Money and Banking

Scotland had its own currency, the pound Scots, prior to the Act of Union in 1707, and its own banks from 1695 until the present. To find out more about money, coinage and banking in Scotland, and how to calculate using pounds, shillings and pence, see below.

The Pound Scots and Silver Penny

Roman coins are occasionally found in Scotland, but the first indigenous currency in Scotland was the silver penny coined by David I. In theory each pound weight of silver yielded 240 pennies (that is,1 pound equalled 20 shillings and 1 shilling equalled 12 pennies), but the crown coined 252 pennies to the pound to make a profit. From the 14th century until the end of the 16th century debasement of the coinage resulted in the divergence of the Scottish and English currencies. In the reign of James III (1460-1488) the pound sterling was worth 4 pounds Scots. In 1560, 5 pounds Scots equalled 1 pound sterling. When James VI succeeded to the throne of England (in 1603) the exchange rate for Scots pounds to sterling was fixed at 12:1.

Other Scottish currency

The noble, first issued by David II, was the earliest Scottish gold coin. The merk (worth 13 shillings and 4 pence) was mostly a unit of account but was occasionally minted. Scotland periodically suffered from a shortage of coin, which is one reason why references to continental coins, such as the rex dollar can be found in Scottish records during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, especially in Scottish burghs Scottish currency was withdrawn after the Act of Union in 1707, but rents, wages and the value of agricultural produce continued to be stated in Scots money. For information about other Scottish coins see the bibliography below. The foremost collection of Scottish coins is that held by the National Museums of Scotland.

Banking

Scotland’s first bank, the Bank of Scotland, was modelled on the Bank of England (itself co-founded by a Scot, William Paterson) and founded by an act of the Scottish parliament in 1695. In 1727 the Royal Bank of Scotland was formed as an offshoot from the Equivalent Company of 1724. The British Linen Company (incorporated in 1746) was functioning as a bank by the 1760s. In addition to these three ‘chartered banks’, private banks began appearing in Edinburgh in the mid-18th century, many formed by merchants in partnership, and some even issued their own banknotes. Between 1747 and 1820 over thirty provincial banks opened in communities outside Edinburgh, but most provincial and private banks disappeared in the 19th century, under pressure from new joint-stock banks and savings banks. The first savings bank was founded in Ruthwell, Dumfriesshire in 1810 and quickly spread throughout Scotland and the wider world. A series of mergers and failures in the 19th century reduced the number of Scottish banks to ten by 1880 and three by 1950. Scottish banks introduced or popularised some important banking ideas, including limited liability, interest on deposit accounts, local bank branches, cash credit (precursor of the overdraft) and the proliferation of paper money (three banks continue to issue banknotes in Scotland today).

Contributors: Vicki Wilkinson and Alison Turton (The Royal Bank of Scotland, 2002), Lesley Richmond (Glasgow University Archives, 2002), Andrew Jackson and Robin Urquhart (both SCAN, 2002), Ruth Reed (NatWest Group Archives, 2021).

Bibliography

Notes and Coinage:

Burns, Edward, The Coinage of Scotland 3 vols (Edinburgh: 1887)

Callaway, Jonathan and Dave Murphy, Paper Money of Scotland 2 vols (English Paper Money, 2018)

Douglas, James, Scottish Banknotes, (Gibbons, 1975).

Douglas, James, Twentieth Century Scottish Banknotes 2 vols (Banking Memorabilia, 1984-1998)

Holmes, Nicholas, Scottish Coins: a history of small change in Scotland (NMS, 1998)

Jones, Trevor, Twentieth Century Scottish Banknotes: Clydesdale Bank plc and its constituent banks (Banking Memorabilia, 1998)

Patrick, R. W., Cochran Records of the Coinage of Scotland, 2 vols (Edinburgh,: 1876)

Richardson, A. B., Catalogue of the Scottish Coins in the National Museum of Antiquities, Edinburgh (Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, 1901).

Scottish Record Office, Guide to the National Archives of Scotland (HMSO, 1996),

Speed, Lauren A History of Medieval Scottish Coinage (Portable Antiquities Scheme, 2020) <https://finds.org.uk/counties/blog/a-history-of-medieval-scottish-coinage/> [accessed 24 April 2024].

Stewart, I. H., The Scottish Coinage revised edition (London: 1996)

Also useful are Banknote Yearbook and Coin Yearbook, published annually by Token Publishing, Honiton, Devon.

Banking:

Checkland, S., Scottish Banking, A History, 1695-1973 (Collins, 1975)

Cameron, Alan, Bank of Scotland 1695-1995: a very singular institution (Mainstream Publishing, 1995)

Durie, A J., (ed.) The British Linen Company 1745-1775 (Scottish History Society, 1996)

Malcolm, C. A., The Bank of Scotland 1695-1945 ([1948])

Malcolm, C. A., The History of the British Linen Bank, 1746-1946 (Edinburgh, 1950)

Moss, Michael & Anthony Slaven, From ledger book to laser beam: a history of the TSB in Scotland, from 1810-1990 (Trustee Savings Bank Scotland, 1992)

Moss, Michael & Iain Russell, An Invaluable Treasure: A History of the TSB (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1994)

Munn, C., The Scottish Provincial Banking Companies, 1747-1864 (John Donald, 1981)

Orbell, J. & A. Turton, British Banking: A Guide to historical records (Ashgate, 2001)

Rait, Robert S., The History of the Union Bank of Scotland (Glasgow, 1930)

Saville, R., Bank of Scotland: A History, 1695-1995 (Edinburgh University Press, 1996)

Tamaki, Norio, The Life Cycle of the Union Bank of Scotland 1830-1954 (Aberdeen University Press, 1983)

Websites

Bank of Scotland <https://www.lloydsbankinggroup.com/who-we-are/our-heritage/our-companies.html> [accessed 24 April 2024]

Royal Bank of Scotland <https://www.natwestgroup.com/heritage.html> [accessed 24 April 2024]

The National Archives in London <http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/> [accessed 24 April 2024]

National Museums Scotland <https://www.nms.ac.uk/> [accessed 24 April 2024] for coins, banknotes and related information

The Hunterian Museum <https://www.gla.ac.uk/hunterian/collections/> [accessed 24 April 2024]

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Money and Banking

Why do the letters ‘L., s., d.’ or the abbreviations ‘lb., s., d.’ in Scottish documents signify pounds, shillings and pence?

The abbreviations stand for the Latin words ‘libra’ (meaning ‘pounds’), ‘solidi’ (meaning shillings) and ‘denarii’ (meaning pennies).

What was the merk?

The merk (2/3 of a Scots pound, i.e. 13 shillings and 4 pence) was mostly a unit of account, but was occasionally minted prior to 1707.

Where can I get information about Scottish bank notes?

