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                  Prisons – young people

                  In the early 19th century cases of children under 12 being committed to prison were rare in Scotland. Instead, industrial schools were set up for neglected, orphaned or homeless children and reformatory schools were set up for juvenile offenders. However, the distinction between industrial and reformatory schools was not always maintained.  From 1854, sheriffs could send homeless children under 14 to either a reformatory school or an industrial school where they had to remain until they were 15, unless discharged, with the costs placed on the parochial boards when the parents did not pay for this.[1] From 1866, juvenile offenders under 16 could also be sent to a reformatory school or industrial school.[2]

                  Under the Industrial Schools Act 1866, efforts were made to establish training ships for homeless boys on the River Clyde and the River Tay.[3] These were supported by charitable organisations and government grants, including provision of the ships by the Admiralty. They were effectively children’s homes with the addition of training in seamanship. The T.S. Mars on the River Tay survived until the 1920s.[4]

                  The Children Act 1908 made local authorities responsible for the provision of reformatory schools and industrial schools (whether alone, or in combination with other local authorities or by using voluntary schools) and for the maintenance of children sent to these schools.[5] The Children and Young Persons (Scotland) Act 1932 replaced industrial and reformatory schools with approved schools and gave local authorities a duty to provide remand homes and approved schools. As with the 1908 Act this could be by combining with other local authorities or using schools and homes set up by others, such as churches, charities and private providers.[6]

                  Under the Prevention of Crime Act 1908 a borstal institution for boys was established at Polmont in Stirlingshire (opened 1911) and from 1912 a part of Dumfries prison operated as a borstal institution for girls (under the name of the ‘Jessiefield Institution’).[7] In 1914 borstal departments were also opened in Barlinnie and Duke Street prisons in Glasgow.[8] In 1920 the new prison in Edinburgh opened a department for male borstal inmates to relieve pressure on Polmont, and in the same year Greenock prison opened a department for female borstal inmates, and by 1926 had superseded Jessiefield as the sole borstal for females in Scotland.[9] In 1931 a female borstal department was opened in Edinburgh prison.

                  From 1937 reformatory and industrial schools became known as approved schools and only children aged 10 or over could be sent there with a limit of three years on their sentence.[10] Any young person under 18 could be transferred from a borstal to an approved school. Borstals thereafter took only young persons aged 16-21. From 1961 approved schools could be used as secure units.[11] From 1968 these schools became known as ‘List D’ schools.

                  From 1963 young offenders’ institutions were provided in addition to remand centres, detention centres and borstals and eventually this name replaced the others.[12] In 1982 borstal training was abolished.[13]

                  Records of reformatory and industrial schools and remand homes should be held by local authority archives services. Not all local records survive, and it may be more useful to look at the Scottish Office files on inspections held by the National Records of Scotland (NRS) (reference code ED15). Records of borstals and young offenders institutions are held by NRS (reference codes ED15, HH48 and HH57).

                  Compilers: SCAN contributors (2000), Elspeth Reid (2021)

                  Related Knowledge Base entries

                  The modern prison system

                  Young offenders and children in the justice system

                  Care of children, young people and families

                  Bibliography

                  Abrams, Lynn & Linda Fleming, Report into the Historic System to protect and prevent the abuse of children in care in Scotland, 1948-1995 (Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry, 2019) <https://childabuseinquiry.scot/research/research-reports/the-historic-system-to-protect-and-prevent-the-abuse-of-children-in-care-in-scotland-1948-1995/> [accessed 21 June 2021]

                  Norrie, K McK., Legislative Background to the treatment of children and young people living apart from their parents. (Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry, 2017) <https://www.childabuseinquiry.scot/research/research-reviews/the-legislative-and-regulatory-framework/> [accessed 21 Jun 2021]

                   

                  References

                  [1] Reformatory and Industrial Schools (Scotland) Act 1854 (17 & 18 Vict. c.74).

                  [2] Reformatory Schools Act 1866 (29 & 30 Vict. c.117); Industrial Schools Act 1866 (29 & 30 Vict. c.118).

                  [3] Industrial Schools Act 1866 (29 & 30 Vict. c.118); Glasgow Evening Citizen 12 Mar 1869; Dundee Courier 21 October 1869.

                  [4] Dundee Evening Telegraph 25 Oct 1926.

                  [5] Children Act 1908 (8 Edw. VII c.67).

                  [6] Children and Young Persons (Scotland) Act 1937 (1 Edw. VIII & 1 Geo. VI c.37) s.81.

                  [7] Prevention of Crime Act 1908 (8 Edw. VII c.59); National Records of Scotland (GB234) HH12/87/2-3 Jessiefield Borstal Institution, Dumfries.

                  [8] National Records of Scotland (GB234) HH12/34 Barlinnie Prison Glasgow – Borstal Visiting Committee Inspection Books, 1917-1945.

                  [9] NRS (GB234) HH12/24 Edinburgh Prison Borstal Visiting Committee Minute Book, 1919-52; HH12/56/4 Greenock Prison Visiting Committee (Female Borstal) Report Book, 1920-48.

                  [10] Children and Young Persons Act 1932 (22 & 23 Geo. V c.47).

                  [11] Approved Schools (Scotland) Rules, 1961.

                  [12] Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 1963 (c.39).

                  [13] Criminal Justice Act 1982 (c.48).

                  Prisons – Burgh tolbooths and early prisons

                  Cells in royal and baronial castles were used throughout the Middle Ages to detain small numbers of prisoners, but the most important form of prison in medieval Scotland consisted of cells in the tolbooths of burghs. Prisoners in these were usually held for short periods before trial, or between trial and punishment, or until a fine or debt was paid. An act of James VI in 1597 ordained that ‘Prisoun Houses suld [should] be bigged [built] within all Burrowes [burghs]’, but most burghs continued to use tolbooth cells rather than build separate prison buildings.[1]

                  By the mid-17th century larger towns, such as Glasgow, Edinburgh, Perth and Aberdeen, were replacing tolbooths with ‘houses of correction’, built on the English model of the ‘Bridewell’, where vagrants and criminals could be imprisoned and made to work at various tasks for short periods of time. From the 1790s prison design was influenced by Jeremy Bentham’s idea of the ‘panopticon’, a circular building in which every cell was under constant surveillance from a central tower. The idea was adopted by the architect Robert Adam in his design for the Bridewell at Calton Hill in Edinburgh in 1791.[2]

                  At this time jailers were very inadequately paid but supplemented their income by supplying drink to prisoners, extracting fees from debtors, and, in some cases, obtaining fees on liberation. Escape, especially from tolbooths, was quite common and the task of recapturing escaped prisoners fell to the commissioners of supply in each county, who raised a local tax (rogue money) to pay for this.[3]

                  The royal burghs of Scotland petitioned parliament in 1818 for relief of part of the expense of erecting proper jails, and a parliamentary committee found conditions in most Scottish prisons to be poor and recommended that counties in which burgh prisons were situated should be taxed to provide a contribution.[4] An act of 1819 authorised (but did not compel) commissioners of supply to contribute towards the improving, enlarging or rebuilding of prisons, but such contributions were few and far between.[5] In 1839 there were 178 buildings functioning as prisons: 70 lock-up houses, consisting of one small room; 80 small burgh jails, often part of the town house and unfit for the purpose; and 20 larger prisons, maintained by burghs, counties or both.[6] Responsibility for these local prisons was gradually transferred to central authorities and by 1877 no prisons remained under local authority control.

                  Records relating to burgh prisons and tolbooths consist mainly of warding and liberation books and are mainly held by local authority archives services. The National Records of Scotland holds the Edinburgh tolbooth records (reference code HH11) and the University of St Andrews holds some Fife tolbooth records. References to prisons and prisoners can also be found in early burgh treasurers’ accounts and early town council minutes.

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

                  Related Knowledge Base entries

                  Prisons – Prison reform and centralisation

                  Prisons – The modern prison system

                  Prison records – Burgh prison records

                  Bibliography

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

                  Mackenzie, Sir George, The Laws and Customs of Scotland in Matters Criminal ed. by Olive F Robinson (Stair Society, 2012)

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

                   

                  References

                  [1] Prison houses should be built within all burghs, 1597. The Records of the Parliaments of Scotland to 1707, ed. by K.M. Brown and others (University of St Andrews, 2007-2021), 1597/11/51 <http://www.rps.ac.uk/trans/1597/11/51> [accessed 1 August 2021].

                  [2] Joy Cameron, Prisons and Punishment in Scotland (Canongate, 1983) p. 47.

                  [3] Rogue Money (Scotland) Act 1839 (2 & 3 Vict. c.65).

