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                  Turnpike Trusts

                  Turnpike roads were roads funded by the collection of tolls at toll bars or turnpikes, as they were also known. Local landowners would obtain an act of parliament to establish a trust for specific roads (either existing or proposed). The trustees appointed would be empowered to borrow money, impose tolls, maintain roads and build new ones for a fixed period which could then be renewed by a further local act. The first such act in Scotland was in 1713 but they did not become widespread until the 1750s.[1] The Turnpike Roads (Scotland) Act 1831 standardised the powers and functions of turnpike trusts.[2] They were empowered to raise subscriptions and to erect, remove and replace toll bars and houses and purchase land for road improvements, and were required to erect milestones and direction posts.  Turnpike trusts were usually financed partly by tolls, partly by a share of the statute labour conversion money for the county (if it still existed), but also by heavy borrowing on the security of future income from tolls.

                  Within a single county, there could be many different turnpike trusts, in some cases operating a single road or section of a road. Other roads were maintained by statute labour trustees. In the 19th century, counties began to obtain local acts of parliament abolishing turnpike trusts and statute labour trusts and creating a single county road trust to assume responsibility for all the roads in the landward area.[3]

                  Turnpike road trusts were abolished between 1878 and 1883 as the Roads and Bridges (Scotland) Act 1878 came into force.[4] This act replaced all the former roads authorities in landward areas, including the turnpike trusts, with a single county road trust for each county.

                  Records of turnpike road trusts are mainly held by local authority archives services, but some are held by the National Records of Scotland (reference codes CO).

                  Compilers: SCAN contributors (2000). Editor: Elspeth Reid (2021)

                  Related Knowledge Base entries

                  Roads

                  Statute Labour Trusts

                  County Road Trusts

                   

                  References

                  [1] Report of the Commissioners for inquiring into matters relating to public roads in Scotland (Murray & Gibb/HMSO, 1859) pp. xiv-xvi.

                  [2] An Act for upholding and repairing the bridges and highways in the county of Edinburgh 1713 (12 Anne c.x); Turnpike Roads (Scotland) Act 1831 (1 & 2 Will. IV c.43).

                  [3] Report of the Commissioners for inquiring into matters relating to public roads in Scotland (Murray & Gibb/HMSO, 1859) p. xvi.

                  [4] Roads and Bridges (Scotland) Act 1878 (41 & 42 Vict. c.51).

                  Stewarty

                  A stewartry was an area of crown property administered by an appointed or hereditary steward, rather than a sheriff. Examples are Strathearn and Menteith (after annexation by the crown in the reign of James I), Orkney and Shetland and Kirkcudbright.

                  The Stewartry court had a very wide jurisdiction, and sheriff courts had no jurisdiction within them. Stewartries were abolished by the Heritable Jurisdictions (Scotland) Act 1746 which took effect from 25 March 1748, and their criminal jurisdictions transferred to appropriate sheriffdoms.[1] In the case of Kirkcudbright, these were the sheriffdoms of Kirkcudbright and Dumfries (the latter had jurisdiction over the eastern district of Kirkcudbrightshire). Long after it was classed as a county and operated a sheriff court, the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright continued to be referred to as ‘the Stewartry’, and indeed the area is still called that by locals today.

                  Editor: Elspeth Reid (2021)

                  Related Knowledge Base entries

                  Counties and Parishes to 1975

                   

                  References

                  [1] Heritable Jurisdictions (Scotland) Act 1746 (20 Geo. II c.43).

                  Statute Labour Trusts

                  In 1669 an act of parliament introduced the system of unpaid, compulsory labour (or ‘statute labour’) for roads maintenance.[1] Justices of the peace were to require ‘all tennents and coatters [cottars] and their servants’ to work on the public roads for a fixed number of days each year. The maximum duration of statute labour was 6 days per annum, usually done after the harvest and it could involve working a considerable distance from home, particularly in the highland counties. From 1686 the commissioners of supply were made jointly responsible with the justices of the peace for implementing this system.[2] However, it was inefficient, relying on unskilled labour, and normally without expert supervision.

                  To remedy the defects of personal statute labour, counties or smaller areas obtained local acts of parliament for its abolition and the appointment of bodies of ‘statute labour trustees’.[3] The trustees would impose a local tax (‘statute labour conversion money’) and spend the proceeds on road maintenance. The Highways etc (Scotland) Act 1845 standardised the system and allowed it to be applied generally.[4] Under this Act, trustees (including justices of the peace) were required to meet, keep minutes and accounts, and were given various powers to make and maintain statute labour roads.