The Royal Bank of Scotland, Bank of Scotland and Clydesdale Bank issue banknotes. No normal issue notes bear an image of the Queen, although she has appeared on some special-issue commemorative notes. None of the other banks operating in Scotland issue their own banknotes. A general guide to Scottish banknotes is James Douglas, Scottish Banknotes, (London: Gibbons, 1975) or Jonathan Callaway and Dave Murphy, Paper Money of Scotland (English Paper Money, 2018). Other useful published works are James Douglas, Twentieth Century Scottish Banknotes, vols. 1 & 2 (Banking Memorabilia,1984-1998); T Jones, Twentieth Century Scottish Banknote: Clydesdale Bank plc and its constituent banks (Banking Memorabilia,1998); Banknote Yearbook published annually by Token Publishing, Honiton, Devon. Other information about banknotes can be found at the websites of Royal Bank of Scotland <https://www.natwestgroup.com/heritage.html > and the Bank of Scotland <https://www.lloydsbankinggroup.com/who-we-are/our-heritage/our-companies.html > [both accessed 24 April 2024].

How do I find out which banks operated in my town/village etc?

Look in contemporary records or publications. The local studies library and/or local authority archive should have postal directories and/or valuation rolls, and these should confirm the name of the bank(s) that operated within the location you are interested.

The bank I am researching no longer exists. How do I find its history and the name of the bank which took it over?

Consult J Orbell & A Turton British Banking: a guide to historical records (Ashgate, 2001); which contains a brief history for all banks which had surviving records at the time of publication. This is the quickest way to trace bank take-overs and mergers.

I want to find out about the history of Scottish banking, or a particular bank. Where do I start?

There are several useful publications on the history of banking and most of the main bank groups operating in Scotland: Bank of Scotland, The Royal Bank of Scotland, Clydesdale Bank, and Lloyds TSB. Each bank is the result of a number of amalgamations over the last 300 years. General reference books on the subject include:

Checkland, S., Scottish Banking, A History, 1695-1973 (Collins, 1975)

Cameron, Alan, Bank of Scotland 1695-1995: a very singular institution (Mainstream Publishing, 1995)

Durie, A J. ed., The British Linen Company 1745-1775 (Scottish History Society, 1996)

Kerr, A. W., History of Banking in Scotland (D Bryce & Son, 1884)

Malcolm, C. A., The Bank of Scotland 1695-1945 ([1948])

Malcolm, C. A., The History of the British Linen Bank, 1746-1946 (Edinburgh, 1950)

Moss, Michael & Anthony Slaven, From ledger book to laser beam: a history of the TSB in Scotland, from 1810-1990 (Trustee Savings Bank Scotland, 1992)

Moss, Michael & Iain Russell, An Invaluable Treasure: A History of the TSB (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1994)

Munn, C., The Scottish Provincial Banking Companies, 1747-1864 (John Donald, 1981)

Orbell, J. & A. Turton, British Banking: A Guide to historical records (Ashgate, 2001)

Rait, Robert S., The History of the Union Bank of Scotland (Glasgow: 1930)

Saville, R., Bank of Scotland: A History, 1695-1995 (Edinburgh University Press, 1996)

Tamaki, Norio, The Life Cycle of the Union Bank of Scotland 1830-1954 (Aberdeen University Press, 1983)

If you are researching the history of the Bank of Scotland or The Royal Bank of Scotland (or one of their constituents) look at the respective websites: <https://www.lloydsbankinggroup.com/who-we-are/our-heritage/our-companies.html> [accessed 24 April 2024] for the Bank of Scotland and <https://www.natwestgroup.com/heritage.html> [accessed 24 April 2024] for the Royal Bank of Scotland. The National Archives website <http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk > [accessed 24 April 2024] will help you locate the archives services which hold records of other banks.

Where can I find information about the architecture and history of a particular bank building?

There may be clues on the building itself, such as building dates, former bank names, or initials in the stonework. There is a general guide to banking architecture: John Booker, Temples of Mammon: the Architecture of Banking (Edinburgh University Press, 1990). For published information about the specific building you are interested in, consult the Historic Environment Scotland website < https://www.trove.scot/> [accessed 26 May 2025] and architectural guides to the area in question. Of these, the most comprehensive are the Buildings of Scotland series (Penguin & Buildings of Scotland Trust), and the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland’s Illustrated Architectural Guides, (Mainstream Publishing), both of which cover most areas of Scotland. These usually devote a few sentences to each building of architectural interest.

You may be able to verify what you have found in published sources by looking at contemporary records or publications. The local studies library and/or local authority archives service should have postal directories and/or valuation rolls, and these should confirm the name of the bank(s) that operated the branch. If a newspaper covered the opening of the bank, the report might include details of the architect and building contractors.

If the bank was eventually taken over by The Royal Bank of Scotland look at the NatWest Group Heritage website <https://www.natwestgroup.com/heritage.html> [accessed 24 April 2024] which lists all 250 companies now part of the Group. For the Bank of Scotland look at the Lloyds Group website <https://www.lloydsbankinggroup.com/who-we-are/our-heritage/our-companies.html> [accessed 24 April 2024]. Staff at the relevant bank archives service may be able to check their property records, architectural plans and photograph collections to give you the name of the architect, the date of erection and alterations and copies of any photographs of the interior and exterior.

How can I find details of the career of a bank employee?

It is essential that you have the full name of the member of staff and the name of the bank he or she worked for. The archives of The Royal Bank of Scotland, Bank of Scotland and TSB Scotland hold comprehensive sets of staff records (including the records of a few banks which later merged with them) from around the time of World War 1 (1914-18). Some are organised by branch or office name, others are arranged alphabetically by surname. From these it may be possible to obtain information about the member of staff, including date of birth, home address, position in the bank, salary and progress in banking exams. Photographs are harder to trace, but it was usual to have a photograph taken when you became an official of the bank. Staff records are subject to data protection legislation and are likely to be closed to public access until they are more than 100 years old.

How can I convert the pound Scots to its sterling equivalent?

From 1600 onwards the exchange rate was stabilised at 12:1, so one pound Scots = 1s. 8d sterling, and one pound sterling = 12 pounds Scots. Prior to 1600 the conversion is more difficult, as it depends on the exchange rate. The pound Scots and pound sterling were probably at parity in the 1360s, but subsequent debasement of the pound Scots led to devaluation. The exchange rate was 4:1 by the late 15th century, 5:1 by 1560, and 12:1 by 1600.

4:1 1 pound Scots = 5s sterling £1 sterling = 4 pounds Scots

5:1 1 pound Scots = 4 s sterling £1 sterling = 5 pounds Scots

12:1 1 pound Scots = 1s 8d sterling £1 sterling = 12 pounds Scots

How do I convert an amount of money in a previous century into today’s equivalent?

If the amount of money is in sterling, to find the ‘purchasing power’ (the equivalent amount of money today, taking into account inflation) for this amount, go to the Economic History website <https://eh.net/howmuchisthat/> [accessed 24 April 2024].

If the amount of money is in pounds Scots you must first of all convert the amount to pounds sterling. For the approximate exchange rates at different times, see the FAQ ‘How can I convert the pound Scots to its sterling equivalent?’ Answer: the important point to grasp is that this is not a decimal currency. 12d = 1 shilling: 20 shillings = 1 pound.

How can I calculate in pounds, shillings and pence?

To add pounds, shillings and pence manually, columns of figures should be added as follows:

Start with the pence (d.) column. Add up the pence, and, using long division, divide by 12. The result will be a whole number and a remainder (a number between 0 and 11). The whole number represents the number of shillings to be carried over to the shillings (s.) column. The remainder is the number of pence in the total.