                  [4] Select Committee on Petition of Royal Burghs of Scotland relating to Expense of providing Jails. Report, Appendix, 1818. House of Commons Papers No 346.

                  [5] 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).

                  [6] General Board of Directors of Prisons in Scotland, First Report, 1840. House of Commons Sessional Papers.

                  Prisoners and Prisons

                  Until the early 19th century, imprisonment was mainly used to detain individuals prior to a trial (known today as ‘remanding in custody’) and was not generally used as a judicial sentence after conviction. Instead, most punishments meted out by Scottish courts were banishment or transportation, monetary fine or death. Imprisonment only became a recognised form of punishment in the early 19th century, initially for up to four years and usually for lesser offences such as theft.[1] The term ‘penal servitude’ was coined in 1853 to mean a sentence of imprisonment in lieu of transportation.[2] Prisoners were held mainly in burgh tolbooths. A few of the larger burghs built separate prison buildings. In 1840 there were 178 buildings functioning as prisons, ranging from lock-up houses to small burgh jails, to larger prisons, maintained by burghs, counties or both.[3]

                  In 1835 inspectors of prisons were appointed across the UK.[4] The Prison (Scotland) Act 1839 set up a General Board of Directors of Prisons in Scotland and County Prison Boards, on the grounds that prisons in Scotland were ‘insecure and incommodious’ and that neither burghs nor counties had the funds to maintain prisons.[5] This General Board was abolished in 1860.  Thereafter, the County Prison Boards reported to the Home Secretary, and separate Managers for the General Prison at Perth were appointed.[6] In 1877 local responsibilities for prisons were removed, prisons were transferred to the Home Secretary (from 1886 the Secretary for Scotland) and a Prison Commission for Scotland was appointed.[7] The Reorganisation of Offices (Scotland) Act 1928 abolished the Prison Commission for Scotland and placed Scottish prisons under the supervision of the Prisons Department of the Scottish Office.[8] The Prisons Department was later amalgamated with the Scottish Home Department, and in 1993 the Scottish Prison Service was formed.  It is now 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]. Local authority archives services hold surviving records of early burgh prisons and tolbooths, and references to prisons and prisoners may be found in early burgh treasurer’s accounts and minutes of royal burghs. They also may hold records of reformatory and industrial schools.

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

                  For further details of each phase of prison systems and for details of specific types of prisoners and prison records, click on the related Knowledge Base entry.

                  Related Knowledge Base entries

                  Prisons – Burgh tolbooths and early prisons

                  Prisons – Prison reform and centralisation

                  Prisons – The modern prison system

                  Prisons – Industrial & reformatory schools, borstals and young offender institutions

                  Prisoners – Civil debtors

                  Prisoners with mental disorders

                  Prisoners with alcohol addiction

                  Prisoners of war in Scotland

                  Young offenders and children in the justice system

                  Scottish judicial sentences

                  Prison records – Burgh prison records

                  Prison records – County Prison Board minutes

                  Prison records – Modern prisons

                  Policing and Police Forces

                  Poor Relief – Poorhouses in Scotland

                  Women’s Suffrage

                  Parliamentary papers

                   

                  Bibliography

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

                  Markus, T. A., ‘Buildings for the Bad, the Sad and the Mad in Urban Scotland, 1780-1830’ in Order and Space in Society: Architectural Form and its Context in the Scottish Enlightenment ed. by T. A. Markus (Mainstream, 1982)

                  Rayner, Patrick, Bruce Lenman and Geoffrey Parker, Handlist of records for the study of crime in Early Modern Scotland 1450-1747, List and Index Society, Special Series, 16 (Swift, 1982).

                  Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland, Tolbooths and Town-Houses: civic architecture in Scotland to 1833 (HMSO, 1996)

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

                   

                  References

                  [1] Joy Cameron, Prisons and Punishment in Scotland (Canongate, 1983) p. 2.

                  [2] Penal Servitude Act 1853 (16 & 17 Vict. c.99).

                  [3] General Board of Directors of Prisons in Scotland, First Report, 1840. House of Commons Sessional Papers.

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

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

                  [6] Prisons (Scotland) Administration Act 1860 (23 & 24 Vict. c.105).

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

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

                   

                  Where can I find information for a school project on the history of prisons?

                  You can find useful information in books, museums and websites.

                  Books

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

                  Markus, T. A. ‘Buildings for the Bad, the Sad and the Mad in Urban Scotland, 1780-1830’ in Order and Space in Society: Architectural Form and its Context in the Scottish Enlightenment ed. by T. A. Markus, (Mainstream, 1982)

                  Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland, Tolbooths and Town-Houses: Civic Architecture in Scotland to 1833 (HMSO, 1996)

                  Museums

                  There are two museums which offer detailed experience of prison conditions: Inveraray Jail (in Argyll) and Stirling Old Town Jail. Both are open to individual (paying) members of the public, and to group visits. The contact details for each are:

                  Inveraray Jail, Church Square, Inveraray, Argyll, PA32 8TX <https://www.inverarayjail.co.uk/> [accessed 24 April 2024]

                  Stirling Old Town Jail, St John Street, Stirling, FK8 1EB <https://oldtownjail.co.uk/> [accessed 24 April 2024]

                  In addition, it may be possible to visit the cells in the tolbooths of former burghs Tolbooths and Town-Houses cited above will provide details of tolbooths in your area which have been preserved. You will need to contact the local council to arrange access, where this is possible.

                  Where can I find information about someone imprisoned in Scotland?

                  There are several answers to this question depending on when, where and why the person was imprisoned. Consider the following question and link to the appropriate FAQ:

                  Was the prisoner:

                  • (a) convicted and sentenced to a term of imprisonment or penal servitude after the year 1800?
                  • (b) awaiting charge, trial or sentencing before the year 1800?
                  • (c) awaiting charge, trial or sentencing after the year 1800?
                  • (d) a prisoner of war

                  If : (a) then there is a good chance that the prisoner’s details should be recorded in a prison register held by the National Records of Scotland. Go to the FAQ on ‘How do I trace the record of a prisoner in prison registers?’

                  (b) then, the individual was probably incarcerated in a burgh tolbooth or jail. Go to the FAQ on ‘How do I trace the record of a prisoner in warding and liberation books of a burgh tolbooth or jail?’

                  (c) then, the prisoner may have been held on remand in a prison, a burgh tolbooth or jail, or a police cell or lock-up. Look at the FAQs on prison registers, warding and liberation books and ‘How do I trace the record of a prisoner in a police cell or lock-up?’

                  (d) then go to the FAQ on ‘Where can I find information about prisoner of war prisons and camps in Scotland?’

                  How do I trace the record of a prisoner in prison registers?

                  From 1839 onwards prison administration was increasingly brought under central government control, and most registers of prisoners kept by Scottish prisons after 1800 are now held by the National Records of Scotland. Most are among Home and Health Department records (HH21 and HH12), but some are among Sheriff Court records (SC). These mainly cover the period from the early 1800s onwards, and consist of registers maintained by at least 49 prisons, generally containing name, date of admission, committing magistrate and court, age, height, where born, nationality, occupation, religion, health, offence, particulars of trial, sentence if convicted, and date liberated or removed. Some prison registers have been digitised and more details can be found in the ScotlandsPeople Guide to prison registers <https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/guides/prison-registers> [accessed 24 April 2024]

                  Using prison registers

                  In the late 19th century, many prisons adopted a registration system, whereby prisoners received a two-part number based on the year of admission and a running number – for example, the 498th prisoner admitted to a prison in 1908 would have the number 498/08, and his or her details would be recorded under that number in the register. The registers may be indexed internally, indexed in separate volumes, or not indexed at all, depending on the prison. Look at the appropriate catalogue for the prison registers concerned (HH21, HH12 and/or SC). In the case of the HH21 and HH12 catalogues, the arrangement is rather haphazard. Registers for a prison may appear in more than one place in the catalogue. Prisons in larger towns and cities which had more than one prison are problematical. In some cases, registers ascribed to one prison (e.g. Aberdeen East) may be from another (e.g. Aberdeen West). Where a town or city had more than one prison, the registers for all the relevant prisons should be searched. Another problem is that some of the indexes to registers are described as registers. In general, be prepared for a lengthy search.

                  How do I trace the record of a prisoner in warding and liberation books of a burgh tolbooth or jail?

                  Records relating to burgh prisons and tolbooths consist mainly of warding and liberation books, which record the incarceration and release of individual prisoners with few other details. These are rarely indexed, except where they have been indexed by staff or volunteers in the appropriate record office or published and indexed by an antiquarian society. Warding and liberation books for burgh tolbooths and prisons tend to be with the burgh records, normally held by the appropriate local authority archive service. In the case of several Fife burghs, the records are held by St Andrews University. Another exception is the case of Edinburgh Tolbooth, whose warding and liberation books, 1657-1816, are held by the National Records of Scotland (HH11).