                  Statute labour trusts were only responsible for statute labour roads. Other public roads were built or maintained using turnpike trusts or other means. The proliferation of different authorities acting under different legislation became confusing and inconvenient and in the nineteenth century counties began to obtain local acts of parliament abolishing personal service on the roads (if it still existed), conversion money and turnpikes, and creating a single county road trust to assume responsibility for all the roads in the landward area. This system of county road trusts was made general by the Roads and Bridges (Scotland) Act 1878, and, amongst other provisions, all remaining statute labour trusts were consequently abolished by 1 June 1883.[5]

                  Records of statute labour trusts can be found in local authority archives.  A few are held by the National Records of Scotland (reference codes CO).

                  Compilers: SCAN contributors (2000). Editor: Elspeth Reid (2021)

                  Related Knowledge Base entries

                  Roads

                  Turnpike Trusts

                  County Road Trusts

                   

                  References

                  [1] Act for repairing highways and bridges, 1669. The Records of the Parliaments of Scotland to 1707,[RPS] ed. by K.M. Brown and others (University of St Andrews, 2007-2021), 1669/10/53 <http://rps.ac.uk/trans/1669/10/53> [accessed 24 May 2021].

                  [2] Act anent highways and bridges, 1686. RPS 1686/4/28 <http://rps.ac.uk/trans/1686/4/28> [accessed 24 May 2021].

                  [3] Report of the Commissioners for inquiring into matters relating to public roads in Scotland (Murray & Gibb/HMSO, 1859) p. xii.

                  [4] Highways etc (Scotland) Act 1845 (8 & 9 Vict. c.41).

                  [5] Roads and Bridges (Scotland) Act 1878 (41 & 42 Vict. c.51).

                  Special districts

                  Until the 19th century, land outwith the burghs generally had a small, dispersed population and did not have the challenges or expectations of burghs for drainage, water, lighting and scavenging.  However, in the 19th century, many towns and villages developed relatively rapidly but were not able to become police burghs and so could not operate their own services.  This problem was resolved by the development of special districts for specific purposes.

                  The Public Health (Scotland) Act 1867 provided that on a requisition from ten or more inhabitants of a local area, the local authority (burgh council or parochial board) should consider the formation of a special water supply district or special drainage district.[1]  These districts, normally small areas within a landward parish, often played an important part in bringing water supplies to rural areas and in the provision of sewerage and drainage.  After the formation of county councils and district committees in 1889, district committees could appoint a sub-committee for the management and maintenance of water supply works or drainage in a special district.  There was also provision for joint arrangements where the special district included both county and burgh areas.[2]

                  Special water supply districts and drainage districts survived successive reforms and were only finally abolished by, respectively, the Water (Scotland) Act 1949 and the Sewerage (Scotland) Act 1968.[3] By those dates, however, many of them had already been abolished or merged by the county councils.

                  The Local Government (Scotland) Act 1894 provided for the formation by county councils or district committees of special lighting districts and special scavenging districts.[4]  Once formed, these special districts were able to adopt the clauses for the provision of street lighting and the lighting of common stairs, passages and courts, contained in the Burgh Police (Scotland) Act 1892.[5]

                  Surviving records of special districts can be found in local authority archives services. Records relating to their formation can be found in National Records of Scotland (reference code DD13).

                  Compilers: SCAN contributors (2000). Editor:  Elspeth Reid (2021)

                  References

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

                  [2] Local Government (Scotland) Act 1889 (52 & 53 Vict. c.50) s.81.

                  [3] Water (Scotland) Act 1949 (12 & 13 Geo. VI c.31); Sewerage (Scotland) Act 1968 (c.47).

                  [4] Local Government (Scotland) Act 1894 (57 & 58 Vict. c.58) s.44.

                  [5] Burgh Police (Scotland) Act 1892 (55 & 56 Vict. c.55).