Add up the shillings (s.) column (including the figure carried over from the pence column). Divide this number by 20. The result will be a whole number and a remainder (a number between 0 and 19). The whole number represents the number of pounds to be carried over to the pounds (L) column. The remainder is the number of shillings in the total.

Add up the pound (L) column (including the figure carried over from the shillings column).

For example: the sum of the amounts below:

	L.	s.	d.
	4	7	3
	0	19	8
	4	12	7
	1	3	0
	1	15	2
Totals	12	16	8
Divide 20 pence into shillings =			1s. 8d
Carry over the 2s. to shillings column		1	8
Add to previous shillings total		56
Divide 63 shillings into pounds		2L 16s.
Carry over £3 to pounds column	2
Add to previous pounds total	10
Final total	12	16	8

I have an old bank passbook, which records a small balance. How do I trace the account and find out how much it is worth?

The website <www.mylostaccount.org.uk> [accessed 24 April 2024] provides a central point for enquiring about a lost account with any British bank. The service is free to use.

Banks normally paid no interest on sums of money under one pound, irrespective of whether it was a current or savings account. Also note that the final balance in a passbook may not be significant, as this may be the balance when an account information was changed to electronic form in the 1960s. Thereafter, the account holder may not have used the passbook, relying instead on monthly, quarterly or annual statements.

Mental Health

This entry in the Knowledge Base refers to local authorities and central authorities by the name they were given in the relevant legislation at the time. This terminology is now obsolete and its use in this entry is limited to formal names.

The treatment and care of people suffering from mental ill-health was initially provided by private institutions. It was first subject to legislation in Scotland in 1815 when sheriffs were given the right to grant licenses and inspect institutions and empowered to set regulations for the care and confinement of inmates.[1] There was further amending legislation in 1828 and 1841.[2] In 1855 a Royal Commission on lunatic asylums in Scotland was set up and reported in 1857, leading to the Lunacy (Scotland) Act 1857.[3]

Local authorities for mental health were set up in 1858 in the form of eight district lunacy boards under the Lunacy (Scotland) Act 1857.[4] They were responsible for building asylums for the reception and care of people with mental health issues who had no means to support themselves. The district lunacy boards included representatives of the commissioners of supply and magistrates of burghs within the district. They were supervised by the General Board of Commissioners in Lunacy for Scotland which was also given supervisory powers over private and public licensed lunatic asylums.

In 1914 the General Board of Commissioners in Lunacy for Scotland was replaced by the General Board of Control for Scotland and the district lunacy boards were replaced with district boards of control under the Mental Deficiency and Lunacy (Scotland) Act 1913.[5] This Act gave the new boards of control responsibility for both mental health services and services for people with learning and other disabilities. District boards of control were abolished in 1930 by the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1929 and their responsibilities for local mental health services were transferred to county councils and large burghs.[6]

With the creation of the National Health Service, local authority involvement in mental health provision ceased and their responsibilities under the 1913 Act were allocated to local health authorities under the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1947 while the management of mental health institutions was placed with the General Board of Control.[7] The General Board of Control was then replaced by the Mental Welfare Commission in 1960 and the responsibilities of local health authorities were re-defined.[8]

The Mental Health (Scotland) Act 1984 brought local authorities back into this function by enabling local authorities to provide residential accommodation, provide after care support and appoint mental health officers.[9] The National Health Service Reform (Scotland) Act 2004 required health boards to establish a scheme for community health partnerships to co-ordinate the planning, development and provision of health services in consultation with the local authorities in the area. [10]

Records of the various general boards mentioned above are held by the National Records of Scotland (reference code MC). Depending on the area, records of local district boards are sometimes held by the archives service of the successor local authority (such as Glasgow City Archives and Aberdeenshire Archives) and sometimes by the NHS archives service (such as the University of Dundee Archives, the University of Stirling Archives & Special Collections and NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde Archives).

Compiler: Elspeth Reid (2021)

Related Knowledge Base entries

District lunacy boards & District boards of control

Bibliography

Andrews, Jonathan, They’re in the trade…of lunacy, they cannot interfere – they say’: the Scottish Lunacy Commissioners and lunacy reform in nineteenth-century Scotland. (Wellcome Trust, 1998)

Hunter, T Drummond, ‘Mental health and mental handicap: a new look at patterns in care’ in Improving the Common Weal: Aspects of Scottish health services 1900-1984 ed. by Gordon McLachlan (Edinburgh University Press for the Nuffield Provincial Hospitals Trust, 1987) pp.325-65

Keane, A.M., ‘Mental health policy in Scotland, 1908-1960’ (Unpublished doctoral thesis, University of Edinburgh, 1987)

Stone, J.A.W., ‘Lunacy’ in Source book and history of administrative law in Scotland ed. by M. R. McLarty (Hodge, 1956), pp. 161-76

References

[1] Act to Regulate Madhouses in Scotland, 1815 (55 Geo. III c.69).

[2] Mad-houses (Scotland) Act, 1828, (9 Geo. IV c.34); Madhouses etc (Scotland) Act 1841 (4 & 5 Vict. c.60).

[3] Report by HM Commissioners appointed to inquire into the state of lunatic asylums in Scotland and the existing law in reference to lunatics and lunatic asylums (HMSO, 1857).

[4] Lunacy (Scotland) Act 1857 (20 & 21 Vict. c.71).

[5] Mental Deficiency and Lunacy (Scotland) Act 1913 (3 & 4 Geo. V c.38).

[6] Local Government (Scotland) Act 1929 (29 & 30 Geo. V c. 25) s.1(1), s.14.

[7] National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1947 (10 & 11 Geo. VI c.27) ss.49-51.

[8] Mental Health (Scotland) Act 1960 (c.61).

[9] Mental Health (Scotland) Act 1984 (c.36)

[10] National Health Service Reform (Scotland) Act 2004 (asp 7).

Markets and Shop Hours

The right to hold markets and develop trade independently was a fundamental privilege of royal burghs and of burghs of barony. Royal burghs could trade with other countries while burghs of barony were limited to local trade, but they were all able to run markets.

In 1846 the exclusive trading privileges of guilds within burghs were abolished.[1] In 1847 the Markets and Fairs Clauses Act regulated any subsequent local acts to establish markets and fairs.[2] The General Police and Improvement (Scotland) Act, 1862 gave police burghs the power to establish markets and improve existing markets. These powers were consolidated in 1892 including the power to charge for the use and of the market place or market house.[3] The Local Government (Scotland) Act 1947 clarified that expenditure on markets was to be covered by the burgh rate.[4] In 1982 the role was clarified and islands and district councils were empowered to provide market buildings, provide facilities, set charges and conditions and make byelaws to regulate the market and to discontinue any market they established.[5] Additionally, local authorities became responsible for granting licences for private markets.[6] These powers transferred to the unitary councils in 1996.[7]

Shop Hours

The Shop Hours Act 1892 permitted county councils and burgh commissioners to appoint inspectors to ensure compliance with working hours for young people in retail and wholesale shops, markets, stalls, warehouses, public-houses and refreshment houses.[8] In 1911 local authorities were permitted to fix a day for a weekly half day holiday for shops, enabling them to choose between a blanket half-day closure of all shops or different half-day closures for different types of shops, different parts of the area or different times of the year.[9] The local authorities could also hold a vote on exemptions and were required to enforce orders under this Act. From 1965, local authorities could no longer fix the early closing day and the occupiers were permitted to specify which day they wanted to close early by displaying a notice, with limits on how frequently this could be changed.[10] From 1975, islands and district councils were responsible for enforcing these provisions, until they were repealed in 1994.[11]

Compiler: Elspeth Reid (2021)

Bibliography

Bell, James, and James Paton, Glasgow: Its Municipal Organization and Administration (J. MacLehose and Sons, 1896)

Ferguson, Keith, An introduction to local government in Scotland (The Planning Exchange, 1984)

Whyte, W. E., Local Government in Scotland (Hodge & Co, 1936)

References

[1] Burgh Trading Act 1846 (9 & 10 Vict. c.17).