                  The search may be time-consuming depending on the number of prisoners handled by each tolbooth or jail, and records prior to 1750 can be difficult to read because of the nature of the handwriting for that period.

                  How do I trace the record of a prisoner in a police cell or lock up?

                  The records of police stations sometimes include detention books, bail books or registers of persons held in police cells. If your enquiry concerns a police cell or lock-up, the first task is to find out which police force would have operated at the time and place in question, and where (if at all) the station records survive. For further details go to the Knowledge Base entry on Police Records Locations.

                  Where can I find information about Prisoner of War prisons and camps 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). 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 Penicuik and Perth. The site of the latter, including some of the buildings originally erected for the Napoleonic prisoners, were incorporated into the General Prison, built in Perth from 1839 onwards. For further details see William Sievwright, Historical Sketch of the Old Depot or Prison for French Prisoners of War at Perth (Wright, 1894).

                  During the First World War (1914-18) the War Office and the Foreign Office both had POW 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 POWs, including those in over 20 camps and prisons in Scotland.

                  For records relating to Scottish POW camps and prisons, go to the website of The National Archives in London. <https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/> [accessed 24 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.

                  Where can I find information about Scottish Prisoners of War abroad?

                  If your research concerns a Scottish POW abroad since the 18th century go to website of The National Archives in London. <https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/> [accessed 24 April 2024] Look for the research guides for prisoners of war.

                  Where can I find architectural drawings of a particular prison or prisons in general?

                  Apart from publications on Scottish prisons, which reproduce plans of prison buildings, there are three places to try for these: Historic Environment Scotland, the National Records of Scotland, and local archives and libraries.

                  Published works

                  The following published works reproduce plans of prisons:

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

                  Markus, T. A. ‘Buildings for the Bad, the Sad and the Mad in Urban Scotland, 1780-1830’ in Order and Space in Society: architectural form and its context in the Scottish Enlightenment ed. by T. A, Markus, (Mainstream, 1982)

                  Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland, Tolbooths and Town-Houses: Civic Architecture in Scotland to 1833 (HMSO, 1996)

                  The (printed) First Report of the Board of Directors of Prisons in Scotland (1840) has an appendix with architectural drawings of Perth Prison.

                  Historic Environment Scotland (HES)

                  Use the Canmore website <https://canmore.org.uk/> [accessed 24 April 2024] to look for the drawings of the prison, and then follow the instructions for contacting HES. If your research is on prison buildings in general, remember to search using the terms ‘prison’, ‘jail’, ‘gaol’, ‘Bridewell’ and ‘tolbooth’.

                  National Records of Scotland

                  The National Records of Scotland (NRS) hold several hundred architectural drawings of prisons in the Register House Plans (RHP) series, mostly extracted from the records of the Scottish Home and Health Department. Over 300 of them can be found by using the search term ‘prison’ and the reference RHP, but, once again, if your research is on prison buildings in general, remember to search using the terms ‘jail’, ‘gaol’, ‘Bridewell’ and ‘tolbooth’ as well.

                  Local authority archives

                  Local authority archives occasionally hold architectural drawings of prisons and similar buildings. If you are researching a particular prison you need to find out the appropriate local archives service(s) for that area. You should not expect to find drawings of prisons in Dean of Guild plans collections, because many central government buildings (including prisons) were exempt from building regulations.

                  Where should I look for photographs of prisoners?

                  This FAQ refers to titles of acts which includes terminology which is now obsolete.

                  Criminal registers or collections of photographs of prisoners survive in police records in Scottish archives and among the records of prisons in the National Records of Scotland. They include:

                  • Albums of criminal register entries compiled by a police force. In most cases, where there is a photograph, it is part of a much larger entry, running to several pages.
                  • Albums of photographs. With the minimum amount of information about the criminal, compiled by a police force, possibly using the photographs supplied by prison authorities as part of the criminal register entries, or, more likely, from photographs taken by the police force itself of each prisoner at the time of arrest.
                  • Printed notifications under the Licensing (Scotland) Act 1903. Details of a person convicted of three or more offences mentioned in the first schedule of the Inebriates Act 1898 were circulated to licensed premises and secretaries of clubs and police forces in counties, etc.

                  Examples of the above are held by several archives. Perth & Kinross Council Archive holds photographic and conviction records for Perthshire, Perthshire & Kinross-shire and Perth & Kinross constabularies for the periods 1875-1906 and 1915-55. Glasgow City Archives hold four registers among the records of Strathclyde Police: two for Glasgow, covering 1910-33 (SR22/63/11-12) do not contain photographs. Two for Dunbartonshire, covering 1903-14 (SR22/77/8-9) do contain photographs. The National Records of Scotland hold several albums, including one for Greenock prison, 1872-88. (HH12/56/7). Aberdeen City Archives hold two criminal registers compiled by Aberdeen City Police: the first covers prisoners liberated from Perth Prison, 1882-84, and the second is a ‘register of returned convicts’, 1869-1938, containing notes on the whereabouts of released convicts, and including photographs of prisoners between 1869 and 1897. Among the records of Dunbarton County Constabulary (held by Glasgow City Archives) are three ‘notifications of inebriates’ under the Licensing (Scotland) Act 1903 supplied to the Colquhoun Arms Hotel, Rhu (SR22/77/23).

                  Where should I look for information about suffragettes in prison?

                  Whether you are researching a particular suffragette or the imprisonment of suffragettes in general you should first read all or some of the following:

                  Purvis, June, ‘The Prison Experience of the Suffragettes in Edwardian Britain’, Women’s History Review, 4 (1) (1995), pp. 103-33

                  Leneman, Leah A Guid cause: the women’s suffrage movement in Scotland (Mercat Press, 1991)

                  King, Elspeth, The Hidden History of Glasgow’s Women: The Thenew Factor (Mainstream, 1993)

                  If you are researching an individual suffragette prisoner go to the FAQ Where can I find information about someone imprisoned in Scotland? but see also a register of suffragettes received into prison in Scotland, 1909-14, among the Home and Health Department records of the National Records of Scotland (HH12/22).

                  If you are researching the treatment of suffragette prisoners in general, there are criminal case files among the Home and Health Department records in the National Records of Scotland (HH16/36-47). It may also be worth looking through the catalogues to the Criminal Justice and Procedure files, 1888-1995 (HH60).

                  Where can I find the employment record of a prison warder?

                  Staff records in the true sense for the Scottish prison service begin only in 1893. From then until 1946 staff registers were compiled and these are now held by the National Records of Scotland (HH87 – Prison service staff registers).

                  For the period prior to this the search for details of prison staff will be time-consuming and probably unrewarding. The ‘Prisons – Administrative Records’ series (HH12) in the National Records of Scotland should be examined for possible records. The most likely source among these records are the Governors’ Journals of individual prisons, which ought to record members of staff starting and leaving (or being dismissed), and absences due to illness or other causes. However, as the journals are a form of logbook, the search through these for details of individual staff members can be tedious.

                  For the period prior to 1839 the main source of information on burgh jails, tolbooths, lock-ups, etc., will be the minute books of the burgh or town council concerned. A search through these for information on the appointment of individual warders is likely to be even more tedious and unrewarding than the search through Governors’ Journals for prisons after 1839.

                  How do I find the trial records and other records of someone transported to Australia or New Zealand?

                  The National Records of Scotland (NRS) will, in most cases, hold records of the trial of a Scottish transportee, but you may be able to augment these with details of the voyage from records held by The National Archives in London, and newspaper reports of the trial. Prior to visiting the NRS, or hiring a record agent to carry out research there, it is best to assemble as much information as possible about the person you are researching (particularly when he or she arrived in Australia or New Zealand and which part of Scotland he or she came from) and to read the sections dealing with transportation and criminals in Tracing Your Scottish Ancestors 7th edition (Birlinn, 2020). To locate and read through the court and prison records, described below, for one individual case, will require more than one day’s work in the historical search room at the NRS. Separate visits may be required to The National Archives in London.

