NRS Registration casework officer Rachael Lloyd looked more deeply into intriguing entries in our registers and uncovered a surprising tale of slavery, service and freedom in nineteenth century Scotland... Malvina Wells was born around 1805, on the Island of Carriacou in Grenada. She was born into slavery, and although she will have been far … Continue reading Voices from our Archives: Malvina Wells, c.1805 – 1887
Web Archiving & Web Continuity
National Records of Scotland is today celebrating World Digital Preservation Day. We caught up with our web continuity assistant Barbara Fuentes at West Register House, who told us about her work on archiving websites, helping to ensure that digital records are captured and preserved for the future… Digital Records NRS has been archiving paper records for … Continue reading Web Archiving & Web Continuity
Talking obsolescence in Oban: 2019 Community Archive Workshop Tour of Scotland
We’re constantly surrounded by digital material – tweets, photos, videos and much more – but stored information is surprisingly vulnerable and easy to lose, with community archives’ content particularly at risk. World Digital Preservation Day is an annual celebration of efforts across the globe to secure and preserve our digital record. In this blog post, … Continue reading Talking obsolescence in Oban: 2019 Community Archive Workshop Tour of Scotland
The Harry Lauder Million Pound Fund
149 years after the birth of entertainer Sir Harry Lauder, NRS archivist Veronica Schreuder investigates his "Million Pound Fund", established to help soldiers returning from the battlefields of the First World War... Sir Harry Lauder was the highest paid artist in variety theatre during the First World War, and the enthusiastic driving force behind ‘The … Continue reading The Harry Lauder Million Pound Fund
Exhibition: Prisoners or Patients?
A new free exhibition by National Records of Scotland (NRS) reveals the hidden histories of prisoner-patients of the Victorian era. Opening 1 August, Prisoners or Patients? Criminal Insanity in Victorian Scotland uses never before displayed records and photographs to reveal tragic stories of crime, treatment, recovery and release. Guest curator Professor Rab Houston of the … Continue reading Exhibition: Prisoners or Patients?
A Grand Day Out
A snap of a visit to Edinburgh records the beginning of a long transformation that changed an entire profession... This seemingly innocuous photograph captures a moment in the long transformation of the once all-male world of the Scottish registrars, a profession now staffed predominantly by women. It captures a visit to New Register House in Edinburgh by members … Continue reading A Grand Day Out
Voices From Our Archives: The George Square Riot, 1919
“Suddenly, without warning, police made a savage, totally unexpected assault on the rear of the meeting, smashing right and left with their batons…” Willie Gallacher, Revolt on the Clyde, 1936 Recently-opened papers in the National Records of Scotland archive reveal the inside story of the George Square Riot of 1919 – a violent and shocking … Continue reading Voices From Our Archives: The George Square Riot, 1919
From the NRS Archives: Mary, Queen of Scots (1542-1587)
The movie Mary, Queen of Scots starring Saoirse Ronan and Margot Robbie premieres today in Edinburgh, so we asked NRS archivist Dr Alison Rosie to look at the real Mary I and at what our records reveal about the Kingdom of Scotland’s most famous and (spoilers!) tragic Queen. National Records of Scotland holds many documents which … Continue reading From the NRS Archives: Mary, Queen of Scots (1542-1587)
From the NRS Archives: The Crime That Shook Glasgow, 1916
Court papers and a striking crime scene map reveal how an everyday argument between neighbours culminated in a terrifying explosion and the arrest of a wounded war veteran for the murder of three people. NRS project cataloguers working on records of the Military Pensions Appeal Tribunal recently discovered the case of a former soldier who had … Continue reading From the NRS Archives: The Crime That Shook Glasgow, 1916
From the NRS Archives: Servicemen in Scotland’s Asylums, August 1918
Now released after 100 years, asylum admission records shed light on the treatment of civilians and soldiers suffering from mental health conditions. Shell shock – a contemporary term used to describe the psychological trauma experienced by soldiers who fought on the battlefields of the First World War – is familiar from documentaries, movies and novels. … Continue reading From the NRS Archives: Servicemen in Scotland’s Asylums, August 1918