                  Senior Officials – Medical Officer of Health

                  In the mid-19th century some burghs, such as Edinburgh, obtained local acts of parliament to enable them to appoint medical officers but from 1867, all burghs and parochial boards were permitted to appoint medical officers of health and to levy a general rate on householders for public health purposes.[1] However, only a few local authorities appointed full-time medical officers of health. It therefore became compulsory for county councils to appoint county medical officers of health in order to monitor and oversee the provision of improvements in the health of the county. [2] Shortly afterwards the same requirement was extended to burghs. [3] This requirement was repeated in subsequent legislation: in 1929 responsibilities were given to county councils and large burghs and in 1947 town councils and county councils were required to appoint a medical officer of health. [4]

                  Medical officers of health had to be registered medical practitioners and also hold a qualification in sanitary science, public health or state medicine.[5] Their main duties were established by the public health acts, including the isolation and treatment of those suffering from infectious diseases and the identification of the causes of such diseases. They were required to make annual reports to the Board of Supervision and then its successor, the Local Government Board for Scotland, which was authorised to compile regulations concerning the duties of medical officers of health.[6] In 1909, the medical inspection of schoolchildren was added to these duties.[7] The local government acts included a duty to ascertain the extent of diseases and recommend ways of preventing the spread of diseases. Their duties overlapped with the duties of sanitary inspectors, as both had powers of entry to inspect and require the cleansing of dwelling-houses and to require improvements to drainage, conversion of privies to water closets and inspect the sanitary condition of slaughterhouses.

                  After the introduction of the National Health Service in 1948 some of the duties of medical officers of health were removed from local government, but they continued to be responsible for the provision of community and public health services. The National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1972 transferred this role to the new health boards and therefore removed it from the functions of local government.[8]

                  Editor: Elspeth Reid (2021)

                  Related Knowledge Base entries

                  Medical Officers of Health records

                  Bibliography

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

                  Skelton’s Handbook of Public Health, The Handbook of Public Health, Part 1 – The Public Health (Scotland) Act, 1897 with notes revised by James Patten Macdougall and Abijah Murray, (Edinburgh and London, 1898)

                  Skelton, John, The Handbook of Public Health (London and Edinburgh, 1890)

                   

                  References

                  [1] Public Health (Scotland) Act 1867 (30 & 31 Vict. c.101) s.8.

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

                  [3] Burgh Police (Scotland) Act 1892 (55 & 56 Vict. c.55) s.77.

                  [4] Local Government (Scotland) Act 1947 (10 & 11 Geo. VI c.43) s.79, s.87.

                  [5] Burgh Police (Scotland) Act 1892 (55 & 56 Vict. c.55) s.77; Local Government (Scotland) Act 1889 (52 & 53 Vict. c.50) s.52.

                  [6] Public Health (Scotland) Act 1867 (30 & 31 Vict. c.101); Public Health (Scotland) Act 1897 (60 & 61 Vict. c.38).

                  [7] Education (Scotland) Act 1908 (8 Edw. VII c.64) s.4.

                  [8] National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1972 (c.58).

                  Senior Officials – Clerk

                  The Clerk of a local authority kept the minutes, correspondence and other administrative records and acted as its legal adviser. The functions and responsibilities varied according to the type of local authority. Duties generally included maintaining correspondence on behalf of the local authority, acting as the local authority’s solicitor in the passage of legislation affecting the local authority and related agreements, representing the local authority in legal disputes, authorising public notices, drafting and publishing bye-laws, representing the local authority at joint meetings such as the Convention of Royal, Parliamentary and Police Burghs, maintaining statutory registers such as the register of shops, register of halls & cinemas etc, and property and land transactions.

                  In the medieval period the town clerk might also be clerk to the kirk session or clerk to one or more of the various trade guilds (Hammermen, Glovers, etc) who had representation on the town council. By the 18th century, town clerks were often solicitors (writers) who maintained private practice while also acting as clerk to the town council and other local authorities.

                  The Burgh Police (Scotland) Act 1833 required police burgh commissioners to appoint a clerk, to keep records and make these open for inspection without payment of fee. Certified extracts were subject to a fee.[1] The clerk was not permitted to act as ‘Agent or Solicitor’ in the trial of any offence committed within the boundaries, and the same person could not be both clerk and treasurer.[2] Subsequent legislation continued this requirement for town councils. In 1862 the duties included keeping records, providing certified extracts, issuing licences, acting as the named person in any legal action, for or against the commissioners, and for heritable property and maintaining and publishing certified copies of byelaws and recording bonds.[3]

                  Counties were required to appoint a clerk by the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1889. [4] This made arrangements to ensure the clerks of the bodies which were abolished by the act were not adversely affected: the clerk to the commissioners of supply became the county clerk and the clerks to the county roads trustees and the Justices of the Peace were to remain in office until the individuals resigned or otherwise ceased to hold office at which point their duties transferred to the county clerk. The Local Government (Scotland) Act 1929 required district councils to appoint clerks and enabled county clerks to appoint deputes.[5] The Local Government (Scotland) Act 1947 required county councils, district councils and town councils to appoint a clerk.[6]