[2] Market and Fairs Clauses Act 1847 (10 & 11 Vict. c.14).

[3] Burgh Police (Scotland) Act 1892 (55 & 56 Vict. c.55) s.277.

[4] Local Government (Scotland) Act 1947 (10 & 11 Geo. VI c.43) Sch.5.

[5] Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 (c.65) s.27.

[6] Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 (c.45) s.40.

[7] Local Government etc (Scotland) Act 1994 (c.39) s.129.

[8] Shop Hours Act 1892 (55 & 56 Vict. c.62); Shop Hours Act 1893 (56 & 57 Vict. c.67).

[9] Shops Act 1911 (1 & 2 Geo. V c.54).

[10] Shops (Early Closing Days) Act 1965 (c.35).

[11] Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 (c.65) s.157; Deregulating and Contracting Out Act 1994 (c.40) Sch.17.

Liquor Licensing

The manufacture and sale of ale and other spiritous liquors in medieval burghs was supervised by burgh officials, often known as ‘ale-tasters’, and by the brewers themselves, who in large burghs would be organised into Incorporations of Maltmen or Brewers. Individuals outside the craft were forbidden from making malt, and by extension, brewing or distilling. In this way quality standards and entry into the craft were controlled. The town council would fix prices annually. The modern system of licensing is a much later development, imported from England in the mid-18th century.

In counties the Justices of the Peace (JPs) probably had a right to control the retailing of ale and spirits but seem only to have taken action after the passing of the Alehouses Act 1756.[1] Even then the clerk often issued licences to the justices without any process of examination into the fitness of the applicant. Licensing in its modern form dates largely from 1808 with the introduction of half-yearly meetings at which JPs in counties and magistrates in royal burghs granted licensing certificates.[2] Such a certificate was a necessary precondition to the grant of a licence by the Commissioners of Excise. To retail liquor without a licence was a criminal offence.

Legislation in the 19^th century aimed at ever-stricter controls, including the reduction of opening hours. By the end of the century repeated minor amendments had led to an urgent need for codification, which was met by the Licensing (Scotland) Act 1903.[3] This established licensing courts in counties and in royal, parliamentary and police burghs (with population qualifications) and introduced further controls, including a requirement to deposit plans of licensed premises with the licensing courts, and the regulation of licensed clubs. The working of the licensing authorities continued to be affected by the temperance movement. The Temperance (Scotland) Act 1913 introduced the so-called ‘veto poll’, enabling electors in a local area to have it declared ‘dry’, and to ban any licensed premises within its boundaries.[4] The First World War brought further restrictions on opening hours, made permanent shortly afterwards.[5] Throughout this period the licensing system itself remained largely unchanged. Licensing courts in burghs and counties were held twice a year, with an appeal to licensing appeal courts consisting partly of JPs and partly of councillors.

The Licensing (Scotland) Act 1976 replaced the licensing courts with licensing boards for each district or islands council area (for each council area after 1996) or for separate divisions within them. Appeal is now to the sheriff and thereafter to the Court of Session.[6]

Records of burgh licensing courts and of licensing boards are mainly held by local authority archives services. Justices of the Peace Licensing Court records are held by the National Records of Scotland (NRS) or by some local authority archives services under a charge and superintendence agreement (reference code JP). Scottish Office files on licencing, the development of licencing and temperance legislation, the Royal Commission on Licensing and various departmental inquiries are held by the National Records of Scotland (reference codes HH1, HH42 and HH43).

Compilers: SCAN contributors (2000).

Bibliography

The Laws of Scotland: The Stair Memorial Encyclopaedia 2^nd re-issue (Butterworths, 2023)

Cummins, J. C., Licensing Law in Scotland 2^nd edition (Butterworths/Law Society of Scotland, 2000)

Donnachie, Ian L., A History of the Brewing Industry in Scotland (John Donald, 1979)

Ferguson, Keith, An introduction to local government in Scotland (The Planning Exchange, 1984)

References

[1] Alehouses Act 1756 (29 Geo. II c.12).

[2] Duties on Certain Licenses Act 1808 (48 Geo. III c.143); Licensing (Scotland) Act 1828 (9 Geo. IV c.58).

[3] Licensing (Scotland) Act 1903 (3 Edw. VII c.25).

[4] Temperance (Scotland) Act 1913 (3 & 4 Geo. V c.33).

[5] Licensing Act 1921 (11 & 12 Geo. V c.42).

[6] Licensing (Scotland) Act 1976 (c.66).

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Liquor licensing

What does ‘off-licence’ mean?

The term ‘off-licence’ came into being under the Licensing (Scotland) Act of 1853, often referred to as the Forbes Mackenzie Act, (16 & 17 Vict. c.67). This established two types of liquor licence – one was for sale of alcohol for consumption on the premises, the other allowed grocers to sell alcoholic drinks strictly for consumption off the premises (hence ‘off-licences’). This was done to bring grocers’ shops under the licensing acts. Previously many shops had offered liquor along with snacks (such as bread and cheese). The act provided that pubs, inns, hotels etc should not operate as grocery shops and grocery shops should not operate as pubs.

Lighthouses

Early Lighthouses

The Isle of May Light, at the mouth of the Firth of Forth, is generally regarded as being the earliest lighthouse constructed in Scotland. It was built in 1635 by James Maxwell of Innerwick and John Cunninghame of Barnes.[1] Other lighthouses and similar buildings on the Scottish coast, such as bell towers, were simple structures and were built and maintained principally by individual burghs or by local acts of parliament. Concern at the number of wrecks due to severe storms in 1782 led the Convention of Royal Burghs and a House of Commons committee to recommend legislation to set up a body to fund, build and supervise lighthouses in Scotland, similar to Trinity House, the lighthouse authority for England, Wales, the Channel Islands and Gibraltar.[2]

Northern Lighthouse Commissioners

An act of 1786 founded the Commissioners of Northern Lighthouses, who had the power to borrow money, purchase land, levy dues from ship owners, and to construct lighthouses.[3] The jurisdiction of the Commissioners was extended by statute to include the Isle of Man in 1815 and lighthouses established by burghs and other local authorities in 1836.[4] The 1836 Act made plans for new lighthouses to be built by the Commissioners subject to approval of Trinity House.[5] The powers of Trinity House were strengthened and the funding of lighthouses consolidated into the Mercantile Marine Fund in 1853.[6] In 1854 and again in 1894 the Commissioners of Northern Lighthouses were confirmed as the authority for lighthouses in Scotland and the adjacent seas and islands, and the Isle of Man.[7] The Merchant Shipping Act of 1979 freed the Commissioners from the supervision of Trinity House.[8]

The Lighthouse Stevensons

Much of the early building work was undertaken by two innovative engineers: Thomas Smith, an Edinburgh ironsmith and streetlight designer, and his stepson, Robert Stevenson. They built 9 lights between 1786 and 1806. Under Smith and Stevenson many improvements were made to light design, including oil lamps, reflectors, clockwork mechanisms to rotate the beams, and increased height of the lighthouse buildings. Robert Stevenson’s sons, David, Alan and Thomas, followed their father into engineering. His grandson, Robert Louis Stevenson, served three years as an engineering apprentice, but turned to legal studies and writing.

