Het Pint toast to the Royal Burgh of Lanark

Lanarkians and friends are invited to toast the royal burgh with a Het Pint on New Year's Day.
Ed Archer receives his £1 note from community council member Eleanor McLean at the 2016  Het Pint.  (Picture Sarah Peters)Ed Archer receives his £1 note from community council member Eleanor McLean at the 2016  Het Pint.  (Picture Sarah Peters)
Ed Archer receives his £1 note from community council member Eleanor McLean at the 2016 Het Pint. (Picture Sarah Peters)

A bequest, or mortification, laid down in 1662 for the education of poor students later became a gift of hot mulled ale for the poor and needy or “decayed burgesses” on New Year’s morning.

The bequest is reputed to have been laid down by Lord Carmichael, who later became Lord Hyndford.

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Now it has evolved into a Het Pint - a glass of hot mulled wine - for all who turn up to the short ceremony in the Tolbooth on January 1 each year to toast the Royal Burgh, and a crisp £1 note for those older citizens who want to claim their share of the bequest.

The ceremony is run now by the Community Council, and with 37 citizens claiming the money on January 1 2016, there were fears that Lanark was running out of the scarce £1 notes. However, a generous donation by a bank has ensured that there will be notes for 2017 and well into the future!

The Het Pint ceremony in the Tolbooth begins at 10am sharp, so turn up before that to make sure you have a glass of hot wine in your hand ready for the toast.