Weights & measures – Scottish distance & area

Weights and Measures: Scottish Distance and Area

Distance

The main units of linear measure were the foot and the mile. The foot was, traditionally, the length of a man’s foot and the inch was a twelfth part of a foot (from the Latin word uncia, meaning ‘a twelfth’, which is also the root of the word ‘ounce’). The ell (from the Latin ulna, meaning ‘forearm’) was traditionally the distance from the elbow or shoulder to the wrist or fingertips. A fall (from the Old Norse fale, meaning a ‘pole’ or ‘perch’) was the equivalent of the English measure, the ‘pole’. The furlong was traditionally the distance an ox could pull a plough before needing a rest (literally a ‘furrow long’). The mile (from the Roman mille passus or passuum) was based on the Roman linear measure 1000 paces.

The inch, according to Connor and Simpson, was identical to the English inch.[1] However, in 1824 the parliamentary authorities determined that the imperial inch was slightly larger than the existing inch.[2] The system of measurements, based on the ell of 37 inches, resulted in the Scots mile being equivalent to 1.12 English miles. There was also a longer Scots mile of 1500 paces which was equivalent to 1.42 English miles.[3] Scots used a foot of 12 inches and also a specialist glass foot, or glazier’s foot, used in the glass trade only, which was 8.88 inches long.[4]

1 yard = 36 inches

1 imperial mile = 1760 yards

Area

The main units of area were the rood and acre. The rood (from the word rod, meaning a measuring rod) was the equivalent of 40 square falls or a rectangular piece of land of 40 falls length by 4 falls width. The acre corresponded to the size of a ploughed field (probably from the Anglo-Saxon word acer or aecer, meaning a ‘field’).

The Scottish units of area were abolished in 1824 and replaced by imperial measures based on the yard.

1 imperial acre = 4840 square yards = 0.405 hectares

Further information on Scots measurements can be found in the Dictionaries of the Scots Language <https://dsl.ac.uk/ > [accessed 24 April 2024].

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

Related Knowledge Base Entries

Weights and measures: origins of weights and measures in Scotland

Weights and Measures: Scottish Dry Capacity

Weights and Measures: Scottish Liquid Capacity

Weights and Measures: Scottish Weight

Trading Standards & Consumer Protection

Bibliography

Buchanan, George, Tables for Converting the Weights and Measures Hitherto in Use in Great Britain […] also Abstracts of the Jury Verdicts throughout Scotland in Regard to the Weights and Measures of Each County (Edinburgh, 1829)

Connor, R. D. and A. D. C. Simpson, Weights and Measures in Scotland: A European Perspective, ed. by A. D. Morrison-Low (NMSE, 2004)

References

[1] R. D. Connor and A. D. C. Simpson, Weights and Measures in Scotland: A European Perspective, ed. by A. D. Morrison-Low (NMSE, 2004), p. xiv, 750.

[2] Weights and Measures Act 1824 (5 Geo. IV c.74); George Buchanan, Tables for Converting the Weights and Measures Hitherto in Use in Great Britain […] also Abstracts of the Jury Verdicts throughout Scotland in Regard to the Weights and Measures of Each County (Edinburgh 1829), pp.28-29.

[3] Connor & Simpson, Weights and Measures in Scotland, pp. 96, 755.

[4] Connor & Simpson, Weights and Measures in Scotland, p. 88.

[5] Metric measurements calculated from those given in Connor & Simpson, Weights and Measures in Scotland, p. 755.

[6] Imperial inches taken from Buchanan, Tables for Converting the Weights and Measures p. 28, yard measurements calculated from Buchanan, p. 28.

[7] Metric measurements calculated from those given in Connor & Simpson, Weights and Measures in Scotland, p. 755.

[8] Imperial measurements taken from Buchanan Tables for Converting the Weights and Measures pp. 30, 40 (Measures of Extent Table III)

Weights & measures – Scottish dry capacity

The main units of dry capacity were the boll (from the word ‘bowl’) and the firlot (a ‘fourth lot’), which was a quarter of the boll. A quarter of the firlot was a peck (possibly from the word ‘pack’ or else from the French picotin, meaning a ‘peck’, or the Latin picotus, a liquid measure). A quarter of a peck was a forpet (a corruption of ‘fourth peck’) or lippie (from the Anglo-Saxon leap, meaning a ‘basket’). Sixteen bolls made a chalder or chaldron (from the French chaudron, meaning a ‘kettle’).