                  If your ancestor was transported from Scotland in the period 1812 to 1867, you may be able to see the prosecution papers in the case, in the form of the precognitions in the Lord Advocate’s records (AD) in the NRS. Hardly any survive for the period before 1812. Those for the period 1812-1900 (AD14) are listed under the name of the accused in the NRS online catalogue: <www.nrscotland.gov.uk/research/catalogues-and-indexes> [accessed 24 April 2024]. The records of the Advocate’s department also has a register of returns of pardoned or ticket of leave convicts committed on new charges (AD12/8). The High Court of Justiciary, the supreme criminal court in Scotland, passed sentences of transportation. For details of how to search through Justiciary Court records (JC) at the NRS, you should read the chapter on criminals in National Records of Scotland Tracing Your Scottish Ancestors 7th edition (Birlinn, 2020) and/or look at the research guides for court and legal records on the website. <www.nrscotland.gov.uk/research/research-guides/research-guides-a-z/court-and-legal-records> [accessed 24April 2024]. Personal details of the transportee should appear in the registers of the prison which served the court where the trial took place. Prison registers survive in the Home and Health Department records (HH) in the NRS. Most prison registers begin only from the 1840s. They include a register of convicts under sentence of transportation (HH21/5/16).

                  Ships carrying transported prisoners to Australia sailed from England, and Convict Transportation Registers survive among the Home Office records in The National Archives in London (HO 11). These cover the period from 1787 to 1871 and give the names of all the convicts who sailed on each ship along with the place and date of the conviction and the length of sentence. A microfilm copy is held by the NRS (RH4/160/7). The registers are arranged chronologically by the date of departure of each ship. The names of Scottish prisoners occur towards the end of each list. Two other classes of record in The National Archives in London contain information about transportees. A census of convicts 1788 – 1859 among the Home Office papers (HO10) lists convicts and their families in New South Wales and Tasmania. The census for 1828 is the most complete. A number of lists of convicts for the period 1801 – 1821 are among the New South Wales Original Correspondence (CO 201), and these are indexed.

                  Once you know which court the trial took place in, you should be able to find a report of the trial in a local newspaper for the period. To locate back copies of local newspapers for particular areas of Scotland consult:

                  British Newspaper Archive <https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/> [accessed 24 April 2024] (available free of charge in the National Library of Scotland or with a subscription elsewhere)

                  Ferguson, J. P. S. Directory of Scottish Newspapers (National Library of Scotland, 1984).

                  How do I find the trial record of someone transported to North America?

                  Scottish convicts sentenced to transportation before 1776 were sent to North America. A published list of these, based on Scottish sources such as the records of the Privy Council, High Court of Justiciary, Treasury, etc can be found in David Dobson, Directory of Scots Banished to the American Plantations 1650-1775 2nd edition (Clearfield, 2010). For other published lists of Scottish settlers in North America see below.

                  Information about individual cases should appear in the records of the High Court of Justiciary, the supreme criminal court in Scotland, at the National Records of Scotland (NRS). To locate and read through the court records for one individual case, will require more than one day’s work at the NRS. Before you visit the NRS or hire a record agent to carry out research there, you should assemble as much information as possible about the person you are researching (particularly when they arrived in North America) and which part of Scotland they came from) and read the sections dealing with transportation and criminals in Tracing Your Scottish Ancestors 7th edition (Birlinn, 2020).

                  Published lists of Scottish settlers in North America

                  Coldham, Peter W Complete Book of Emigrants, 1607-1660 (Genealogical Publishing Co, 1987).

                  Coldham, Peter W Complete Book of Emigrants in Bondage, 1614-1775 (Genealogical Publishing Co, 1988)

                  Dobson, David Directory of Scottish Settlers in North America, 1625-1825 (Genealogical Publishing Co, 1993)

                  Dobson, David Directory of Scots Banished to the American Plantations 1650-1775 2nd edition (Clearfield, 2010)

                  Filby, P W & others, ed., Passenger and Immigration Lists Index (Gale Research Co, 1981 – present, 21 volumes, continuing) is an index of names in published passenger lists and other lists of arrivals in North America in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries.

                  Whyte, Donald Dictionary of Scottish Emigrants to the USA (Magna Carta Book Co, 1972)

                  Whyte, Donald Dictionary of Scottish Emigrants to the USA Vol 2 (Magna Carta Book Co, 1986)

                  What forms of hard labour were used in Scottish prisons?

                  In the course of the 19th century the addition of hard labour was increasingly used by judges for certain offences. The treadmill, the hand crank and picking oakum were all used in Scottish prisons. The treadmill was a large drum with projecting wooden treads on its outside and connected to something to provide resistance, which had to be turned by tramping on the treads. The hand crank consisted of a handle projecting from a large box, which had to be turned a prescribed number of times a day to overcome the resistance of gravel or sand in the box. Both were hard but totally unproductive work. A more productive form of hard labour was picking oakum, i.e. teasing out old tarred rope into strands, which were used for caulking ships. The treadmill and hand crank were abolished in Scottish prisons in 1898.

                  What was a Bridewell?

                  The term ‘Bridewell’ originated in London in the 16th century when a ‘house of correction’ was set up at St Bride’s Well to make vagrants and the unemployed work towards their keep in harsh conditions. In Scotland larger towns, such as Glasgow, Edinburgh, Perth and Aberdeen, began building ‘houses of correction’, which were sometimes called ‘Bridewells’ in the 17th century, but these could hold prisoners awaiting trial, and also, by the early 19th century, individuals sentenced to short periods of imprisonment.

                  What was the ‘General Prison’ and where can I find information about it?

                  The term ‘General Prison’ was first used in 1839 to refer to the new prison being built at Perth, whose primary purpose was to house the increasing numbers of prisoners being sentenced by courts all over Scotland to longer terms of imprisonment. It was built as a result of the Prison (Scotland) Act 1839, which placed the 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 administered directly by the General Board of Directors until the Prisons (Scotland) Act 1860.  This entrusted the running of the General Prison to four managers – the Sheriff of Perth, the Inspector of Prisons in Scotland, the Crown Agent and a stipendiary manager. The General Prison at Perth housed convicts serving sentences exceeding 9 months and prisoners suffering mental ill-health. It was on the site of the former Prisoner of War depot, which had housed French soldiers captured in the Napoleonic Wars. In 1882, Barlinnie Prison, near Glasgow, opened and served partly as a General Prison. By 1904 most long sentences were served in Peterhead Prison (for men) and Duke Street Prison, Glasgow (for women).

                  For further details see:

                  Sievwright, William, Historical Sketch of the Old Depot or Prison for French Prisoners of War at Perth (Wright, 1894)

                  Sievwright, William, Historical Sketch of the General Prison for Scotland at Perth: with notes on Crime & Criminals (Wright, 1894

                  When did the last public execution of a man take place in Scotland?

                  The last public execution of a man in Scotland took place in Dumfries on 12 May 1868, when Robert Smith was hanged for the rape and murder of an eleven-year-old girl.

                  When did the last public execution of a woman take place in Scotland?

                  The last public execution of a woman in Scotland took place in Dumfries on 29 April 1862, of a ‘feeble-minded’ woman named Mary Timmey, who had battered a female neighbour to death. There were strenuous public efforts to save her from the gallows, as it was felt by many that she did not deserve to die. Nevertheless, the execution attracted a large crowd.

                  Caravan Sites & Travellers’ Sites

                  Caravan Sites & Travellers’ Sites

                  Caravan sites were subject to licensing by local authorities in Scotland from 1960 under the Caravan Sites and Control of Development Act 1960.[1] Local authorities were also empowered by this legislation to provide sites for caravans, both for temporary purposes such as holidays and for use as permanent residences.[2]  These functions were transferred to regional, islands and district councils in 1975.[3] In 1982, this was re-defined to give islands and district councils the right to provide sites for caravans but to include regional councils in the provision of sites for ‘persons of nomadic habit of life, whatever their race or origin’ except for showpeople.[4]  In 1967 local authorities were also permitted to provide camping sites for holiday or recreational purposes, as part of the legislation enabling local authorities to set up country parks.[5]

                  Prior to 1960, caravan and camping sites were controlled principally through planning legislation. Caravans and tents, however, were considered to be a form of housing and in 1897, medical officers and sanitary inspectors were given a right of entry for public health reasons to tents and vans used as mobile homes and the local authority was enabled to make byelaws ‘for promoting cleanliness’.[6]

                  More recently, efforts have been made to improve caravan and travellers’ sites along with giving travellers greater protections.[7]

                  Legislation which required English and Welsh local authorities to provide sites for travellers did not apply to Scotland.[8]

                  Compiler: Elspeth Reid (2021)

                  Bibliography

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

                  McPhee, Shamus Gypsy Traveller history in Scotland (Institute for Research an Innovation in Social Services, 2017)

                   

                  [1] Caravan Sites and Control of Development Act 1960 (c.62) ss. 1-10.

                  [2] Caravan Sites and Control of Development Act 1960 (c.62) s. 24.

                  [3] Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 (c. 65), s.182.