Location of records

Records relating to lighthouses in Scotland are held by various archives in Scotland and The National Archives in London, but the principal source of information is the records of the Commissioners of Northern Lighthouses, held by the National Records of Scotland (reference NLC), with the exception of the Northern Lighthouse Board Drawings Collection, which is held by Historic Environment Scotland. The records of the Clyde Lighthouse Trust are held by Glasgow City Archives (reference: T-CN40-44). For a list of other collections in Scotland containing records relating to lighthouses, consult the introduction to the NLC catalogue at the National Records of Scotland. The National Library of Scotland holds the business papers of Robert Stevenson and Sons, lighthouse engineers (Acc. 10706). The National Archives in London holds records relating to Scottish lighthouses in Ministry of Transport, Admiralty and Treasury records. For further details see the Discovery website

Contributors: Sheila Mackenzie (National Library of Scotland, 2002); David Brown (National Archives of Scotland 2002) Joanna Baird, Robin Urquhart (both SCAN 2002).

Bibliography

Allardyce, K. & E. Hood, At Scotland’s edge: a celebration of two hundred years of the lighthouse service in Scotland and the Isle of Man (Collins 1986)

Allardyce, Keith, Scotland’s Edge Revisited (Harper Collins, 1998)

Bathurst, Bella, The Lighthouse Stevensons (Harper Perrenial, 2007)

Hume, John, Harbour Lights in Scotland (Scottish Vernacular Buildings Working Group, 1997)

Leslie, Jean & R. Paxton, Bright Lights: The Stevenson Family of Engineers 1752-1971 (J. Leslie & R Paxton, 1999)

Mair, Craig, A Star for Seamen: the Stevenson Family of Engineers (J Murray, 1978)

Munro, R. W., Scottish Lighthouses (Thule, 1979)

Stevenson, R. L., Records of a Family of Engineers (London:, 1896)

Websites: [all accessed 24 April 2024]

Scottish Lighthouse Museum <https://lighthousemuseum.org.uk/>

Northern Lighthouse Board

Trinity House

Bell Rock lighthouse

Ardnamurchan Lighthouse <https://www.ardnamurchanlighthouse.com/>

References

[1] Trove < https://www.trove.scot/> [accessed 26 May 2025]

[2] Munro, R. W., Scottish Lighthouses (Thule, 1979) pp. 51-55

[3] Erection of Lighthouses Act 1786 (26 Geo. III c.101).

[4] An Act for enabling the Commissioners of the Northern Lighthouses to erect Lighthouses on the Isles of Man and Calf of Man, 1815 (55 Geo. III c.67); Lighthouses Act 1836 (6 & 7 Will. IV c.79).

[5] Lighthouses Act 1836 (6 & 7 Will. IV c.79).

[6] Merchant Shipping Law Amendment Act 1853 (16 & 17 Vict. c.131) s.4.

[7] Merchant Shipping Act 1854 (17 & 18 Vict c. 104) s389; Merchant Shipping Act, 1894 (57 & 58 Vict. c.60) ss.634 & 668.

[8] Merchant Shipping Act, 1979 (c.39) s.33.

All
Lighthouses

Where can I find information on lighthouses?

Information about the history of lighthouses in Scotland is relatively easy to get hold of through published books and the Internet, and by visiting lighthouse museums. Books to look at include R W Munro, Scottish Lighthouses (Thule, 1979); K Allardyce and E Hood, At Scotland’s Edge (Collins,1986); K Allardyce, Scotland’s Edge Revisited (Collins, 1998); B Bathurst, The Lighthouse Stevensons (Flamingo, 1998); J Hume, Harbour Lights in Scotland (Scottish Vernacular Buildings Working Group, 1997); J Leslie and R Paxton, Bright Lights: The Stevenson Family of Engineers 1752-1971 (1999); C. Mair, A Star for Seamen: the Stevenson Family of Engineers (J Murray, 1978); R L Stevenson, Records of a Family of Engineers (1896).

The most useful websites are those of the Scottish Lighthouse Museum <https://lighthousemuseum.org.uk/> Northern Lighthouse Board and Trinity House. All accessed 24 April 2024] Two lighthouses have visitor centres: the Scottish Lighthouse Museum at Fraserburgh (in the north east of Scotland) and the Ardnamurchan Lighthouse (in the extreme west of the British mainland).

Where can I find information about Robert Stevenson and his family?

Firstly, look at published histories: R L Stevenson, Records of a Family of Engineers (1896); B Bathurst, The Lighthouse Stevensons (Flamingo, 1998); J Leslie and R Paxton, Bright Lights: The Stevenson Family of Engineers 1752-1971 (1999); C. Mair, A Star for Seamen: the Stevenson Family of Engineers (J Murray, 1978).

If you need to consult original records, start at the National Library of Scotland, which holds the business records of Robert Stevenson and Sons (Acc. 10706).

Where can I find plans of a particular lighthouse?

Firstly, try the Northern Lighthouse Board Drawings Collection, which is held by the National Monuments Record for Scotland. Another source for plans of lighthouses is the Register House Plans series in the National Records of Scotland (RHP). For some lighthouses on the Clyde there are lighthouse drawings among the records of the Clyde Lighthouse Trust, in Glasgow City Archives (reference: T-CN40-44). The Robert Stevenson & Sons business papers in the National Library of Scotland contains a few lighthouse plans.

Where can I find original records and other information about the Flannan Lighthouse disaster?

Most of the information about the event is contained in the records of the Northern Lighthouse Commission, at the National Records of Scotland. In addition, most national newspapers at the time covered the story. The Northern Lighthouse Commission records (all at the National Records of Scotland) which relate to the incident are: NLC3/1/1 Secretary’s department correspondence and reports (1 Jan 1901 to 31 March 1902) includes: a letter from County Clerk, Dingwall, granting permission to place a winch on Breascleit Pier; copy telegrams and letters from the master of the Hesperus and others reporting the disaster and steps taken; correspondence with the Board of Trade and Crown Office; reports by Superintendent Muirhead and others; correspondence regarding insurance payments, pensions and the deceased keepers’ families; letters and reports regarding analysis of water in the well at Breascleit and an inspection voyage in1901. NLC 2/1/87-88, minute books of the Commissioners (1899-1903) includes minutes concerning the lighthouse in the years leading up to the disaster, the disaster itself, and subsequent enquiries, reports and events.