There were two variants of lippies, pecks, firlots, bolls and chalders, depending on what was being measured: wheat measures and barley measures. According to Connor and Simpson, the barley measures were based on ‘3 fills of the wheat firlot for 2 firlots of barley’ until 1618 when separate firlots were made for barley measures. There was also a heaping allowance of an additional 1/16th for merchants conducting transactions in the markets.[1]

The firlot was defined by the Scots Parliament in terms of the number of pints it held. The number of pints in both wheat and barley firlots and bolls were increased at the parliamentary assizes of weights and measures in 1426 and 1618. The size of a pint was increased in 1426 and c. 1500. (See the Knowledge Base entry on Weights and Measures: Scottish Liquid Capacity for more details.)

The tables of dry capacity should be regarded as guidance only and the bibliography should be consulted for more precision. They have been calculated from the pint and are based on the information in Connor and Simpson that in 1426 1 pint = 1.27 litres and in 1618 1 pint = 1.71 litres.[2] However, the physical standards examined by Connor and Simpson suggest alternative capacities which are shown in italics in these tables.[3] Imperial measurements are taken from Buchanan’s Tables.[4] Metric equivalents were rounded to two decimal points.[5] The heaping measures are not shown.

For wheat, peas, beans, meal, etc.

For barley, oats, malt, etc.

Further information on Scots measurements can be found in the Dictionaries of the Scots Language <https://dsl.ac.uk/> [accessed 24 April 2024].

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

Related Knowledge Base Entries

Weights and measures: origins of weights and measures in Scotland

Weights and Measures: Scottish Distance and Area

Weights and Measures: Scottish Liquid Capacity

Weights and Measures: Scottish Weight

Bibliography

Buchanan, George, Tables for Converting the Weights and Measures Hitherto in Use in Great Britain…also Abstracts of the Jury Verdicts throughout Scotland in Regard to the Weights and Measures of Each County (Edinburgh 1829)

Connor, R. D., and A. D. C. Simpson, Weights and Measures in Scotland: A European Perspective, ed. by A. D. Morrison-Low (NMSE, 2004)

References

[1] R. D. Connor, and A. D. C. Simpson, Weights and Measures in Scotland: A European Perspective, ed. by A. D. Morrison-Low (NMSE, 2004) p. 754.

[2] Connor & Simpson, Weights and Measures in Scotland pp. 753-54.

[3] Connor & Simpson, Weights and Measures in Scotland p. 754.

[4] George Buchanan, Tables for Converting the Weights and Measures Hitherto in Use in Great Britain […] also Abstracts of the Jury Verdicts throughout Scotland in Regard to the Weights and Measures of Each County (Edinburgh 1829), pp. 40, 140-42, 151-52.

[5] Connor & Simpson, Weights and Measures in Scotland p. 753.

[6] Connor & Simpson, Weights and Measures in Scotland p. 754.

[7] Connor & Simpson, Weights and Measures in Scotland p. 753.

[8] Connor & Simpson, Weights and Measures in Scotland p. 753.

[9] Connor & Simpson, Weights and Measures in Scotland p. 754.

[10] Buchanan, Tables for Converting the Weights and Measures p. 40.

[11] Connor & Simpson, Weights and Measures in Scotland p. 754.

Weights & measures – Scottish liquid capacity

The main unit of liquid capacity was the Scots pint (originally from the Latin, pingo, pinctum meaning ‘to paint’, via various European languages, such as the French pinte and Dutch pint; equating the size of the measure with a painted mark on a measuring jug or bowl). The pint was sometimes referred to as the ‘jug’ or ‘joug’. Before 1426 there were 6 pints in a gallon (from the old French galon or jalon, meaning a ‘jar’ or ‘bowl’) and after 1426 this was changed to 8 pints in a gallon. Half a pint was a chopin (from the French liquid measure, the chopine), and a quarter of a pint was a mutchkin (from the diminutive of a kind of cap, a mutch). A sixteenth of a pint was a gill (from the Old French, gelle, a wine measure or ‘flask’). The size of a pint, from which all other measures are derived, was increased in 1426 and again in c.1500.[8] Before 1426 there were separate measures for ale and wine. Note that metric equivalents shown should be regarded as approximate.