                  The Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 amended previous legislation to remove the titles of town clerk, county clerk and district clerk and replaced these roles with the term ‘proper officer’ of the regional, district or islands councils.[7] The legislation did not specify the appointment of a chief executive but by the 1980s, 95% of councils had appointed one, often initially with a background in law and administration but gradually a wider range of professional backgrounds emerged.[8]

                  Compiler: Elspeth Reid (2021)

                  Bibliography

                  Kerley, Richard & Mark Urquhart, Local authority organisation and management in Scotland 1975-1996 (Scottish Office Central Research Unit, 1997)

                  Pryde, George S., Central and local government in Scotland since 1707 (Historical Association (Great Britain) 1960)

                  Robertson, David, ‘The Town Clerks of Edinburgh’ in Historical studies in the development of local government services in Edinburgh Series 1 (National Association of Local Government Officers, Edinburgh and District Branch. 1935-36), pp. 5-14

                  Whyte, W. E., The Local Government (Scotland) Act, 1929: a popular exposition of its provisions (Hodge & Co, 1929)

                   

                  References

                  [1] Burgh Police (Scotland) Act 1833 (3 & 4 Will. IV c.46) s.47.

                  [2] Burgh Police (Scotland) Act 1833 (3 & 4 Will. IV c.46) s.48-49.

                  [3] General Police and Improvement (Scotland) Act 1862 (25 & 26 Vict c.101) s.64, s.67.

                  [4] Local Government (Scotland) Act 1889 (52 & 53 Vict. c.50) s.83.

                  [5] Local Government (Scotland) Act 1929 (19 & 20 Geo. V c.25) s.26, s.43.

                  [6] Local Government (Scotland) Act 1947 (10 & 11 Geo. VI c.43) s.76, s.84, s.94.

                  [7] Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 (c.65).

                  [8] Richard Kerley with Mark Urquhart Local Authority Organisation and management in Scotland, 1975-1996 (Scottish Office Central Research Unit, 1997).

                  Senior officials – Chamberlain/Treasurer

                  Royal burghs and burghs of barony elected treasurers from at least 1469.[1] Parliamentary and police burghs were required to elect treasurers from 1833 and this post could not be held by the town clerk.[2] The treasurer was a member of the council and was elected yearly by his fellow members of council with his office running for that year only, although he could be re-appointed each following year. Gradually, however, the keeping of a burgh’s accounts usually passed to a paid official, again as an annual, renewable appointment: Edinburgh appointed its first paid chamberlain in 1766.[3] In 1947, the elected role of treasurer became formally designated as the honorary treasurer and burghs were required to appoint a salaried post of town chamberlain.[4]

                  County councils were empowered to appoint a treasurer as well as a county clerk, collector(s) assessors, surveyors and other staff as ‘necessary and proper for the efficient execution of the duties of the county council’.[5] The Local Government (Scotland) Act 1947 required county councils to appoint a treasurer as chief financial officer.[6] At local government reorganisation in 1975 the titles of treasurer and chamberlain were no longer used and instead local authorities were required to ‘make arrangements for the proper administration of their financial affairs’ under the care of a proper officer.[7]

                  Compiler: Elspeth Reid (2021)

                  Bibliography

                  Imrie, J. D., ‘The Office of City Chamberlain’ in Historical studies in the development of local government services in Edinburgh Series 1 (National Association of Local Government Officers, Edinburgh and District Branch, 1935-36), pp. 15-22

                  Kerley, Richard & Mark Urquhart, Local authority organisation and management in Scotland 1975-1996 (Scottish Office Central Research Unit, 1997)

                  Pryde, George S., Central and local government in Scotland since 1707 (Historical Association (Great Britain) 1960)

                  Whyte, W. E., The Local Government (Scotland) Act, 1929: a popular exposition of its provisions (Hodge & Co, 1929)

                   

                  References

                  [1] Election of officers of burghs, The Records of the Parliaments of Scotland to 1707 ed. by K.M. Brown and others (University of St Andrews, 2007-2021), 1469/19.<http://www.rps.ac.uk/trans/1469/19> [accessed: 10 May 2021].