Libraries

Libraries

Libraries were first found in cathedrals, abbeys and universities. Keepers of public libraries were amongst the public officials required to comply with the 1693 Act for taking the oath of allegiance and assurance.[1] From the 17th century onwards, local libraries were set up through philanthropy or other funding as subscription libraries, working men’s libraries and specialist libraries.[2] Many local libraries were set up in the late 19th and early 20th century from capital donations by Andrew Carnegie.[3]

Scottish local authorities were first empowered to establish libraries and/or museums by the Libraries (Public) Act 1853 which extended the Public Libraries Act 1850 to Scotland and Ireland.[4] This enabled royal and parliamentary burghs and burghs of barony or regality with a population of more than 10,000 to adopt the act and establish free libraries funded by a library rate.[5] The library and/or museum was to be run by the town council or by a committee appointed by the council, and admission was to be free. The following year the Public Libraries (Scotland) Act 1854 increased the level of the rate and the funding could be spent on books as well as accommodation and staff.[6] The Public Libraries (Scotland) Act 1867, which also had to be adopted by a vote of local householders, required library committees to include equal numbers of householders and magistrates. The power to set up free public libraries, art galleries and museums was extended to police burghs and parishes.[7]

The Public Libraries Consolidation (Scotland) Act 1887 repealed all previous legislation and replaced it with a consolidated measure which remains partly in force in 2021.[8] As in the previous legislation, town councils and parish councils could set up and operate libraries following a vote of householders to adopt the Act. The 1887 act made clear that female householders were included, and this meant they could vote and could be appointed to the library committee. The range of institutions was extended to include schools of science and schools of art as well as libraries, museums and art galleries. No charge could be made to borrow books or magazines and all museums, art galleries and libraries were to be open to the public free of charge.

In 1894 burghs were allowed to adopt the Public Libraries Acts by a resolution of the town council instead of a householder vote.[9] In 1899 local authorities were permitted to combine to run library services.[10] The Education (Scotland) Act 1918 enabled education authorities to provide books for adults as well as school pupils, in co-operation with public libraries where these existed.[11] In 1929 when parish councils were abolished, county councils became responsible for library provision through their scheme of administration which could include provision for a library committee under the general supervision of the education committee.[12] These provisions were broadly continued in 1947.[13] The Public Libraries (Scotland) Act 1955 enabled statutory library authorities and non-statutory libraries to collaborate in the provision of library services, enabled local authorities to rescind the adoption of the Public Libraries Acts in areas where there were adequate library facilities and enabled the inter-library loan system.[14] In 1973 Highlands, Borders and Dumfries & Galloway Regional Councils along with the district and islands councils in the rest of Scotland were given a duty ‘to secure the provision of adequate library facilities for all persons resident in their area’.[15] In 1994 these responsibilities transferred to the new unitary councils.[16] From 2007 onwards, some councils set up trusts, eligible for charitable status, to manage council-owned facilities and provide statutory library functions on behalf of the council.

Compiler: Elspeth Reid (2021)

Related Knowledge Base entries

Museums and Galleries

Leisure and Recreation

Bibliography

Aitken, W.R., A history of the public library movement in Scotland to 1955 (Scottish Library Association, 1921)

Bell, James, and James Paton, Glasgow: Its Municipal Organization and Administration (J. MacLehose and Sons, 1896)

Crawford, John, ‘The community library in Scottish history’ IFLA Journal 28.5-6 (2002), pp. 245-55

Ferguson, Keith, An introduction to local government in Scotland (The Planning Exchange, 1984)

Haythornthwaite, J. A., N. C. Wilson and V. A. Batho, Scotland in the Nineteenth Century: an analytical bibliography of material relating to Scotland in Parliamentary Papers, 1800-1900 (Scolar Press, 1993)

Mann, Alastair, ‘Libraries’ in Oxford Companion to Scottish History ed. by Michael Lynch (Oxford University Press, 2007) pp.387-88.

Whyte, W. E., Local Government in Scotland (Hodge & Co, 1936)

References

[1] Act for taking the oath of allegiance and assurance, 1693. The Records of the Parliaments of Scotland to 1707, ed. by K.M. Brown and others (University of St Andrews, 2007-2021), 1693/4/50. <http://www.rps.ac.uk/trans/1693/4/50> [accessed 24 October 2018].

[2] Alastair Mann, ‘Libraries’ in Oxford Companion to Scottish History ed. by Michael Lynch (Oxford University Press, 2007) pp.387-88.

[3] CILIPS ‘Carnegie and the History of Scottish Public Libraries <https://www.cilips.org.uk/carnegie-100-series-carnegie-and-the-history-of-scottish-public-libraries-2/> [accessed 21 April 2021].

[4] Public Libraries Act 1850 (13 & 14 Vict. c.65).

[5] Libraries (Public) Act 1853 (16 & 17 Vict. c.101).

[6] Public Libraries (Scotland) Act 1854 (17 & 18 Vict. c.64).

[7] Public Libraries (Scotland) Act 1867 (30 & 31 Vict. c.37).

[8] Public Libraries (Consolidation) Act 1887 (50 & 51 Vict. c.42).

[9] Public Libraries (Scotland) Act 1894 (57 & 58 Vict. c.20).

[10] Public Libraries (Scotland) Act 1899 (62 & 63 Vict. c.5).

[11] Education (Scotland) Act 1918 (8 & 9 Geo. V c.48) s.5. [Note that the Public Libraries Act 1919 did not apply to Scotland].

[12] Local Government (Scotland) Act 1929 (19 & 20 Geo. V c.25) ss.14,18, 41.

[13] Local Government (Scotland) Act 1947 (10 & 11 Geo. VI c.43) s.106(7).

[14] Public Libraries {Scotland) Act 1955 (c.27).

[15] Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 (c.65) s.163 (1).

[16] Local Government etc (Scotland) Act 1994 (c.39).

Leisure and Recreation

This Knowledge Base entry is about the local authority function of providing and supporting leisure and recreation. Local authorities became involved in the provision of leisure and recreational facilities and activities from the mid-19^th century onwards, mainly as a means of improving the general health of the population. Generally, these types of facilities were initially built through philanthropy and public subscription, whether baths, public parks, gymnasiums or playing fields. Legislation then enabled local authorities to use the rates to create, manage and maintain these types of facilities.

Some local authorities obtained local acts of parliament which enabled them to develop their own recreational facilities. The Police (Scotland) Act 1850 enabled burgh commissioners to provide grounds within the burgh or no more than 3 miles away to be used for recreation.[1] They were also allowed to provide public baths, washhouses and bathing places and drying grounds.[2] Similar provisions were included in later general police acts.[3] The Burgh Police (Scotland) Act 1892 was more extensive, enabling burghs with seashores to make byelaws to regulate the use of the seashore for bathing and recreation, regulating the hire of donkeys and ponies for pleasure riding and booths, stalls and stands on the beach.[4] Local authorities could also make byelaws on the use of public bleaching greens, drying greens, washhouses, baths, gymnasiums, pleasure grounds, recreation grounds and open spaces.