Further information on Scots measurements can be found in the Dictionaries of the Scots Language <https://dsl.ac.uk/> [accessed 24 April 2024].

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

Related Knowledge Base Entries

Weights and measures: origins of weights and measures in Scotland

Weights and Measures: Scottish Distance and Area

Weights and Measures: Scottish Dry Capacity

Weights and Measures: Scottish Weight

Bibliography

Connor, R. D., and A. D. C. Simpson, Weights and Measures in Scotland: A European Perspective, ed. by A. D. Morrison-Low (NMSE, 2004)

References

[1] R. D. Connor and A. D. C. Simpson, Weights and Measures in Scotland: A European Perspective, ed. by A. D. Morrison-Low (NMSE, 2004), p. 753.

[2] Connor & Simpson, Weights and Measures in Scotland p. 753.

[3] Connor & Simpson, Weights and Measures in Scotland p. 753.

[4] Connor & Simpson, Weights and Measures in Scotland p. 753.

[5] George Buchanan, Tables for converting the weights and measures hitherto in use in Great Britain…also abstracts of the jury verdicts throughout Scotland in regard to the weights and measures of each county (Edinburgh 1829) p. 26.

[6] Buchanan, Tables for converting the weights and measures p. 132.

[7] Buchanan, Tables for converting the weights and measures p. 26.

[8] Connor & Simpson, Weights and Measures in Scotland p. 753.

Weights & measures – Scottish weight

Weights and Measures: Scottish Weight

In weight the basic unit was the Scots pound (from the Latin pondo, ‘by weight’, or pondus, meaning a ‘weight on a scale’), which equated roughly with the Roman weight, libra, hence the abbreviation of ‘lb.’. In Scots weight 16 pounds made a stone (from the word ‘stone’, i.e. a small piece of rock), although the avoirdupois stone was divided into 14 pounds. A sixteenth of a pound was an ounce (from the Latin uncia, meaning a ‘twelfth part’ – originally a pound was divided into 12 ounces). A sixteenth of an ounce was a drop or drap (possibly from a ‘drop’, i.e. a small amount of liquid, or from the Greek drachma, the origin of the Imperial equivalent, the dram).

Two main Scottish systems of weights were in use before 1707: the Scots troye weight (later known as the Dutch weight) and the Scots tron weight, introduced in the 15th century and maintained at 1¼ times the troy weight. The standards for these weights were adjusted four times. By 1824, according to Buchanan, two additional systems of weight were in use alongside these traditional weights: the English troy weight and the Avoirdupois weight. The juries empanelled under the 1824 Act found that there were significant local variations in the tron pound, which in Glasgow weighed 22½ ounces, in Dundee, 22 ounces, in Arbroath, Brechin and Montrose, 24 ounces and in Aberdeen, 28 ounces.[1]

Imperial weights were divided into troy and avoirdupois. Troy weight (the origin of the word troy is obscure but may come from the French town of Troyes) is used by silversmiths to measure gold, silver, gemstones, etc., and was used by apothecaries to measure small amounts of chemicals, etc. until 1864. Each pound was divided into 12 ounces. In avoirdupois weight (from the French meaning ‘to have weight’), which was used to measure bulkier goods, the pound had 16 ounces, which allowed for easier calculations into quarters.

In all tables shown below the metric equivalent (rounded to two decimal points) is given as a guide only and should be regarded as approximate rather than definitive.

Troy Measure (or Dutch weight)

*Note that in 1426, 1 trois stone matched the weight of 1 tron stone.

Tron Measure

The weight standard for locally produced commodities, the stone, pound and ounce of which were each 1¼ times greater than the troy stone and pound.