                  [2] Parliamentary Burghs (Scotland) Act 1833 (3 & 4 Will. IV c.77) s.1; Burgh Police Act 1833 (3 & 4 Will. IV c.46) s.59; General Police and Improvement (Scotland) Act 1862 (25 & 26 Vict. c.101) s.64, s.69; Burgh Police Scotland Act 1892 (55 & 56 Vict. c.55) s.63.

                  [3] J D Imrie ‘The Office of City Chamberlain’ in Historical studies in the development of local government services in Edinburgh (National Association of Local Government Officers, Edinburgh and District Branch Series no. 1. 1935-36), pp. 15-22 (p.15).

                  [4] Local Government (Scotland) Act 1947 (10 & 11 Geo. VI c.43) s.30, s.85.

                  [5] Local Government (Scotland) Act 1889 (53 & 53 Vict. c.50) s.83(3).

                  [6] Local Government (Scotland) Act 1947 (10 & 11 Geo. VI c.43) s.77.

                  [7] Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 (c.65) s.95.

                  Scottish Local Government

                  Medieval and early modern local government

                  An important process took place from the 12th century onwards, when Scotland was divided into counties, parishes and burghs. Counties had their origin in sheriffdoms and stewartries (sheriffs and stewards were royal officials and judges). Parishes were originally a way of dividing up the country into small areas, each of which would support a local church and clergy. Burghs were towns which enjoyed special privileges relating the regulation of trade and industry, and a certain amount of autonomy. From the 17th century until the mid-19th century ‘local government’ in Scotland is often characterised as rule by church and gentry (in parishes and counties) and by burgess oligarchy in the burghs.

                  Click on one of these for more detail:

                  Burghs (until 1975)

                  Commissioners of Supply

                  Justices of the Peace

                  Lieutenancy and Militia

                  Heritors

                  Kirk Sessions

                  Stewartries

                   

                  Modern local government

                  Social, economic, political and religious changes all played their part in the evolution of local government in the 18th and 19th centuries. The creation of parliamentary and police burghs, civil parishes, school boards, and a host of other local authorities transformed local government and improved the living conditions of millions of Scots in the face of enormous problems such as population growth, industrial pollution, disease and rising crime rates. In 1889 county councils were created with wide powers over landward areas (outwith burghs). The first half of the 20th century saw further rationalisation of local government, with more powers accruing to county councils and larger burghs. The division of counties, burghs and civil parishes was abolished in 1975.

                  Click on one of these for more detail:

                  Counties and parishes (until 1975)

                  Assessors

                  County Councils

                  County Road Trusts

                  Education Authorities (1918-1930)

                  Freeholders

                  Local Authorities under the Contagious Diseases Acts

                  Senior officials – Clerk

                  Senior officials – Chamberlain or Treasurer

                  Senior officials – Medical Officer of Health

                  Statute Labour Trusts

                  Turnpike Trusts

                  Parochial Boards and Parish Councils

                  School Boards

                  School Management Committees

                  District Committees (1889-1930)

                  District Councils (1930-1975)

                  District Lunacy Boards/District Boards of Control

                  Joint Hospital Boards

                  Police authorities

                  Special Drainage, Water Supply, Lighting and Scavenging districts

                  List of Counties, Cities, Large Burghs & Small Burghs

                  Local Government in Scotland since 1975

                  The 1973 Local Government (Scotland) Act abolished the centuries old system of counties, parishes and burghs in Scotland; replacing it with a two-tier system of regions and districts. This, in turn, was abolished in 1996 and replaced with the current system of single-tier authorities.

                  Between 1974 and 1996 (under the 1973 Local Government (Scotland) Act), most of Scotland had a two-tier system of local government, where 53 district councils were responsible for some functions and 9 regional councils were responsible for others. Three island areas (Western Isles, Orkney, and Shetland) were governed by single-tier island authorities. New Town Corporations operated in five towns in the central belt (Cumbernauld, East Kilbride, Glenrothes, Irvine, and Livingston), and shared responsibility for services such as housing, planning, and economic development with regional and district councils in each area.

                  From 1996 onwards, under the Local Government etc (Scotland) Act 1994, single-tier councils were created which inherited most of the functions of regional, district, and island councils. New Town Corporations were wound up between 1991 and 1996. Some services, such as water and sewerage, were removed entirely from local government. Valuation became subject to independent local authorities, called Valuation Joint Boards and other services, such as policing and fire, were initially managed by joint arrangements and later removed from local government oversight.