The provision of recreational space was extended to parish councils in 1894 enabling them to acquire land for public recreation and accept up to 20 acres from an entailed estate as well as provide public baths.[5] In 1929 district councils were enabled to make byelaws for recreation grounds, commons, bleaching greens and other public spaces.[6]

The Physical Training and Recreation Act 1937 enabled local authorities to acquire land and construct buildings for gymnasiums, playing fields, campsites, or use by athletic, social or educational clubs for exercise, recreation and social purposes.[7] The Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 placed these responsibilities on regional and islands councils, requiring that they consult with the district councils to ensure there was adequate provision of facilities.[8] However, in 1982 this was clarified and the Local Government and Planning (Scotland) Act 1982 required district and islands councils to ensure that there was adequate provision of facilities for the inhabitants of their area for recreational, sporting, cultural and social activities. These responsibilities were transferred to unitary authorities in 1996.[9] From 2007 onwards, some councils set up trusts, which could acquire charitable status, to manage council-owned facilities and provide leisure and recreation functions on behalf of the council. Some local parks and recreation facilities have been placed into local community management.

Records of parks, sports facilities and other leisure and recreation facilities and activities are likely to be held by local authority archives services, along with records of local sports clubs and other voluntary or commercial groups. The National Library of Scotland holds records of a wide range of sports and other local clubs and societies. The National Records of Scotland hold the records relating to central bodies such as the Central Council of Physical Recreation and the Scottish Sports Council as well as records relating to local byelaws.

Compiler: Elspeth Reid (2021)

Related Knowledge Base entries

Parks

Sport

Entertainment and Culture

Bibliography

Bell, James, and James Paton, Glasgow: Its Municipal Organization and Administration (J. MacLehose and Sons, 1896)

Ferguson, Keith, An introduction to local government in Scotland (The Planning Exchange, 1984)

Whyte, W. E., Local Government in Scotland (Hodge & Co, 1936)

References

[1] Police (Scotland) Act 1850 (13 & 14 Vict. c.33) s.320.

[2] Police (Scotland) Act 1850 (13 & 14 Vict. c.33) s.321.

[3] General Police and Improvement (Scotland) Act 1862 (25 & 26 Vict. c.101) s.367.

[4] Burgh Police (Scotland) Act 1892 (55 & 56 Vict. c.55) ss.303-304.

[5] Local Government (Scotland) Act 1894 (57 & 58 Vict. c.58) ss.24, 43, 44.

[6] Local Government (Scotland) Act 1929 (19 & 20 Geo. V c.25) s.26(8)

[7] Physical Training and Recreation Act 1937 (1 Edw VIII and 1 Geo. VI c.46).

[8] Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 (c.65) s.162.

[9] Local Government etc (Scotland) Act 1994 (c.39).

Industrial Promotion

Both central government and local authorities have tried to encourage economic growth by promoting their areas for industrial development. For most of the 20^th century, local authorities relied on town planning legislation to enable them to develop areas for industrial premises and sites. They also co-operated with voluntary bodies such as the Scottish Development Council and with central government bodies such as the Scottish Development Agency and the Highlands and Islands Development Board. Outreach could include the printing of tourist brochures, and the advertisement of industrial opportunities through film, of which some samples survive in the National Library of Scotland Moving Image collection.

The Local Government and Planning (Scotland) Act 1982 formally added industrial promotion to local authority functions.[1] District councils were limited to promotion within their own areas or to participating in initiatives led by the Secretary of State for Scotland or the regional council for the area or a national body set up for that purpose (such as the Scottish Development Agency). Regional councils were responsible for the implementation of planned policies, such as those carried out by Tayside Regional Industrial Office (TRIO), which provided advice on new investments and expansion of businesses in the region and conducted marketing programmes for the promotion of business opportunities.[2] In 1996 this function transferred to the unitary authorities.[3]

Compiler: Elspeth Reid (2021)

Bibliography

Ferguson, Keith, An introduction to local government in Scotland (The Planning Exchange, 1984)

References

[1] Local Government (Scotland) Act 1982 (c.43).

[2] Athugalage, T. S. K. ‘Tayside economy: an input-output approach to analysis and planning’ (Unpublished doctoral thesis, Dundee College of Technology, 1983) pp. 88-90.

[3] Local Government etc (Scotland) Act 1994 (c.39) Sch. 14.

Housing

The local authority function of providing housing emerged out of desire to improve public health and reduce disease. The housing function was therefore initially given to the same local authorities as under the Public Health (Scotland) Act 1867.[1] These were the town councils and police commissioners of burghs or trustees exercising the functions of police commissioners and, in the landward areas, the district committees set up under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1889 or where these did not exist, the county councils. In 1929 when local government was re-organised the county councils took over the housing function from the abolished district committees, but housing was one of the few functions that was not transferred from small burghs to the county councils. The large burghs and counties of cities also continued to have housing functions.[2] At local government reorganisation in 1975 housing was allocated to the district and islands councils but regional councils as well as district and islands councils were empowered to make arrangements with housing associations to provide housing.[3] In 1996 housing transferred to the new councils.

Before 1885 local authorities were enabled by various Acts to demolish properties unfit for human habitation but had no responsibility to replace these or to re-house the inhabitants. Following the 1885 Royal Commission of Inquiry into Housing of the Working Classes, the Housing of the Working Classes Act 1885 gave a duty to local authorities to regulate and enforce proper sanitary conditions through byelaws and enabled loans for housing.[4] A further Act in 1890 enabled local authorities to build replacement housing for people displaced by the demolition of unfit housing.[5]

In 1912 a Royal Commission on Housing in Scotland was set up ‘to inquire into the housing of the industrial population of Scotland, rural and urban (with special reference in the rural districts to the housing of miners and agricultural labourers); and to report what legislative or administrative action is in their opinion desirable to remedy existing defects.’[6] Reporting in 1917, the majority recommended that the state should accept responsibility for housing the working classes and should provide financial assistance for this.[7]

Legislation on housing provision was UK wide. The Housing, Town Planning, &c. Act 1919 enabled the building of new houses by local authorities with subsidies from central government.[8] The Logie Housing scheme in Dundee, which opened in 1920, was the first council housing estate built in Scotland under this act. The Housing (Financial Provisions) Act 1924 increased government subsidies to be paid to local authorities to build housing for rent for low paid workers and extended the time over which the subsidy was paid from 20 to 40 years.[9] During the 1920s and 1930s additional funding to local authorities focused on slum clearance.[10]

In 1944 and 1947 the Scottish Housing Advisory Committee published two influential reports on design of housing and on the need to link social housing with industrial re-generation.[11] Legislation in 1944 extended subsidies to general housing rather than just slum clearance and enabled payments to the Scottish Special Housing Association, while the Ministry of Works produced pre-fabricated houses for local construction.[12] In 1946 subsidies were increased with the emphasis put on improving existing housing rather than new build.[13]

In 1957 local authorities were enabled to provide housing in response to other overpopulated areas and to make overspill agreements.[14] By 1987, local authorities had been given duties to make grants towards improvements of private housing stock, support homeless people, ensure that the private housing stock was fit for purpose, inspect for overcrowding and register houses in multiple occupation.[15] However, in 1980, tenants were given the right to buy their council house and local authorities were also enabled to make loans to tenants who wanted to exercise that right.[16] This right to buy significantly reduced the council housing stock and local authorities therefore changed their emphasis from provider to regulator.

Housing registers, housing plans, tenants handbooks and other printed matter may be found in local authority archives services, but it is unusual for records of tenancies and letting of council housing to survive. Records relating to the construction of housing by local authorities can be found in the building warrants and plans, as well as in planning and development files and minutes of housing committees. The National Records of Scotland holds files on the Royal Commissions on Housing, the Scottish Housing Advisory Committee, government support for housing initiatives, policy, planning, development of housing legislation and other housing matters (reference code DD6).