                  [4] Local Government and Planning (Scotland) Act 1982 (c.43) s.13.

                  [5] Countryside (Scotland) Act 1967(c.86) s.49.

                  [6] Public Health (Scotland) Act 1897 (60 & 61 Vict c. 38) s.73.

                  [7] Housing (Scotland) Act 2014 (asp. 14); Scottish Government Improving Gypsy/Traveller sites: guidance on minimum sites standards and site tenants’ core rights and responsibilities (2015) <https://www.gov.scot/publications/improving-gypsy-traveller-sites-guidance-minimum-sites-standards-site-tenants/documents/> [accessed 27 May 2021].

                  [8] Public Health Act 1936 (26 Geo. V & 1 Edw. VII, c.49) s.269; Caravan Sites Act 1968 (c.52); Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 (c.33).

                  Churches – Presbyterians in Scotland

                  The adoption of Presbyterianism as the preferred system of church government for the Church of Scotland was the eventual outcome of a polarising struggle between Episcopalians and Presbyterians. The Reformation began with the Confession of Faith Ratification Act, 1560, accompanied by the abolition of papal jurisdiction and the mass.[1] On the accession of James VI, a series of acts in 1567 further consolidated the new protestant church, leading to the use of the term, ‘Established Church’ and the abolition of bishops.[2] Following the union of the crowns in 1603, bishops were reintroduced in 1606.[3] Charles I subsequently ratified this in 1633.[4] Bishops were abolished at the time of the National Covenant in 1638 and reinstated by Charles II in 1662.[5] Following the replacement of James VII by William III and Mary II, Presbyterianism was established as the system of church government of the national church by the Confession of Faith Ratification Act, 1690.[6]

                  Ministers were required to subscribe to the Westminster Confession of Faith from 1690. Bishops were prevented from taking income from their former dioceses and in 1695 were prevented from conducting baptisms or marriages.[7] In 1712 the Toleration Act declared it lawful for Episcopalians to meet for worship and use the English Prayer book, abolished the 1695 Act against irregular baptisms and marriages, and required all clergy of the Established Church and the Episcopalian Church to take an oath of allegiance to Queen Anne (thus renouncing any Jacobite allegiances).[8] This effectively resulted in the formation of the Episcopal Church in Scotland as a separate church from the Church of Scotland.

                  Despite the ascendancy of Presbyterianism in the 1690 Revolution Settlement, some Presbyterians believed that this was too great a compromise and that the Church of Scotland had become unacceptably subordinate to the state. These dissenters, who continued to subscribe to the Solemn League and Covenant, were known as Cameronians, grouped themselves into Societies and in 1743 became the Reformed Presbyterian Church of Scotland.[9]

                  Dissent within Presbyterianism, mainly over church-state relations, caused secessions from the Church of Scotland and the formation of a number of smaller Presbyterian churches. Several of these churches subsequently also had disagreements and separated from each other, forming new churches, and some then united with other secession churches. In almost every such union, a minority declined to enter the new church and remained as a separate denomination.

                  In 1921 the Church of Scotland formally changed its constitution by the adoption of the Articles Declaratory which included statements about the right of the church to be independent of civil authority and this was passed into civil law by the Church of Scotland Act 1921.[10] This change in position on church-state relations allowed the majority of the United Free Church to unite with the Church of Scotland in 1929.[11]

                  The main Presbyterian secession churches were as follows:

                  • Associate Synod: This secession in 1733 was led by the Rev. Ebenezer Erskine, a minister in Stirling who preached against the system of patronage where ministers were nominated to congregations by a patron, usually the main local landowner, rather than being called by the congregation.[12]
                    • The Associate Synod then divided in 1747 over the issue of the oaths that burgesses had to take in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Perth. Those who supported the oath (Burghers) kept the name of the Associate Synod and those who opposed it (Antiburghers) became known as the General Associate Synod.[13]
                    • The Associate Synod (burghers) subsequently divided again in 1799 over beliefs about the role of secular authorities in upholding religion: voluntarism versus state support. Those who separated formed the Original Associate Synod and became known as Auld Lichts. Those who remained in the Associate Synod became known as New Lichts.[14]
                    • In 1806 the same issue divided the General Associate Synod (antiburghers). The majority were Auld Lichts and formed a new church, the Constitutional Associate Presbytery. The minority, who were New Lichts, continued as the General Associate congregation.[15]
                    • In 1820 most of the New Licht antiburgher and burgher congregations agreed to unite as the United Associate Synod of the Secession Church. However, not everyone supported this union and the dissenters formed a Society of Protestors. [16] In 1827 this General Associate Synod of Protestors (who were New Licht antiburghers) united with the Constitutional Associate Synod (who were Auld Licht antiburghers) to form the Associate Synod of Original Seceders.
                    • In 1842 the Associate Synod of Original Seceders (ie: Auld Licht antiburgers) united with the Original Associate Synod (ie: Auld Licht burgers) to form the Synod of United Original Seceders but confusingly they were also known as the United Associate Synod of the Secession Church.
                    • Also in 1842, the Rev J Morison left the United Associate Synod of the Secession Church (that is, the 1820 union) and formed the Evangelical Union Church. This church split in 1896 with part remaining independent and part joining the Scottish Congregational Union.[17]
                  • Relief Church: This secession in 1761 was led by the Rev. Thomas Gillespie, former minister at Carnock, Rev. Thomas Boston, minister at Jedburgh, and Rev. Thomas Collier, who were opposed to the system of patronage.[18]
                  • United Presbyterian Church: This church was formed in 1847 by a union of the United Associate Secession Church and the Relief Church.[19]
                  • Free Church of Scotland: This secession in 1843 led by Rev. Thomas Chalmers saw about a third of the membership and ministers leave the Church of Scotland over the issue of patronage and church-state relations.[20]
                    • In 1852 part of the Synod of United Original Seceders joined the Free Church of Scotland. However, part continued and as the United Original Secession Church it re-united with the Church of Scotland in 1956.[21]
                    • In 1876 most of the Reformed Presbyterian Church of Scotland joined the Free Church of Scotland. However, a minority remained in the Reformed Presbyterian Church of Scotland and this church continues in existence today.[22]
                    • Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland: This was a secession from the Free Church of Scotland in 1893, resulting from a disagreement over how strictly the church should adhere to the Westminster Confession of Faith.[23]
                      • A small group seceded from the Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland in 1989 and formed the Associated Presbyterian Churches, following a controversy over how strictly the Westminster Confession of Faith should be applied in relation to attendance at a Roman Catholic mass.[24]
                    • United Free Church of Scotland: This church was formed in 1900 by the union of the majority of the Free Church of Scotland and the United Presbyterian Church of Scotland. However, a minority of the Free Church of Scotland remained outside the union and following a decision by the House of Lords, kept the right to the name and to the property. In 1929 the majority of the United Free Church of Scotland went into union with the Church of Scotland but a minority remained outside the union and kept the name.[25]

                  The records of secession congregations usually date from the first meeting of the kirk session after their secession from the previous church and often they include a statement about the reasons for their secession. When these congregations went into a union with another church, they usually continued to use the same minute books and other records, simply noting the new name of the church they now belonged to at the start of the first meeting of the kirk session following the union.

                  Records of the Church of Scotland (including former churches which entered union in 1929 and 1956) are the responsibility of the National Records of Scotland (NRS). However, where possible, the records of congregations and presbyteries are transferred to local authority archives so that they are accessible locally.  These arrangements are under agreements where the records are held under the charge and superintendence of NRS, which allocates the reference codes and ensures they remain in good condition.  From time to time, records under charge and superintendence may be recalled to NRS for conservation or other purposes.  The NRS catalogue should therefore be consulted to check where Church of Scotland records are located (reference codes beginning CH).