Source: The above tables of weights are derived from R. D. Connor and A. D. C. Simpson, Weights and Measures in Scotland: A European Perspective, ed. by A. D. Morrison-Low (NMSE, 2004), pp. 749-53.

Determination after the Weights and Measures Act 1824

The Weights and Measures Act 1824 established the Imperial Troy pound as the base unit from which all other weights were derived. It also permitted the continued use of the Avoirdupois pound alongside the Troy pound. It did not define how many Troy pounds were in larger units but in practice the Avoirdupois amounts were used, resulting in 14 Troy pounds in a Troy stone and 8 Troy stones in a Troy hundredweight.

The relationships of the new Imperial system were as follows:

Imperial Standard Troy Pound (lb) = 5760 grains = 12 ounces (oz)

1 ounce = 480 grains = 20 Pennyweight (dwt)

1 Pennyweight = 24 grains (gr)

Avoirdupois hundredweight = 784000 grains = 4 quarters (8 stones)

Avoirdupois quarter = 196000 = 2 stones

Avoirdupois stone = 98000 = 14 pounds

Avoirdupois Pound = 7000 grains = 16 ounces

1 ounce = 437.5 grains = 16 drams

1 dram = 27.34375 grains

1 Avoirdupois lb = 1 lb 2oz 11 dwts 16 grs Imperial Troy[4]

1 Troy lb = 13 oz 2.651 drams Avoirdupois

Further information on Scots measurements can be found in the Dictionaries of the Scots Language <https://dsl.ac.uk/> [accessed 24 April 2024].

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

Related Knowledge Base Entries

Weights and measures: origins of weights and measures in Scotland

Weights and Measures: Scottish Distance and Area

Weights and Measures: Scottish Dry Capacity

Weights and Measures: Scottish Liquid Capacity

Bibliography

Connor, R. D., and A. D. C. Simpson, Weights and Measures in Scotland: A European Perspective, ed. by A. D. Morrison-Low (NMSE, 2004)

References

[1] George Buchanan, Tables for Converting the Weights and Measures Hitherto in Use in Great Britain […] also Abstracts of the Jury Verdicts throughout Scotland in Regard to the Weights and Measures of Each County (Edinburgh 1829), p. 24.

[2] R. D. Connor and A. D. C. Simpson, Weights and Measures in Scotland: A European Perspective, ed. by A. D. Morrison-Low (NMSE, 2004), p. 752.

[3] Connor & Simpson, Weights and Measures in Scotland p. 752.

[4] Buchanan, Tables for Converting the Weights and Measures p. 65.

[5] Buchanan, Tables for Converting the Weights and Measures p. 32.

[6] Buchanan, Tables for Converting the Weights and Measures p. 22.

[7] Buchanan, Tables for Converting the Weights and Measures p. 70

[8] Buchanan, Tables for Converting the Weights and Measures p. 21.

[9] Buchanan, Tables for Converting the Weights and Measures p. 66

[10] Buchanan, Tables for Converting the Weights and Measures p. 34.

[11] Buchanan, Tables for Converting the Weights and Measures p. 23

[12] Buchanan, Tables for Converting the Weights and Measures pp. 78-79

Prisoners – Prisoners with mental disorders

This entry in the Knowledge Base uses current terminology where possible and limits the use of obsolete terminology to the titles of legislation and legally defined defences.

Before 1839 there was no separate provision in Scotland for prisoners with mental disorders, who were detained in local prisons along with other prisoners, unless a burgh maintained a separate asylum. The Prisons (Scotland) Act 1839 addressed criminal mental ill-health for the first time, and part of the General Prison at Perth was adapted to house such prisoners.[1] This opened in 1846 under the charge of a medical superintendent. The Lunacy (Scotland) Act 1857 provided that if a person was charged and found to be mentally ill at the time of committing the crime, the jury should acquit on the ground of insanity and the court should order the person to be confined during the royal pleasure.[2] From 1862, mentally disordered prisoners, on the expiry of their sentence, might be detained in the appropriate department of the General Prison at Perth, or in a local prison or asylum until liberated in due course of law.[3] The Criminal and Dangerous Lunatics (Scotland) Act 1871 empowered the Secretary of State to liberate persons detained indefinitely (‘at Her Majesty’s pleasure’) on certain conditions, although they could be recalled if any of the conditions of liberation were broken.[4] The Criminal Lunatics (Scotland) Act 1935 empowered the Secretary of State to build a specific establishment for mentally disordered criminals at Carstairs in Lanarkshire, which is known as the State Hospital.[5] Since 1948 this has been the sole place of confinement for mentally disordered criminals in Scotland and since 1994 it has been part of the NHS as The State Hospitals Board, providing high secure care.[6] The legal defences of insanity and diminished responsibility were abolished in 2010 and replaced with a defence of mental disorder.[7]