                  Click on one of these for more detail:

                  Regional councils

                  District Councils (1975-1996)

                  Island councils

                  Community councils

                  New town corporations

                  Councils after 1996

                  List of regional, district, island and unitary councils

                  Bibliography

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

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

                  Kerley, Richard with Mark Urquhart, Local authority organisation and management in Scotland 1975-1996 (Scottish Office Central Research Unit, 1997)

                  McConnell, Allan, Scottish Local Government (Edinburgh University Press, 2004)

                  Mackenzie, W. Mackay, The Scottish Burghs: an expanded version of the Rhind lectures in archaeology for 1945 (Oliver & Boyd, 1949)

                  Pryde, George S., Central and local government in Scotland since 1707 (Historical Association (Great Britain) 1960)

                  Urquhart, R. M., The Burghs of Scotland 5 vols. (Scottish Library Association, 1989-1992).

                  Whetstone, Ann E., Scottish County Government in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries (John Donald, 1981)

                  Whyte, W. E., The Local Government (Scotland) Act, 1929 (Hodge & Co, 1929)

                   

                  Where can I see minutes of the meetings of a current local authority or its committees?

                  Most councils in Scotland provide online access to their minutes and committee minutes and have placed older minutes in their archives service. Check the council’s website or ask its contact centre about access.

                  Where can I see minutes of the meetings of a regional or district council or its committees?

                  The most likely source for these is the archives service of the successor local authority.

                  Did a particular town or suburb have a police force at one time?

                  Not all Scottish towns had separate police forces. Here is a list of those which did (with their dates of operation and the force which succeeded them). If the town concerned is not on this list it almost certainly did not have a separate police force, and was most likely served by the relevant county constabulary.

                  Aberdeen 1818-1975, successor force: Grampian.

                  Airdrie 1821-1967. Successor force: Lanark County.

                  Alloa 1822-1930. Successor force: Clackmannan County.

                  Anderston 1824-1846. Successor force: Glasgow City.

                  Annan 1858?-1881. Successor force: Dumfries County.

                  Arbroath 1836-1949. Successor force: Angus County.

                  Ardrossan 1859- ? Successor force: Ayr County.

                  Ayr 1845-1968. Successor force: Ayrshire.

                  Banff 1859-1886. Successor force: Banffshire.

                  Blairgowrie 1857-1875. Successor force: Perthshire.

                  Brechin 1859-1930. Successor force: Angus.

                  Broughty Ferry 1888-1913. Successor force: Dundee City.

                  Burntisland 1859-1861. Successor force: Fife.

                  Calton 1819-1846. Successor force: Glasgow City.

                  Campbeltown 1858-1863. Successor force: Argyllshire.

                  Coatbridge 1886-1867. Successor force: Lanarkshire.

                  Cromarty 1859-1868. Successor force: Cromarty County.

                  Cullen 1840-c.1861. Successor force: Elginshire.

                  Cupar 1859-1864. Successor force: Fife.

                  Dingwall 1859-1865. Successor force: Ross-shire.

                  Dumbarton 1855-1949. Successor force: Dunbartonshire.

                  Dumfries 1811-1932. Successor force: Dumfries-shire.

                  Dunbar 1844-1869. Successor force: East Lothian.

                  Dundee 1824-1975. Successor force: Tayside.

                  Dunfermline 1811-1949. Successor force: Fife.

                  Dysart 1858-1859? Successor force: Fife.

                  Edinburgh 1805-1975. Successor force: Lothian and Borders.

                  Elgin 1850-1893. Successor force: Morayshire.

                  Forfar 1857-1930. Successor force: Angus.

                  Forres c.1859-1867. Successor force: Morayshire.

                  Fraserburgh 1859-1866. Successor force: Aberdeenshire.

                  Galashiels 1850-1930. Successor force: Selkirkshire.

                  Gorbals 1808-1846. Successor force: Glasgow City.

                  Govan 1864-1912. Successor force: Glasgow.

                  Glasgow 1800-1975. Successor force: Strathclyde.

                  Greenock 1801-1967. Successor force: Renfrew and Bute.

                  Greenock Harbour 1817-1822, 1825-1843. Successor force: Greenock Burgh.

                  Haddington before 1857-1874. Successor force: East Lothian.

                  Hamilton 1855-1949, 1958-67. Successor force: Lanarkshire.

                  Hawick 1840-1930. Successor force: Roxburghshire.

                  Helensburgh 1846-1875. Successor force: Dunbartonshire.

                  Inverkeithing c.1859-1885. Successor force: Fife.