                  Compiler:  Elspeth Reid (2021)

                  Related Knowledge Base entries

                  Presbyteries

                  Synods

                  Kirk Sessions

                  Kirk Session records

                  Bibliography

                  Barr, James, The United Free Church of Scotland (Allenson & Co, 1934)

                  Brown, Callum G., Religion and Society in Scotland since 1707 (Edinburgh University Press, 1997)

                  Burleigh, J. H. S., A Church History of Scotland (Oxford University Press, 1960)

                  Cheyne, A. C., The Transforming of the Kirk: Victorian Scotland’s Religious Revolution (Saint Andrew Press, 1983)

                  Couper, W. J., The Reformed Presbyterian Church in Scotland: Its congregations, ministers and students (Scottish Church History Society, 1925)

                  Drummond, Andrew L. & James Bulloch, The Scottish Church 1688-1843 (Saint Andrew Press, 1973)

                  Drummond, Andrew L. & James Bulloch, The Church in Victorian Scotland, 1843-1874 (Saint Andrew Press, 1975)

                  Drummond, Andrew L. & James Bulloch, The Church in Late Victorian Scotland, 1874-1900 (Saint Andrew Press, 1978)

                  Hutchison, Matthew, The Reformed Presbyterian Church in Scotland: Its origin and history, 1680-1876 (J. & R. Parlane, 1893)

                  McKerrow, John, History of the Secession Church Vols 1 & 2 (Oliphant & Son, 1839)

                  McPherson, Alexander, History of the Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland (1893-1970) (Publications Committee, Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland, [1975])

                  Muirhead, Andrew T. N., Reformation, Dissent and Diversity: The Story of Scotland’s Churches 1560-1960 (Bloomsbury, 2015)

                  Scott, D., Annals and Statistics of The Original Secession Church (Edinburgh, 1887)

                  Small, Robert, History of the Congregations of the United Presbyterian Church 2 vols (David M. Small, 1904)

                  Struthers, Gavin, The History of the Rise, Progress and Principles of the Relief Church embracing notices of the other Religious Denominations in Scotland (A Fullarton & Co, 1843)

                   

                  References

                  [1] Confession of Faith Ratification Act, 1560, The Records of the Parliaments of Scotland to 1707, [RPS], ed. by K.M. Brown and others (University of St Andrews, 2007-2021), A1560/8/3, <http://www.rps.ac.uk/trans/A1560/8/3 > [accessed 28 Dec 2021].

                  [2] Concerning the abolishing of the pope and his usurped authority, 1567, RPS, A1567/12/1 <http://www.rps.ac.uk/trans/A1567/12/1>; Concerning the annulling of the acts of parliament made against God, his word and maintenance of idolatry in any times past, 1567, RPS, A1567/12/2 <http://www.rps.ac.uk/trans/A1567/12/2>; The Confession of the Faith and doctrine believed and professed by the Protestants of the realm of Scotland, RPS, A1567/12/3.<http://www.rps.ac.uk/trans/A1567/12/3>; Concerning the abolition of the mass and the punishment of all that hears or says the same, 1567, RPS, A1567/12/4. < http://www.rps.ac.uk/trans/A1567/12/4 >; Concerning the true and holy kirk and of them that are declared not to be of the same, 1567, RPS, A1567/12/5. <http://www.rps.ac.uk/trans/A1567/12/5> [all accessed 29 December 2021].

                  [3] Act regarding the restitution of the estate of bishops,1605, RPS, 1605/6/31 <http://www.rps.ac.uk/trans/1605/6/31> [accessed 29 December 2021].

                  [4] Ratification of the acts touching religion, 1633 RPS, 1633/6/19 <http://www.rps.ac.uk/trans/1633/6/19 > [accessed 29 December 2021].

                  [5] Act for the restitution and re-establishment of the ancient government of the church by archbishops and bishops, 1662, RPS, 1662/5/9 <http://www.rps.ac.uk/trans/1662/5/9> [accessed: 29 December 2021].

                  [6] Confession of Faith Ratification Act, 1690 (c.7) < http://www.legislation.gov.uk/aosp/1690/7 > [accessed 30 Mar 2021].

                  [7] Act against irregular baptisms and marriages, 1695, RPS, 1695/5/118 <http://www.rps.ac.uk/trans/1695/5/118 > [accessed 29 December 2021].

                  [8] Act to prevent disturbing of those of the Episcopal Communion [Toleration Act] 1712 (10 Anne c.7)

                  [9] W. J.  Couper, The Reformed Presbyterian Church in Scotland: Its congregations, ministers and students (Scottish Church History Society, 1925), pp. 5, 9; J. H. S. Burleigh, A Church History of Scotland (Oxford University Press, 1960), pp. 263-64.

                  [10] Church of Scotland Act 1921 (11 & 12 Geo. V c. 29)

                  [11] Burleigh, A Church History of Scotland pp. 403-04.

                  [12] Andrew L. Drummond & James Bulloch, The Scottish Church 1688-1843 (Saint Andrew Press, 1973), pp. 40-42; Callum G. Brown, Religion and Society in Scotland since 1707 (Edinburgh University Press, 1997) pp. 22-24.

                  [13] Drummond & Bulloch, The Scottish Church 1688-1843, pp. 110-11; John McKerrow, History of the Secession Church Vol. 1 (Oliphant & Son, 1839) pp. 273-95, 311.

                  [14] McKerrow, History of the Secession Church Vol. 2, pp. 300-29.

                  [15] McKerrow, History of the Secession Church Vol 2, pp. 340-42.

                  [16] Drummond & Bulloch, The Scottish Church 1688-1843 p. 151; McKerrow History of the Secession Church Vol 2 pp. 388-413.

                  [17] Brown, Religion and Society in Scotland since 1707, p. 29.

                  [18] Drummond & Bulloch, The Scottish Church 1688-1843, p. 151; Brown, Religion and Society in Scotland since 1707, pp. 24-25; Gavin Struthers The History of the Rise, Progress and Principles of the Relief Church embracing notices of the other Religious Denominations in Scotland (A Fullarton & Co, 1843), pp. 154-62.

                  [19] Drummond & Bulloch, The Scottish Church 1688-1843, p. 151.

                  [20] National Records of Scotland CH18/2 Act of Separation and Deed of Demission signed by the ministers and elders adhering to the Free Church of Scotland, 23 May 1843.

                  [21] Very Rev Hugh Watt, D.D., D.Litt., ‘The accession of the United Original Seceders, 24 May 1956’ in The Church of Scotland Yearbook, 1957 ed. by Rev Joseph S. Easton, (Church of Scotland Publications, 1957), p. 4.

                  [22] Brown, Religion and Society in Scotland since 1707, p.29.

                  [23] Burleigh, A Church History of Scotland, pp. 360-61.

                  [24] Brown, Religion and Society in Scotland since 1707, p. 173.

                  [25] Burleigh, A Church History of Scotland, pp. 367-69, 403-04.

                  Youth Employment and Careers Service

                  From 1948 local authorities were given responsibilities to assist young people with employment opportunities. Under the Employment and Training Act 1948, education authorities (i.e. county councils and counties of cities) were empowered to set up local youth employment committees in conjunction with a new UK National Youth Employment Council and the Scottish Advisory Committee on Youth Employment.[1] With youth employment officers appointed locally, this became known as the Youth Employment Service.

                  The Education (Scotland) Act 1980 gave education authorities a duty to provide a careers service, mainly for young people in further education.[2] They were also enabled to work with the Manpower Services Commission (renamed the Training Commission in 1988) and had to maintain records of the vocational advice offered.

                  Compiler: Elspeth Reid (2021)

                   

                  References

                  [1] Employment and Training Act 1948 (11 & 12 Geo. VI c.46).

                  [2] Education (Scotland) Act 1980 (c.44) s.126.

                  Justice – young offenders & children

                  Children in the justice system were treated as adults until the 19th century when the idea evolved across the UK that children should be dealt with differently and that they could be taught not to commit crimes by removing them from their parents and placing them in reformatory schools.[1] In Scotland this was accompanied by empowering sheriffs to send homeless, abandoned, neglected or poor children (termed ‘vagrant’ or ‘pauper’ children) to reformatory or industrial schools.[2]

                  The Youthful Offenders Act 1901 addressed parental neglect in cases involving young offenders and allowed courts to impose fines and damages or costs on parents or guardians and to order the parent or guardian to give security for the good behaviour of the offender.[3] A register of convicted youthful offenders was to be kept for every summary court.

                  The Children Act 1908 established the principle that children and young people charged with offences should be tried in a juvenile court rather than the same court as adults. These were the sheriff courts or justice of the peace courts but sitting separately and with limits on who could attend. It also abolished the death penalty for anyone under 18.[4]

                  From 1932, juvenile courts were intended to be made more child-friendly, with a panel of judges selected to deal with young people and private hearings with reporting restrictions in different buildings from the adult courts.[5] The age of legal responsibility was raised to age 8 and the juvenile court was able to deal with young people up to age 17.

