25 October - 1 December 2017 General Register House, Matheson Dome Free Thieves, confidence tricksters, pickpockets and more… Our new exhibition of photographs and criminal records from the Victorian and Edwardian eras will bring you face-to-face with Scotland’s criminal past. National Records of Scotland will display previously unseen mug shot albums alongside official trial records … Continue reading Rogues Gallery: Faces of Crime 1870-1917
The end of summer weeding
At the beginning of September, we said a fond farewell to our five summer legal students, who are employed each year to assist us with processing the vast amount of Sheriff Court civil records that we take in each year. Archivists aim to visit 5-6 courts every year and bring back records that are over … Continue reading The end of summer weeding
Doors Open Day – General Register House and New Register House
Once again, that time of year is approaching when the National Records of Scotland throws open its doors and invites the public into the splendour of the General Register and New Register House, and offers a tantalising glimpse behind the scenes. General Register House Before records were officially stored in the archive, there was no … Continue reading Doors Open Day – General Register House and New Register House
Scottish Handwriting 1500-1700
Calling all budding palaeographers! Students wanted for evening short course at National Records of Scotland Archival records are amazing. They document the lives of our ancestors, allow us to peer into past societies and record the events - big and small - that shaped our country into what it is today. Reading old records, particularly … Continue reading Scottish Handwriting 1500-1700
A fascinating investigation
Handling records in poor condition causes further damage. In such cases extensive conservation treatment is necessary to make records suitable to be produced and therefore available to scholars and researchers. I recently worked on an interesting court book dating between 1686 and 1714, a limp vellum binding containing a whole block of papers in seriously … Continue reading A fascinating investigation
Wrapping Up Scotland’s Archives
In 2013, the Scottish Council on Archives launched a three-year traineeship scheme funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund’s Skills for the Future programme. The Opening Up Scotland’s Archives scheme was created to provide opportunities for individuals to gain experience working in archives, in addition to the more traditional degree and post-graduate qualification route. At the … Continue reading Wrapping Up Scotland’s Archives
Robert Burns (1759-1796) – the Poet
Robert Burns is the last of the four Famous Scots from the Past featured in our Fringe Festival exhibition this year. With limited space available, the challenge has been to choose a single document that helps us get closer to Scotland’s national poet. We started by considering how the official records, in which NRS is so … Continue reading Robert Burns (1759-1796) – the Poet
Mary, Queen of Scots (1542-1587)
“The daughter of debate that discord aye doth sow” Elizabeth I, from her sonnet ‘The Doubt of Future Foes’ referring to Mary Queen of Scots During her lifetime Mary Queen of Scots was a highly controversial monarch and she continues to divide opinion today. When we consider her reign, we often focus on the … Continue reading Mary, Queen of Scots (1542-1587)
Sir William Arrol (1839-1913) – The Engineer
A titan of engineering and construction, William Arrol established his company in the early 1870s, when Glasgow was developing as an industrial city and the revolutionary Siemens Martin process was enabling the mass production of cheap steel. Arrol made his name with the construction of the Forth Bridge (1890), and is also known for the … Continue reading Sir William Arrol (1839-1913) – The Engineer
Madeleine Hamilton Smith (1835-1928) – The Accused
On 30 June 1857 the trial of Madeleine Smith began. A young woman from a prosperous Glasgow family, Smith was charged with, on three separate occasions, administering arsenic or other poison to Pierre Emile L’Angelier with intent to kill, twice in February and once in March 1857. It was this accusation and the subsequent … Continue reading Madeleine Hamilton Smith (1835-1928) – The Accused