                  Inverness 1847-1968. Successor force: Inverness-shire.

                  Jedburgh 1857-1861. Successor force: Roxburghshire.

                  Johnstone 1857-1930. Successor force: Renfrewshire.

                  Kelso Burgh ?-1881. Successor force: Roxburghshire.

                  Kilmarnock 1846-1968. Successor force: Ayrshire.

                  Kilsyth 1840-? Successor force: Stirlingshire?

                  Kinning Park 1892-1905. Successor force: Glasgow City.

                  Kirkcaldy 1877-1949. Successor force: Fife.

                  Kirkintilloch 1838-1872. Successor force: Dunbartonshire.

                  Kirriemuir 1859-1891. Successor force: Forfarshire.

                  Leith 1859-1920. Successor force: Edinburgh City.

                  Lerwick 1892-1940. Successor force: Zetland.

                  Macduff 1859-1870. Successor force: Banffshire.

                  Maryhill 1856-1891. Successor force: Glasgow City.

                  Maxwelltown 1863-1890. Successor force: Kirkcudbrightshire.

                  Maybole 1859-1861. Successor force: Ayrshire.

                  Millport ? – ? Successor force: Bute?

                  Montrose 1833-1930. Successor force: Angus.

                  Motherwell & Wishaw 1930-1967. Successor force: Lanarkshire.

                  Musselburgh 1835-1841. Successor force: East Lothian.

                  Nairn 1859-1866. Successor force: Nairnshire.

                  Newburgh 1859-1969. Successor force: Fife.

                  North Berwick ? – 1857/8. Successor force: East Lothian.

                  Paisley 1806-1969. Successor force: Renfrew and Bute.

                  Partick 1858-1912. Successor force: Glasgow City.

                  Perth 1811-1964. Successor force: Perth and Kinross.

                  Port Glasgow 1857-1895. Successor force: Renfrewshire.

                  Pulteneytown 1858-1902. Successor force: Caithness-shire.

                  Renfrew 1857-1930. Successor force: Renfrewshire.

                  Rothesay 1846-1923. Successor force: Bute.

                  St Andrews 1858-1859? Successor force: Fife.

                  Stirling 1857-1938. Successor force: Stirlingshire.

                  Stranraer 1857-1870. Successor force: Wigtownshire.

                  Thurso 1841-1873. Successor force: Caithness-shire.

                  Wick Burgh Formed 1841-1858.  Successor force Caithness-shire.  Re-formed 1863-1873.  Successor force Caithness-shire.

                  Wishaw ?- 1859.  Successor force Lanarkshire.

                   

                  What was a police burgh?

                  Police burghs were towns where a local or general act of parliament provided for services (such as water supply, drainage, sewerage, policing, paving, street lighting and refuse disposal) to be supervised by an elected body of commissioners and funded by local rates. Not all police burghs had police forces.

                  In the second half of the 18th century and the first decades of the 19th century many burghs and other towns faced problems coping with industrial pollution, sewerage, water supply, public health and crime. In 1800 Glasgow obtained a local act of parliament to set up a system of policing, whereby a body of police commissioners, elected by householders, oversaw a police force, and the maintenance of paving, lighting and cleansing the streets. Other Scottish burghs obtained similar local acts in the next few years. In 1832 and 1833 legislation converted royal burghs and many burghs of barony and regality into parliamentary burghs with elected councils. The Burgh Police (Scotland) Act allowed burghs to adopt policing, paving, lighting and cleansing powers through a sheriff court process (which was much less expensive than an act of parliament). Under the Police of Towns (Scotland) Act 1850 and the General Police and Improvement (Scotland) Act 1862 these (and further public health) powers were extended to populous places, and the result was the creation of over 100 ‘police burghs’. The Burgh Police (Scotland) Act 1890 ended the anomaly whereby some burghs had an elected body of police commissioners and a town council and granted further powers to burghs.

                  School management committees

                  School management committees were set up by the Education (Scotland) Act 1918.[1] Under this Act, the education authority was required to set up a scheme for these committees to manage schools or groups of schools. They were composed of representatives of teachers, parents, and the education authority, and where denominational schools were included, at least one representative of the religious belief of the parents. They could also include members nominated by local bodies including the outgoing school board (which was abolished by the 1918 act).

                  School management committees were responsible for the general management and supervision of the schools including attendance of pupils and investigating cases of non-attendance but several major responsibilities such as appointing and dismissing teachers and acquiring land was reserved to the education authority. However, education authorities could delegate the management and supervision of continuation classes to the school management committees.