                  The Social Work (Scotland) Act, 1968 replaced juvenile courts with the children’s hearings and children’s panel systems and placed most of the responsibilities associated with the hearings and panel on local authorities which were designated as the county councils and the town councils of large burghs.[6] These local authorities were required to appoint a reporter and to implement the new system of home supervision orders.[7] Local authorities also had a duty to set up residential establishments (children’s homes and what became known as List D schools), but as with previous legislation they could make arrangements with other local authorities or other bodies. Local authorities were given powers of inspection for the first time – previously this had been restricted to central government – and had a duty to appoint visitors to the children to safeguard their well-being. In 1975 all these responsibilities were transferred to regional councils.[8] In 1994 the responsibilities for accommodating and supervising young people were transferred to the new unitary councils but responsibilities for the children’s hearings system were transferred to new authorities: the Principal Reporter and the Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration.[9]

                  Local authority archives services may hold registers of juvenile offenders and records of industrial schools, reformatory schools and ragged schools. The relevant records held by the National Records of Scotland include files on approved schools and remand homes (reference code ED15) juvenile delinquency (ED39) borstal inmates files (HH14), the development of juvenile courts and general treatment of prisoners including juveniles (HH60), juvenile court registers from Sheriff Courts (SC) and Justice of the Peace Courts (JP) and records of charitable bodies concerned with young offenders.

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

                  Related Knowledge Base entries

                  Care of children, young people and families

                  Records relating to children and young people

                  Social work

                  Bibliography

                  Abrams, Lynn & Linda Fleming, Report into the Historic System to protect and prevent the abuse of children in care in Scotland, 1948-1995 (Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry, 2019) <https://childabuseinquiry.scot/research/research-reports/the-historic-system-to-protect-and-prevent-the-abuse-of-children-in-care-in-scotland-1948-1995/> [accessed 21 June 2021]

                  Kelly, Christine Criminalisation of children in Scotland 1840-1910. (unpublished doctoral thesis, University of Glasgow 2012) <http://theses.gla.ac.uk/3601/1/2012KellyPhD.pdf> [accessed 27 December 2018]

                  Norrie, K McK., Legislative Background to the treatment of children and young people living apart from their parents. (Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry, 2017) <https://www.childabuseinquiry.scot/research/research-reviews/the-legislative-and-regulatory-framework/> [accessed 21 Jun 2021]

                   

                  References

                  [1] Juvenile Offences Act 1847 (10 and 11 Vict. c.82); Youthful Offenders Great Britain Act 1854 (17 & 18 Vict. c.86); Christine Kelly Criminalisation of children in Scotland 1840-1910. (unpublished doctoral thesis, University of Glasgow 2012) pp.107-10 <http://theses.gla.ac.uk/3601/1/2012KellyPhD.pdf> [accessed 27 December 2018].

                  [2] Reformatory Schools (Scotland) Act 1854 (17 & 18 Vict. c.74).

                  [3] Youthful Offenders Act 1901 (1 Edw. VII c.20).

                  [4] Children Act 1908 (8 Edw. VII c.67).

                  [5] Children and Young Persons Act 1932 (22 & 23 Geo. V c.47).

                  [6] Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968 (c.49).

                  [7] Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968 (c.49) s.44.

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

                  [9] Local Government etc (Scotland) Act 1994 (c.39) ss.127-34.

                  Water & Sewage

                  Water supply and provision of a sewage system was a local responsibility until the creation of Scottish Water in 2002, but central government exercised considerable control over local provision of water supply.

                  Burghs acquired water and sewerage powers first through local acts of parliament and then from 1833 onwards through the adoption of general police acts.  The Burgh Police (Scotland) Act 1833 enabled royal burghs, burghs of barony and burghs of regality which had not previously acquired police and improvement powers to adopt this Act and apply funding raised from assessments to various improvements including water supply and distribution and to building and maintaining common sewers and drains.[1] This was extended to parliamentary burghs in 1847.[2] From 1850 it became possible to establish police burghs in ‘populous places’ which had not previously been burghs.[3] Additional powers were given in 1862 including responsibility for water supplies for domestic and ordinary purposes, appointing a surveyor for paving, drainage and other works, setting the levels of the streets and surveying and drawing up plans showing drains and sewerage pipes.[4]

                  Parish councils and then parochial boards were given water responsibilities under the Public Health (Scotland) Act, 1867 which also set up the Scottish Board of Health.[5] A range of legislation from 1890 onwards gradually gave greater supervisory powers in public health to the Scottish Board of Health and by 1914 the Scottish Board of Health was responsible for approving the creation of special water, lighting, and scavenging districts within landward areas as well as other public health matters.[6] The Board was replaced by the Department of Health for Scotland in 1929.

                  The Water (Scotland) Act 1946 made the Secretary of State for Scotland responsible for all aspects of the public water supply service, including the quality and quantity of water, the approval of new works and obtaining co-operation between local authorities through joint boards. Every house was to be provided with an inside water supply and new houses could not be built without an inside supply.[7] The Water (Scotland) Act 1949 further extended the powers and functions of the Secretary of State for Scotland.[8]

                  The Sewerage (Scotland) Act 1968 made it the duty of every local authority to provide public sewers for draining domestic sewage, surface water and trade effluent.[9]

                  In 1967 under the Water (Scotland) Act 1967 the Central Scotland Water Development Board was set up to supply more water for sale to local authorities and local water boards and trusts were replaced by regional boards.[10] Under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973, regional and islands councils were given responsibility for the control of public water supply, sewerage and sewage disposal. [11]

                  In 1996 three new public water authorities were created – East of Scotland Water, West of Scotland Water and North of Scotland Water – to take over water and sewerage services from the former regional councils.[12] In 2002 these water authorities were replaced by a new national body, Scottish Water.[13]

                  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)

                  Templeton, Archibald A., ‘Water’ in Source book and history of administrative law in Scotland ed. by M. R. McLarty (Hodge, 1956) pp. 220-28

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

                   

                  References

                  [1] Burgh Police (Scotland) Act 1833 (3 & 4 Will. IV c.46) s.44, s.96

                  [2] Burgh Police etc (Scotland) Act 1847 (10 & 11 Vict. c.39)

                  [3] Burgh Police (Scotland) Act 1850 (13 & 14 Vict. c.33)

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

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

                  [6] Local Government (Scotland), Act, 1889 (52 & 53 Vict. c.50); Burgh Police (Scotland) Act, 1892 (55 & 56 Vict. c.55); Public Health (Scotland) Act, 1897 (60 & 61 Vict. c.38); Burgh Sewerage Drainage and Water Supply (Scotland) Act 1901 (1 Edw. VII c.24)

                  [7] Water (Scotland) Act 1946 (9 & 10 Geo. VI c.42)

                  [8] Water (Scotland) Act 1949 (12 & 13 Geo. VI c.31)

                  [9] Sewerage (Scotland) Act 1968 (c.47)

                  [10] Water (Scotland) Act 1967 (c.78)

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

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

                  [13] Water Industry (Scotland) Act 2002 (2002 asp 3)

                  War Memorials

                  War Memorials in Scotland were generally organised by local committees or private individuals or churches or businesses and were usually funded by private donations or by public subscriptions. Local authorities were not empowered to raise or use funds to support the construction of war memorials, although occasionally, the effort of funding and then commissioning a memorial might be organised by the parish council at the behest of the residents it served.

                  Following the First World War, parish councils in Scotland generally took on responsibility for maintaining war memorials that had been built by public subscriptions. The War Memorials (Local Authorities’ Powers) Act 1923 enabled local authorities to ‘incur reasonable expenditure’ to maintain, repair and protect war memorials but this Act was only extended to Scotland in 1948.[1] This enabled county councils, district councils and town councils to fund the maintenance of war memorials within their boundaries and to alter existing war memorials to include subsequent conflicts: this, then allowed the local authorities to add lists of Second World War names to existing First World War memorials. War Memorial Committees are sometimes found amongst the sub-committees of Scottish local authorities, and the minutes of these give details of the administration of the memorials under their care.

                  Under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973, all local authorities – regional, district or island councils – were empowered to use the 1923 Act to fund maintenance of war memorials and were no longer restricted to those within their boundaries.[2] However, in 1982, regional councils ceased to have these powers and they were restricted to district councils and island councils.[3] Under the Local Government etc (Scotland) Act 1994 these powers were transferred to the new unitary councils.[4]

                  Records concerning war memorials are generally held by local authority archives services. The records of Sir Robert Lorimer who designed the Scottish National War Memorial and many local war memorials are held by Edinburgh University Library Special Collections.

                  The Imperial War Museum has developed a War Memorials Register.

                  Compiler: Elspeth Reid (2024)

                  Bibliography

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

                   

                  References

                  [1] War Memorials (Local Authorities’ Powers) Act 1923 (13 & 14 Geo. V c.18); Local Government Act 1948 (11 & 12 Geo. VI c.26) s.133.

                  [2] Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 (c.65) s.170.

                  [3] Local Government and Planning (Scotland) Act 1982 (c.43) s.31.

                  [4] Local Government etc (Scotland) Act 1994 (c.39) Sch. 13(s.53).

