Statistical Accounts of Scotland

There have been three ‘statistical accounts’ of Scotland. The first, undertaken at the end of the 18th century under the direction of Sir John Sinclair of Ulbster (1754-1835), is usually referred to today as the ‘Old’ or ‘First’ statistical account. It was published in twenty-one volumes between 1791 and 1799. The second was the New Statistical Account, published between 1834 and 1845. The Third Statistical Account of Scotland was published between 1951 and 1992.

All three statistical accounts were based on questionnaires sent out to the Church of Scotland ministers in each parish. The Old Statistical Account questionnaire asked for information about the geography and natural history of the parish, its population, their occupations, origins and religious persuasion, the agriculture of the parish and miscellaneous topics including the poor, typical wages, archaeological remains and ruins, the state of roads and other matters. The New Statistical Account questionnaire asked for information about topographical and natural history, civil history, population, industry, parochial economy and miscellaneous observations. The Third Statistical Account included an account of each county as well as accounts of the individual parishes and covered industry, transport and culture as well as population changes, agriculture, religious affiliation and miscellaneous topics.

Online versions of the Old and New Statistical Accounts can be seen, along with more background information about them at Edinburgh University’s <https://stataccscot.edina.ac.uk/static/statacc/dist/home> [accessed 26 April 2024].