Records of the Burgh of Stonehaven

Reference:GB 228 AS/Kstn
Former Reference:GB 228 BH17
Dates of Creation:1617-1975
Name of Creator:
Language of Material:English
Physical Description:

Scope and Content
The collection comprises:
AS/Kstn/1 Stonehaven Burgh: Minutes 1753 - 1975
AS/Kstn/2 Stonehaven Burgh: Committee Minutes 1889 - 1967
AS/Kstn/3 Stonehaven Burgh: Letter Books 1905 - 1975
AS/Kstn/4 Stonehaven Burgh: Account Books 1823 - 1904
AS/Kstn/5 Stonehaven Burgh: Abstracts of Accounts 1889 - 1973
AS/Kstn/6 Records of Stonehaven Harbour Trust 1825 - 1962
AS/Kstn/7 Registers
AS/Kstn/8 Acts
AS/Kstn/9 Dean of Guild and Housing Records
AS/Kstn/10 Charters
AS/Kstn/11 Early papers of the Burgh
AS/Kstn/12 Cess and Assessments
AS/Kstn/13 Old Town Council bundles
AS/Kstn/14 Fire Brigade records
AS/Kstn/15 Standing Orders, Byelaws and Notices
AS/Kstn/16 Town Council Utilities
AS/Kstn/17 Police Commissioners bundles
AS/Kstn/18 Stonehaven Burgh: Town Council bundles
AS/Kstn/19 News Cuttings Books
AS/Kstn/20 External Organisations (Stonehaven Town Band, Lieutenancy of Kincardineshire)
AS/Kstn/21 Files
AS/Kstn/22 Financial records
AS/Kstn/23 Miscellaneous items
AS/Kstn/24 Burgh Surveyor, Medical Officer and Sanitary Inspector Reports
AS/Kstn/25 Trusts and Funds
Administrative / Biographical History
The Old Town of Stonehaven, in the civil Parish of Dunnottar, was a small fishing settlement lying on the south of the Carron Water and probably dates from the 16th century. Around 1600 it became the County Town following the gradual decay of the old royal centre of Kincardine. This honour was bestowed by the 4th Earl Marischal who had reputedly erected Stonehaven as a Burgh of Barony in 1587. A burgh of Barony is where the land is held directly from the baron (as opposed to the Crown, as in Royal Burghs). No charter evidence, however, has survived to confirm this, except the Fundamental Charter of 1624 detailing the agreement between the feuars of the town and the Earl of the terms by which the town was to be governed. The 10th Earl Marischal forfeit his estates after the 1715 Uprising, and the superiority was purchased by the York Building Company until 1797, when it passed into the ownership of George Keith Elphinstone, Lord Keith, and his successors.
Under the Charter, the Town was governed by a Board of Managers, elected by the feuars of the Old Town to which body the Superior elected bailies. Meetings were held in the Tolbooth by the Harbour (which had been the Earl Marischal's storehouse in a previous life). This continued until 1879 when it met in the Court House of the County Buildings.
The New Town of Stonehaven lies in the neighbouring Parish of Fetteresso. It dates from 1759 when its patron, Robert Barclay of Ury, first purchased land for the project - the Links of Arduthie - although major construction did not begin until the 1790s. Many of the central streets are named after members of Barclay's family. It remained confined to the flat low ground until the later 19th century, when building spread westwards and upwards to the railway line. The turn of the century saw the erection of some of Stonehaven's finest private residences (Arduthie Road, Bath Street & Gurney Street).
In 1856, the New Town residents constituted themselves into a voluntary association called "The Society of Feuars and Householders of Stonehaven", with a committee of society members called the Town Council elected by the feuars as magistrates, along with a provost, two bailies, four councillors, a treasurer and a clerk. Funds were raised by subscription or bazaars, and the association funded a Town Hall, public bowling green and tennis courts, skating ponds and public weighbridge.
The area continued to be governed by two bodies until 1889 when the General Police and Improvement (Scotland) Act, 1862, was adopted and a board of Police Commissioners appointed to administer both the Old and New Towns of Stonehaven, and meetings held in the new Town Hall.In so doing, the Burgh was made exempt from the operations of Kincardine County Council when the latter body was formed the following year. This position was consolidated by the Burgh Police (Scotland) Act of 1892. After the passing of the Town Council (Scotland) Act of 1900, Stonehaven met as a Town Council with a provost, two bailies and nine councillors. A 'council' continued to meet to administer the properties of the feuars of the Old Town until the last of these responsibilities were finally absorbed by the Town Council in 1904.
The Town Council was abolished in 1975 with the establishment of Grampian Regional Council.
Town Clerks
David Carr
D. Cooper Booth
James Burness Cunningham
A.W. Kinnear
Robert Falconer
Access Information
Open
Open for consultation at Old Aberdeen House, open Mon-Wed 9:30-12:30 and 13:30-16:30. It is advisable to make an appointment.
Other Finding Aids
Please see the Aberdeen City & Aberdeenshire Archives catalogue at https://archives.aberdeencity.gov.uk/CalmView/
Custodial History
The collection has been transferred to the archives in a series of different deposit across several decades. Some of these deposits were not formally accessioned at the time of deposit (including accession 3292 which was accessioned during cataloguing).
Accession 074, various minute books, Sanitary Inspector's letter books, account books, register of bonds, register of places of public refreshment, Town Hall Trust Ledger and Cash Books: Taken in from Viewmount, Stonehaven in June 1996
Accession 114, New Town and Police Commissioners Minute books: Deposited in 1997.
Accessions 170, Cemeteries Committee Minute Books, and 176, duplicate minutes of the Town Council: Taken in from Viewmount, Stonehaven in 1998.
Accession 325, Harbour Trust Minute Book Vol 2: Taken in from Carlton House, Stonehaven in 1999.
Accession 995 Transferred from Aberdeenshire Heritage in 2005, who had received them in August 2003 from Raeburn Christie who had inherited them from Messrs Cunningham and Robertson.
Accession 1759, Association of Feuars Cash Book: Transferred from Aberdeenshire Council staff in 2012.
Accession 1802, Town Hall Order Confirmation Act: Transferred from Woodhill House in Jan 2013.
Accession 2635, Elder Fund and Dyce-Nicol bequest records: Transferred to the archives from the attic of Aberdeenshire Council's Viewmount offices in Stonehaven in Feb 2018.
Accession 2905, abstract of accounts and register of bonds: Transferred to the archives from the attic of Aberdeenshire Council's Viewmount offices in Stonehaven in May 2019.
Accession 2964, Register of new houses: collected from attic at Allardice Street, Stonehaven in Jan 2019.
Accession 3013, Dean of Guild Applications and Building Warrant registers: Collected from Viewmount Office, Stonehaven, in January 2023.
Accruals
Additional uncatalogued records in accession 176 and 2635 (latter includes Common Good Ledger)
Bibliography
Ruaraidh Wishart, "Feudal Relations in Burghs of Barony in Aberdeenshire, 1780–1833", Scottish Archives 2015 Volume 21
Subjects
Local Government
Public Health
Harbour