                  School management committees were replaced by sub-committees of the relevant education committee when local government was reorganised in 1947.[2]

                  Records of school management committees are held by local authority archives services.

                  Compilers: SCAN contributors (2000). Editor: Elspeth Reid (2021)

                  Related Knowledge Base entries

                  School Boards

                  Education authorities

                  Education records

                  Education

                  County Councils

                  References

                  [1] Education (Scotland) Act 1918 (8 & 9 Geo. V c.48) s.2.

                  [2] Local Government (Scotland) Act 1947 (10 & 11 Geo. VI c.43) s.109.

                  School boards

                  A reference in this entry in the Knowledge Base uses the formal name of an act of parliament which includes obsolete terminology.

                  School boards were set up in 1873 and abolished in 1918. The Education (Scotland) Act 1872 created school boards in Scotland with a statutory duty to provide education for all children between the ages of 5 and 13.[1] School boards were to be elected within twelve months of the Act for every parish, royal burgh and parliamentary burgh. They were overseen by the Scotch (sic) Education Department and a Board of Education for Scotland, which was initially established for 3 years to advise the Scotch Education Department(SED) on the distribution of parliamentary grants, to determine the number of members of each local school board and decide if school boards of small parishes should be combined. The new local school boards were elected by owners and occupiers (including women) of property of the value of £4 or over.

                  School boards were responsible for managing the schools, including construction and maintenance of buildings, appointment of teachers and attendance of pupils. These schools could include ‘higher class public schools’ with university graduates as teachers, with 11 such burgh schools identified in the Act.[2] From 1878 they were permitted to exempt children over 8 from school for casual employment in agriculture or fisheries and given powers of compulsory purchase.[3] The school leaving age was raised to 14 in 1883 but there was provision between 1878 and 1901 for school boards to exempt children as young as 10 if they had achieved a certificate showing a minimum standard of education.[4] Provision for secondary education was not compulsory but if it was provided, school boards were required to set up secondary education committees by an SED circular of 1897.[5] From 1906 they were given powers to provide special education for children with disabilities up to age 16.[6]

                  School boards were given additional powers and responsibilities in 1908 including the power to incur expenses in providing facilities for school meals, providing transport for pupils or lodging where this was less expensive than transport costs, providing schoolbooks, stationery and other materials, contributing to costs for special education for children with disabilities up to age 16 and the power to prosecute parents for wilful neglect. School boards also had to provide continuation classes for those older than 14 including instruction in agriculture and domestic crafts.[7]

                  School boards were abolished by the Education (Scotland) Act 1918 and replaced by education authorities and school management committees.[8]

                  Records of school boards are held by local authority archives services.

                  Compilers: SCAN contributors (2000). Editor: Elspeth Reid (2021)

                  Related Knowledge Base entries

                  Education authorities

                  School Management Committees

                  Education records

                  Education

                  County Councils

                  Bibliography

                  Anderson, R. D., Education and the Scottish people, 1750-1918 (Clarendon Press, 1995)

                  Anderson, Robert, Mark Freeman and Lindsay Paterson, The Edinburgh History of Education in Scotland (Edinburgh University Press, 2015)

                  Lindsay, Alison, ‘Sources for the Study of Education in the Scottish Record Office’ Scottish Archives 3 (1997), pp. 61-68

                  Watson, Gilbert ‘Education’ in Source book and history of administrative law in Scotland ed. by M. R. McLarty (Hodge, 1956), pp. 105-17

                   

                  References

                  [1] Education (Scotland) Act 1872 (35 & 36 Vict. c.62).

                  [2] Education (Scotland) Act 1872 (35 & 36 Vict. c.62) s.62 & Sch.C.

                  [3] Education (Scotland) Act 1878 (41 & 42 Vict. c.78) s.7(3), s.31.

                  [4] Education (Scotland) Act 1883 (46 & 47 Vict. c.56); Education (Scotland) Act 1878 (41 & 42 Vict. c.78).

                  [5] National Records of Scotland GB234 ED44/1/4 Scotch Education Department circular 1897; Education (Scotland) Act 1908 (8 Edw. VII c.63) s.16(2)

                  [6] Education of Defective Children (Scotland) Act 1906 (6 Edw. VII c.10).

                  [7] Education (Scotland) Act, 1908 (8 Edw. 7 c.63).

                  [8] Education (Scotland) Act 1918 (8 & 9 Geo. V c.48).