Records relating to prisoners with mental ill-health are held by National Records of Scotland (reference code HH18), as are records of the State Hospital, Carstairs (HH59 and HH102).

Compilers: SCAN contributors (2000).

Related Knowledge Base entries

Prisons and prisoners

Mental Health

Bibliography

Cameron, Joy, Prisons and Punishment in Scotland (Canongate, 1983)

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] Prisons (Scotland) Act 1839 (2 & 3 Vict. c.42).

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

[3] Lunacy (Scotland) Act 1862 (25 & 26 Vict. c.54).

[4] Criminal and Dangerous Lunatics (Scotland) Act 1871 (34 & 35 Vict. c.55).

[5] Criminal Lunatics (Scotland) Act 1935 (25 & 26 Geo. V c.32).

[6] State Hospitals (Scotland) Act 1994 (c.16).

[7] Criminal Justice and Licensing (Scotland) Act 2010 (asp 13) ss.168, 171.

Prisoners – Prisoners with alcohol addiction

This entry in the Knowledge Base uses current terminology where possible and limits the use of obsolete terminology to the titles of legislation and original files.

Attempts to control alcoholism in late 19th century Scotland included various measures to reform people with alcohol addiction leading to the Habitual Drunkards Act 1879 and the Inebriates Acts of 1888 and 1898.[1] The Habitual Drunkards Act provided for the establishment of ‘retreats’, i.e. houses licensed by local authorities for the reception, control and treatment of people with alcohol addiction. They were subject to inspection by Inspectors appointed by the Secretary of State. Admission to the retreats was limited to formal applications by people with alcohol addiction, who had to specify the period in which they would remain in the retreat, and thereafter submit to curative treatment and abide by the rules or risk prosecution and imprisonment. Between 1879 and 1903 retreats were established at Mabie House (Dumfries) and Lachallan House (Leven, Fife). In 1906 further retreats were opened at Newmains (Hartwood, Lanarkshire), and Seafield (Greenock), although the latter closed in 1907. One further retreat operated at Invereden (Cupar, Fife) between 1909 and 1913.[2]

The Inebriates Act of 1898 provided that people with alcohol addiction or persons convicted, while under the influence of drink, of offences punishable by imprisonment or penal servitude, might, instead of or in addition to any other sentence, be detained for not more than three years in a certified or state inebriate reformatory. Part of Perth General Prison was adapted in 1900 as a State Inebriate Reformatory and operated between 1901 and 1924. Other inebriate reformatories were established by local authorities and charitable institutions:

Girgenti (Ayrshire), run by Glasgow Corporation between 1900 and 1910
Greenock (Renfrewshire), run jointly by Greenock Corporation and the Philanthropic Association between 1903 and 1921
Hairmyres, Lanark, run by Lanark County Council between 1904 and 1917
Aberdeen, run by the Philanthropic Association between 1905 and 1919
Scottish Labour Colony, run by the Philanthropic Association between 1904 and 1917

In 1907 inebriate reformatories and retreats housed over 200 inmates. The largest number of admission (46) occurred in 1901, but numbers declined thereafter. Restrictions on the sale of liquor during the First World War (1914-18) reduced the need for the reformatories and retreats and methods of treating alcohol addiction changed. The last male inmate of the state reformatory was discharged in June 1915 and the last female inmate in October 1924.

Records relating to prisoners with alcohol addiction are held by National Records of Scotland (reference code HH19).