                  Voting Qualifications

                  Voting rights, and therefore inclusion in any surviving electoral rolls, were variously restricted at different times by age, gender, property ownership or length of secure tenancies, residence or academic standing. The qualifications for voting in parliamentary elections were often different from qualifications required to vote in local elections.

                  Parliamentary franchise

                  Between 1707 and 1832 the town councils of royal burghs were responsible for choosing the 15 members of parliament representing Scottish burghs while individual feudal superiors of land worth at least 40 shillings, known as freeholders, were entitled to vote for the 30 members of parliament who represented the Scottish counties.[1]

                  The 1832 Act removed the right of town councils to appoint members of parliament and instead created an electorate entirely of individuals meeting specific qualifications.[2] Voters were male property holders, either owning, life-renting or holding a lease of at least 57 years in heritable property valued at £10 or more.[3] However, the 1832 Act also permitted all who had previously had a vote to continue to hold that right to vote during their lifetime, provided they were enrolled as a Freeholder in a Shire in Scotland.[4]

                  The Representation of the People (Scotland) Act 1868 extended the franchise to any man resident in a burgh or county and either owning property or renting or lodging there unless they had been exempted from paying poor rates on the grounds of inability to pay. As both residence and ownership of a business property entitled registration as an elector, it was possible for an individual to be registered and vote in more than one constituency. The 1868 Act also created two university constituencies with voting rights given to members of the General Councils of the existing four Scottish universities.[5] The university constituencies and the business vote were abolished by the Representation of the People Act 1948.[6]

                  In 1918 the parliamentary franchise was extended to all men over 21 on the basis of residence or business and women over 30 on the same basis as men.[7] Universal suffrage was brought in by the Equal Franchise Act of 1928 which extended the vote to all women over 21 on the same basis as men.[8] In 1970 the voting age was lowered to 18 and in 2014 in Scotland the voting age was lowered to 16 for the independence referendum, later replaced by an Act to lower the age for local and Scottish Parliament elections.[9]

                  Local franchises

                  Before 1832, only royal burghs had town councils and the right to vote was generally restricted to burgesses. When burghs obtained local acts of parliament for police and improvement purposes and elected police commissioners, the right to vote was based on holding property but often set at a relatively low value.  In Dingwall all ratepayers without restriction were entitled to vote for police commissioners, in Dunfermline and Kilmarnock the franchise was set at £4 and in others it was set at £5.[10] However, the 1833 general legislation for police and parliamentary burghs set the franchise qualification at £10.[11] From 1862 the qualification in small towns was lowered to £6 and in 1872 the property value was set at £4 for school boards.[12] In 1892 the property qualification was tied to the parliamentary franchise.[13]

                  Women’s right to vote in local elections.

                  Early local and general police acts did not specify whether voting was restricted to men and at least one local police act specifically included women.[14] The General Police and Improvement (Scotland) Act, 1862, restricted voting rights to male householders.[15] However, the Education (Scotland) Act 1872 did not specify whether the voting qualification was limited to men.[16] In 1882 women who lived alone and met the property requirements were permitted to vote in burgh elections.[17] The Public Libraries Consolidation (Scotland) Act 1887 specified that the term householder included female householders and therefore gave them a right to vote on the same basis as male householders.[18] The Local Government (Scotland) Act 1889 excluded women from being elected as county councillors but gave unmarried women and women who did not live with their husbands the right to be registered as county electors.[19] The Local Government (Scotland) Act 1894 stated that married women were not excluded from being registered as electors, provided that both husband and wife were not registered for the same property and by implication women were therefore enabled to stand for election to parish councils.[20] In 1907 the right of women, regardless of marital status, to stand for election in local councils was clarified by the Qualification of Women (County and Town Councils) (Scotland) Act, 1907.[21]

                  The National Library of Scotland holds copies of electoral rolls for all of Scotland from 1946 to the present. Local authority archives services and local library services also may hold copies of modern electoral registers.  These are subject to strict access and copying regulations and there are further restrictions on access to registers less than 10 years old.

                  The survival of earlier electoral rolls is patchy.  Some may be found amongst the records of the sheriff courts, as sheriffs were responsible for electoral registration in the counties, and these are held by the National Records of Scotland. Local authority archives services may also hold odd survivals amongst other county records or in deposits and will also hold any surviving records compiled by town clerks or burgh assessors.

                  Compiler: Elspeth Reid (2021)

                  Related Knowledge Base entries

                  Electoral registration

                  Freeholders

                  Bibliography

                  Brown, Keith Mark, ‘Towards political participation and capacity: elections, voting and representation in early modern Scotland’ The Journal of Modern History 88 (2016), pp. 1-33

                  Butler, D. E., The Electoral System in Britain, 1918-1951 (Clarendon Press, 1953)

                  Ferguson, W., ‘The electoral system in the Scottish counties before 1832’ in Stair Society Miscellany II (Stair Society, 1984), pp. 261-94

                  Ferguson, W., ‘Record Sources for the Electoral History of Scotland’ Scottish Archives 4 (1998), pp. 21-31

                  Griffith, J. A. G., ‘Representation of the People Act, 1949’ The Modern Law Review 13.3 (Jul 1950), pp. 348-50

                  Hostettler, John & Brian P. Block, Voting in Britain: a history of the Parliamentary franchise (Barry Rose, c.2001)

                  Keith, Theodora, ‘Municipal elections in the royal burghs of Scotland: I. Prior to the Union’ The Scottish Historical Review, 13.50 (Jan. 1916), pp. 111-25

                  Keith, Theodora, ‘Municipal elections in the royal burghs of Scotland: II. From the Union to the Passing of the Scottish Burgh Reform Bill in 1833’ The Scottish Historical Review, 13.51 (1916), pp. 266-78

                  Leneman, Leah, A Guid cause: the women’s suffrage movement in Scotland revised edition (Mercat Press, 1995)

                  Johnston, Neil ‘The History of the Parliamentary Franchise’ (House of Commons Library Research Paper 13/14, 2013)

                  King, Elspeth, The Hidden History of Glasgow Women (Mainstream, 1993).

                   

                  References

                  [1] Neil Johnston ‘The History of the Parliamentary Franchise’ (House of Commons Library Research Paper 13/14, March 2013) p.13 <https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/RP13-14/RP13-14.pdf> [accessed 21 Apr 2021].

                  [2] Representation of the People (Scotland) Act 1832 (2 & 3 Will. IV c.65) s.10.

                  [3] Representation of the People (Scotland) Act 1832 (2 & 3 Will. IV c.65) s.9, s.11.

                  [4] Representation of the People (Scotland) Act 1832 (2 & 3 Will. IV c.65) s.6.

                  [5] Representation of the People (Scotland) Act 1868 (c.48).

                  [6] Representation of the People Act 1948 (11 & 12 Geo. VI c.65).

                  [7] Representation of the People Act 1918 (7 & 8 Geo. V c.64).

                  [8] Representation of the People (Equal Franchise) Act 1928 (18 & 19 Geo. V c.12).

                  [9] Representation of the People Act 1969 (c.15); Scottish Independence Referendum (Franchise) Act 2013 (asp 13); Scottish Elections (Reduction of Voting Age) Act 2015 (asp 7).

                  [10] David G. Barrie Police in the Age of Improvement (Willan, 2008) p.132.

                  [11] Burgh Police (Scotland) Act 1833 (3 & 4 Will IV c.46) s.9; Parliamentary Burghs (Scotland) Act 1833 (3 & 4 Will. IV c. 77) s2.

                  [12] General Police and Improvement Act (Scotland) 1862 (25 & 26 Vict. c.101) s.3; Education (Scotland) Act 1872 (35 & 36 Vict. c.62) s.12(2).

                  [13] Burgh Police (Scotland) Act 1892 (55 & 56 Vict. c.55) s.4 (14).

                  [14] Gorbals Police Act, 1843 (43 George III c. 42); David G. Barrie Police in the Age of Improvement, p.136.

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

                  [16] Education (Scotland) Act 1872 (35 & 36 Vict. c.62) s.12(2).

                  [17] General Police and Improvement (Scotland) Act 1882 (45 & 46 Vict. c.6).

                  [18] Public Libraries Consolidation (Scotland) Act 1887 (50 & 51 Vict. c 42) s.2.

                  [19] Local Government (Scotland) Act 1889 (52 & 53 Vict. c.50) s.9(1), s.28(2)(i).

                  [20] Local Government (Scotland) Act 1894 (57 & 58 Vict. c.58) s.11.

                  [21] Qualification of Women (County and Town Councils) (Scotland) Act 1907 (7 Edw. VII. c. 48).