King Robert's great charter of 1319, allowed the citizens of Aberdeen to own the Burgh, the forests and all the revenue from the land within the borders. The revenue from the Freedom Lands is known as "The Common Good Fund".
The Burgh borders were marked by 67 March Stones the first being Alpha and the last Omega. The stones can still be found today, Alpha is near Old Ford Road on the banks of the Dee, whilst Omega is in open ground by the Bridge of Don.
Stone 1 is located outside 79 Hardgate and is set flat in the road. Note this stone is dual marked both ABD & CR. In 1525 it was descibed as ane gret stane, with a sawssir. It was still marked with a saucer in 1698 but a new stone marked ABD was in place by the late 18th centuary.
A Freedom Lands' March Stone is distinguished from the other sort by bearing the letters marking ‘ABD’ and a number between 1 and 65, or the symbols for Alpha and Omega, and in certain cases the letters CR, for City Royalty. Aberdeen’s Freedom Lands’ March stones are composed of two separate sets: the inner and the outer.
The inner CR March Stones mark the boundary of a series of crofts and croft lands that ringed the Medieval Royal Burgh of Aberdeen. On these lands much of the city’s corn, bere (or barley) and wheat was grown. These lands have probably pertained to the Royal Burgh since its inception.
Until Whitsunday, 1880, small dues called Petty Customs were levied on produce brought into the town. There were stations on the roads where they crossed the royalty boundary. One was in Holburn Street beside Justice Mill, where dues on the produce of Deeside were collected by a man in a wooden sentry-box. There was another in Alford place, on the east side of Victoria Street, for produce from Skene and Echt.
A guide to the March Stone Trail is available at www.aberdeencity.gov.uk/trails