Compilers: SCAN contributors (2000).

Related Knowledge Base entries

Prisons and prisoners

Mental Health

Bibliography

Cameron, Joy, Prisons and Punishment in Scotland (Canongate, 1983)

[1] Habitual Drunkards Act 1879 (42 & 43 Vict. c.19); Inebriates Act 1888 (51 & 52 Vict. c.19); Inebriates Act 1898 (61 & 62 Vict. c.60).

[2] National Records of Scotland (GB 243) HH57/60-71 Files entitled Inebriate Reformatories, 1887-1920.

Prisoners – Prisoners of War in Scotland

The accommodation of significant numbers of prisoners of war first became an issue in the second half of the 18th century, especially during the Napoleonic Wars. Edinburgh Castle held French prisoners at times between 1756 and 1814, and French prisoners of war were employed in a variety of places, including the lead mines at Strontian in Argyll in the late 18th century. From 1796 prisoners of war, irrespective of service or nationality, were the responsibility of the Admiralty’s Sick and Hurt Board (later called the Transport Board) and records are held by The National Archives in London. Most French prisoners of war were housed in England, especially in Dartmoor Prison, which was built between 1806 and 1809. By 1814 there were two prisoner of war camps in Scotland: at Perth and Penicuik.

During the First World War (1914-1918) the War Office and the Foreign Office both had Prisoner of War departments, but the former was attached to the Home Office, which ran internment camps, of which there were about 25 in Scotland. During the Second World War (1939-45) the War Office was responsible for all Prisoners of War, including those in over 20 camps and prisons in Scotland. Records are held by The National Archives in London. <https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ [accessed 26 April 2024] Look for the research guide on Prisoners of War in British Hands and this will help you use the catalogue for this topic.

Compilers: SCAN contributors (2000).

Scottish Prisoner of War (PoW) camps in World War 2

(This list may not be complete)

Bun Camp, Doonfoot, Ayrshire

Donaldsons School, West Coates, Edinburgh

Gosford Camp, Aberlady, Longniddry, East Lothian

Happendon Camp, Douglas, Lanarkshire

Cultybraggan Camp, Comrie, Perthshire

Pennylands Camp, Cumnock, Ayrshire

The Moor Camp, Thankerton, Lanarkshire

Balhary Camp, Alyth, Perthshire

Castle Rankine, Denny, Stirlingshire

Calvine, Blair Atholl, Perthshire

Sandyhillock Camp, Craigellachie, Banffshire

Halmuir Farm, Lockerbie, Dumfriesshire

Northern Hill Camp, Laurencekirk, Kincardineshire

Aunsmuir Camp, Ladybank, Fife

Brahan Castle, Dingwall, Ross and Cromarty

Stuartfield, Mintlaw, Aberdeenshire

Deer Park Camp, Moneymusk, Aberdeenshire

Kingendengh Camp, Mauchline Ayrshire

Holm Park Camp, Newton Stewart, Wigtownshire

Sunlaws Camp, Kelso, Roxburghshire

Dalmahoy Camp, Kirknewton, Midlothian

Bibliography

Abell, Francis Prisoners of War in Britain, 1756-1815 (Humphrey Milford/Oxford University Press, 1914)

Cameron, Joy Prisons and Punishment in Scotland from the Middle Ages to the Present (Canongate, 1983)

The National Archives (London) Research Guide on Prisoners of War in British hands <https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/help-with-your-research/research-guides/prisoners-of-war-british-hands/ >[accessed 26 April 2024]

Prisoners – Civil debtors

Town councils were obliged to provide accommodation in burgh jails for debtors who failed to repay their debt on time. A debtor could be imprisoned on the demand of a creditor in order to compel them to repay the debt or to surrender goods to the same value. Debtors were detained until the debt had been paid and the creditor sanctioned their release. The Act of Grace of 1696 required creditors to pay an aliment for imprisoned debtors who could not maintain themselves, but the costs of imprisoning debtors were often met by burghs.[1] If the debtor escaped, the burgh was liable for the repayment of his debts. A debtor who had been in prison for a month could raise an action of ‘cessio bonorum‘ in the Court of Session and, if he could prove that he had fallen into debt because of misfortune, he could obtain release by dividing his property between his creditors. The prison reformer, James Neild, calculated that in 1809 there were 112 debtors in 32 prisons in Scotland.[2] The number dropped after 1835 when imprisonment was no longer allowed for debts under £8, 6 shillings and 8 pence.[3] Imprisonment for civil debt was generally abolished in 1880.[4]

