from its origin down to the completion of the treaty of union between england and scotland in 1707, co-operative printing co. ltd, edinburgh 1884, p.2 most of the burghs granted charters in his reign probably already existed as settlements. charters were copied almost verbatim from those used in england,g. w. s. barrow, kingship and unity: scotland 1000-1306 (edinburgh: edinburgh university press, 1989), isbn 074860104x, p. 98. and early burgesses were usually invited english and flemish settlers.a. macquarrie, medieval scotland: kinship and nation (thrupp: sutton, 2004), isbn 0-7509-2977-4, pp. 136-40. they were able to impose tolls and fines on traders within a region outside their settlements. most of the early burghs were on the east coast, and among them were the largest and wealthiest, including aberdeen, berwick, perth and edinburgh, whose growth was facilitated by trade with the continent. in the south-west, glasgow, ayr and kirkcudbright were aided by the less profitable sea trade with ireland and to a lesser extent france and spain.  burghs were typically settlements under the protection of a castle and usually had a market place, with a widened high street or junction, marked by a mercat cross, beside houses for the burgesses and other inhabitants. the founding of 16 royal burghs can be traced to the reign of david i (1124â53)k. j. stringer, "the emergence of a nation-state, 1100-1300", in j. wormald, ed., scotland: a history (oxford: oxford university press, 2005), isbn 0198206151, pp. 38-76. and there is evidence of 55 burghs by 1296.b. webster, medieval scotland: the making of an identity (st. martin's press, 1997), isbn 0333567617, pp. 122-3
Burghs Types_of_subdivision_in_the_United_Kingdom