Compiler: Elspeth Reid (2021)

Bibliography

Checkland, Olive and Sydney Industry and Ethos, Scotland 1832-1914 (Edinburgh University Press, 1989)

Ferguson, Keith, An introduction to local government in Scotland (The Planning Exchange, 1984)

Gordon, William, ‘Housing and Town Planning’ in Source book and history of administrative law in Scotland ed. by M. R. McLarty (Hodge, 1956), pp. 148-60

Niven, Douglas, The Development of Housing in Scotland (Croom Helm, 1979)

Rodger, R., ‘Urbanisation in twentieth century Scotland’ in Scotland in the Twentieth Century ed. by T. M. Devine and R. J. Finlay, (Edinburgh University Press, 1996), pp. 122-152

Smith, James & Douglas Robertson, ‘Local elites and social control: building council houses in Stirling between the wars’ Urban History 40.2 (May 2013), pp. 336-54

Whyte, W. E., Local Government in Scotland (Hodge & Co, 1936)

References

[1] Housing of the Working Classes Act 1890 (53 & 54 Vict. c.70) s.96; Public Health (Scotland) Act 1867 (30 & 31 Vict. c.101).

[2] Local Government (Scotland) Act 1929 (19 & 20 Geo. V c.25) s.2; Sch 1.

[3] Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 (c.65) ss.130-131.

[4] Housing of the Working Classes Act 1885 (48 & 49 Vict. c.72).

[5] Housing of the Working Classes Act 1890 (53 & 54 Vict. c.70).

[6] Report of the Royal Commission on the Housing of the Industrial Population of Scotland, Rural and Urban, Edinburgh 1917 Cmnd. 8731.

[7] Report of the Royal Commission on the Housing of the Industrial Population of Scotland, Rural and Urban, Edinburgh 1917 Cmnd. 8731 para.1938.

[8] Housing, Town Planning, &c. Act 1919 (9 & 10 Geo. V c.35).

[9] Housing (Financial Provisions) Act 1924 (14 & 15 Geo. V c.35).

[10] Housing Act 1930 (20 & 21 Geo. V c.39).

[11] Scottish Housing Advisory Committee ‘Planning our new homes’ (Edinburgh: Department of Health for Scotland, 1944); Scottish Housing Advisory Committee ‘Modernising our homes’ (Edinburgh: Department of Health for Scotland, 1947).

[12] Housing (Temporary Accommodation) Act, 1944 (7 & 8 Geo. VI c.36); Housing (Scotland) Act 1944 (7 & 8 Geo. VI c.39).

[13] Housing (Financial Provisions) (Scotland) Act 1946 (9 & 10 Geo. VI c.54).

[14] Housing and Town Development (Scotland) Act 1957 (c.38).

[15] Housing (Scotland) Act 1987 (c.26).

[16] Tenants’ Rights etc (Scotland) Act 1980(c.52); Housing Act 1980 (c.51).

Hospitals before the NHS

Prior to the 19th century, hospitals were built and operated by subscriptions, charitable and private funds and bequests. Large teaching hospitals, known as infirmaries, were set up in Edinburgh in 1729 and Aberdeen in 1739, with Glasgow founding a Town’s Hospital in 1733, later opening Glasgow Royal Infirmary in 1794. Other large towns similarly set up infirmaries, while smaller towns built cottage hospitals and fever hospitals intended to cope with the regular outbreaks of cholera, typhus and other infectious diseases. Although town councils often supported these initiatives, local authorities were not generally empowered to incur costs for hospitals.[1]

Local authority formal involvement in constructing and maintaining hospitals began when parochial boards were permitted to subscribe to hospitals under the Poor Law (Scotland) Act 1845.[2] The Public Health (Scotland) Act 1867 permitted local authorities (town councils, police commissioners or parochial boards) to provide hospitals whether by building them, alone or in combination with other local authorities, or contracting with existing hospitals. [3] Thereafter, the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1889, transferred these powers from parochial boards to county councils, enabling them to build fever hospitals.[4] The Public Health (Scotland) Act 1897 enabled local authorities to provide and maintain hospitals for people with infectious diseases and convalescent hospitals, again in combination with other local authorities if they wished. It also gave the Local Government Board for Scotland the authority to compel provision of these hospitals.[5]

The Local Government (Scotland) Act 1929 empowered county councils and the town councils of large burghs to provide ordinary general hospital accommodation in addition to their existing statutory duties to provide for the treatment of infectious diseases, tuberculosis and the sick poor.[6] For this purpose, local authorities were authorised to submit schemes for the reorganisation and extension of hospital facilities in their areas to the Department of Health for Scotland.

The hospitals were transferred to the National Health Service in 1948 and therefore local authority responsibilities for operating hospitals ceased.[7]

Records of cottage hospitals, fever hospitals and other local authority or private and charitable hospitals may be found in local authority archives services. Local authority minutes and financial records can also make reference to these hospitals. Records of hospitals which transferred into the NHS in 1948 generally have been deposited in health services archives. National Records of Scotland holds files on local authority health services (reference code HH61) and other health matters.

Compiler: Elspeth Reid (2021)

Related Knowledge Base entries

Hospitals and local health provision under the NHS

Bibliography

Evans, A. A. L., ‘Health’ in Source book and history of administrative law in Scotland ed. by M. R. McLarty (Hodge, 1956), pp. 130-47

Levitt, Ian, ‘Boy Clerks and Scottish Health Administration, 1867-1956’ in Medicine, Law and Public Policy in Scotland ed by Mark Freemen, Eleanor Gordon and Krista Maglen (Dundee University Press, 2011), pp. 161-79

McCallum, John, “Nurseries of the Poore”: Hospitals and Almshouses in Early Modern Scotland’ Journal of Social History, 48:2 (2014), pp. 427-49

McLachlan, Gordon (ed.), Improving the Common Weal: Aspects of Scottish health services 1900-1984 (Edinburgh University Press for the Nuffield Provincial Hospitals Trust, 1987)

Stewart, John, ‘The provision and control of medical relief. Urban Scotland in the late nineteenth century’ in Medicine, Law and Public Policy in Scotland ed by Mark Freemen, Eleanor Gordon and Krista Maglen, (Dundee University Press, 2011), pp. 10-26

References

[1] Improving the Common Weal: Aspects of Scottish Health Services 1900-1984 ed. by Gordon McLachlan, (Edinburgh University Press for the Nuffield Provincial Hospitals Trust, 1987), pp.21-23, 213-18.

[2] Poor Law (Scotland) Act 1845 (8 & 9 Vict. c.83) ss.66-67.

[3] Public Health (Scotland) Act 1867 (30 & 31 Vict. c.101) s.39.

[4] Local Government (Scotland) Act 1889 (52 & 53 Vict. c.50) s.17.

[5] Public Health (Scotland) Act 1897 (60 & 61 Vict. c.38) s.66.

[6] Local Government (Scotland) Act, 1929 (19 & 20 Geo. V c.25) s.27.

[7] National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1947 (10 & 11 Geo. VI c.27).