Evidence of debtors in prison may be found in burgh treasurers’ accounts, such as costs for maintaining prisoners and payments to jailers. The minutes of town councils may also mention imprisoning debtors, along with any surviving tolbooth records. These are mainly held by local authority archives services.

Compilers: SCAN contributors (2000). Editor: Elspeth Reid (2024).

Related Knowledge Base entries

Prisons and Prisoners

Bibliography

Cameron, Joy, Prisons and Punishment in Scotland (Canongate, 1983)

Walker, David M., A Legal History of Scotland, 6 vols (Green, 1988-2001)

[1] Act anent aliment of poor prisoners, 1696 The Records of the Parliaments of Scotland to 1707 ed. by K.M. Brown and others (University of St Andrews: 2007-2021) 1696/9/139 <http://www.rps.ac.uk/mss/1696/9/139> [accessed 30 Mar 2021].

[2] James Neild State of Prisons in England, Scotland and Wales (John Nichols & Son, 1812).

[3] Act for abolishing, in Scotland, imprisonment for civil debts of small amount, 1835 (5 & 6 Will. IV c.70).

[4] Debtors (Scotland) Act 1880 (c.34).

Prisons – The modern prison system

Under the Prisons (Scotland) Act 1877, the administration of Scottish prisons became the responsibility of the Prison Commission for Scotland and the responsibility for funding prisons passed to parliament and central government.[1] A visiting committee, consisting of commissioners of supply and justices of the peace (in counties) and magistrates (in burghs) was appointed yearly for each prison. Between 1885 and 1889 responsibility for prisons in Scotland was transferred to the Secretary for Scotland (from 1926, the Secretary of State for Scotland).

In 1878 the average daily population of prisons was 2,024 males and 1,028 females, and the General Prison at Perth, which housed convicts serving sentences exceeding 9 months and lunatic prisoners, was seriously overcrowded. As a temporary expedient, male convicts, after their probationary period, were transferred to prisons in England to complete their sentences, until the erection of Barlinnie Prison, near Glasgow, in 1882, which served partly as a General Prison. By 1904 the number of Scottish prisons was reduced to 14 and most long sentences were served in Peterhead Prison (for men) and Duke Street Prison, Glasgow (for women). In 1980 the prison population was 5,116 with capacity for 5,200.

The Reorganisation of Offices (Scotland) Act 1928 placed Scottish prisons under the supervision of the Prisons Department of the Scottish Office.[2] The Prisons Department also took responsibility for the registration and photography of prisoners, which had previously been the responsibility of the Secretary of the Managers of the General Prison and the Prison Commission for Scotland. By the late 1930s the Prisons Department became part of the Scottish Home Department which in turn became the Scottish Home and Health Department in 1962. The role of the Secretary of State for Scotland in overall charge of the prison system was reaffirmed in 1989.[3] In 1993 the Scottish Prison Service became an Executive Agency of the Scottish Government.

Records of the Scottish Prison Service and its predecessors are held by the National Records of Scotland (NRS). These include prison registers, some of which have been digitised and are available through the Virtual Volumes pages of ScotlandsPeople. <https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/advanced-search/prison-registers#record-type> [accessed 24 April 2024].

Compilers: SCAN contributors (2000). Editor: Elspeth Reid (2024).

Related Knowledge Base entries

Prisons – Burgh tolbooths and early prisons

Prisons – Prison reform and centralisation

Prisons – Industrial & Reformatory Schools, Borstals and Young Offenders Institutions

Prison records – modern prison records

Prison records – County Prison Board minutes

Bibliography

Cameron, Joy, Prisons and Punishment in Scotland (Canongate, 1983)

Walker, David M., A Legal History of Scotland, 6 vols (Green, 1988-2001)

References

[1] Prisons (Scotland) Act 1877 (40 & 41 Vict. c.53).

[2] Reorganisation of Offices (Scotland) Act 1928 (18 & 19 Geo. V c.34).

[3] Prisons (Scotland) Act 1989 (c.45).

Prisons – Prison reform and centralisation

Until 1835 responsibility for prisons lay with burghs. Conditions were criticised and in response, between 1835 and 1877, central government took more responsibility for local prisons, removing them completely from local control in 1877.

In the third quarter of the 18th century, prison reformers began to take an interest in Scottish prisons. Several notable English commentators visited prisons in Scotland: John Howard in 1779 and 1782–83, James Neild in 1807 and 1809, and Joseph John Gurney, with his sister Elizabeth Fry, in 1818. These, on the whole, found Scottish prisons to be old, insanitary buildings, without space for exercise and frequently without water or sewers.[1]

In 1818 a parliamentary committee found conditions in most Scottish prisons to be poor and its recommendations led to an act to enable (but not compel) counties and stewartries to contribute to the costs of improving burgh prisons.[2] Further prison select committees reported in 1819 and 1826. In 1835 the government (in the form of one of the Principal Secretaries of State) was empowered to appoint inspectors to visit prisons in any part of Great Britain and report on conditions there.[3]

The work of inspectors appointed under the Prison Act 1835 led to the Prison (Scotland) Acts of 1839, 1844 and 1851.[4] These placed the general superintendence of all Scottish prisons in the hands of the General Board of Directors of Prisons in Scotland. County Boards were established to manage all 178 Scottish prisons, except the General Prison, which was established in Perth to house long-term prisoners, and was administered by the General Board of Directors. Funding for prisons was raised by local taxation, by assessors in each county and by magistrates and councils of burghs. Between 1840 and 1860 the General Board of Directors closed all but 77 prisons in Scotland. The Prisons (Scotland) Act 1860 abolished the General Board; thereafter county boards reported to the Home Secretary.[5] The running of the General Prison was entrusted to four managers – the Sheriff of Perth, Inspector of Prisons in Scotland, the Crown Agent and a stipendiary manager. These also formed the Board of Management of Prisons in Scotland and acted as advisors to the Home Secretary on prison matters.

Compilers: SCAN contributors (2000).

Related Knowledge Base entries

Burgh tolbooths and early prisons

The modern prison system

Bibliography

Cameron, Joy, Prisons and Punishment in Scotland (Canongate, 1983)

Gurney, Joseph John Notes on a visit made to some of the prisons in Scotland and the north of England, in company with Elizabeth Fry 2^nd Edition (London, 1820)

Howard, John, Appendix to the State of Prisons in England & Wales &c (William Eyres, 1780)

Neild, James, State of the Prisons in England, Scotland and Wales (John Nichols & Son, 1812)

References

[1] John Howard Appendix to the State of Prisons in England & Wales &c (William Eyres, 1780); James Neild State of the Prisons in England, Scotland and Wales (John Nichols & Son, 1812); Joseph John Gurney Notes on a visit made to some of the prisons in Scotland and the north of England, in company with Elizabeth Fry 2^nd Edition (London: 1820).

[2] Select Committee on Petition of Royal Burghs of Scotland relating to Expense of providing Jails. Report, Appendix, 1818. House of Commons Papers No 346; Act to enable counties and stewartries in Scotland to give aid to royal burghs situated therein for the purpose of improving, enlarging or rebuilding their gaols, or to improve, enlarge or rebuild common gaols of counties and stewartries which are not the gaols of royal burghs, 1819 (59. Geo. III c. 61).

[3] Prison Act 1835 (5 & 6 Will. IV c.38).

[4] Prison Act 1835 (5 & 6 Will. IV c.38); Prisons (Scotland) Act 1839 (2 & 3 Vict. c.42); Prisons (Scotland) Act 1844 (7 & 8 Vict. c.34); Prisons (Scotland) Act 1851 (14 & 15 Vict. c.27).

[5] Prisons (Scotland) Administration Act 1860 (28 & 29 Vict. c.84).