Emigration

Scots have been emigrating to other parts of Europe and beyond since the middle ages. Over two million people left Scotland for North America, Australia and other colonies in the 19th and 20th centuries.

Early Scottish Emigrants

Scots appear to have been among the earliest European travellers: the Norse saga of Leif Erikson recounts that on a voyage to what is now assumed to be North America around the year 1000AD, two Scots were the first to be sent ashore to explore the New World. Scots took part in the First Crusade in the 1090s and some may have survived to settle in Palestine. Throughout the Middle Ages, thousands of Scots emigrated, both temporarily and permanently, to England, Scandinavia, Poland and the low countries, as mercenary soldiers, pedlars, and merchants. In the 17th century the Scottish diaspora turned westward with the settlement of the Ulster plantation from 1609 and the opening up of the New World, especially after the Union of Parliaments in 1707. The Union also gave Scots improved access to opportunities in Africa and the East Indies, in the form of appointments to the civil administration, missionary churches and, not least, the army and navy. Not all emigrants were voluntary. In the 17th century many Covenanters were banished to the North American colonies. Their descendants were joined by Jacobites captured in the 1715 and 1745 rebellions. Transportation of convicted criminals to North America continued until 1776. Between 1787 and 1868 many Scottish criminals, including radicals from the 1820 uprising, were transported to Australia.

Mass emigration in the 19th and 20th centuries

The trickle of emigrants leaving Scotland became a flood from the middle of the 19^th century until the third decade of the 20th century. It is estimated that over 44 million emigrants left Europe between 1821 and 1915, over two million of them Scots. The most important factor in the advent of mass emigration was the development of the steam engine. Steamships could cross the Atlantic in a week compared to a sailing ship crossing of six weeks. Rapidly expanding railway networks in Scotland and in North America allowed people to travel rapidly both to ports of departure and away from ports of arrival. Emigration was facilitated by specialist ‘passenger line’ steamship companies; newspaper advertising; the improvement in communications brought about by the creation of postal services and the telegraph; and British government encouragement via emigration societies.

Emigration from Scotland was actively encouraged in the 19th century by the British government, both in the form of government grant for emigration to certain colonies and by the publication of accurate information about the colonies and how to get there. In addition to government sponsored emigration societies, others were established by charitable societies. Individual landowners, especially in the Highlands, encouraged many of their tenants to emigrate (although others were concerned by population decrease caused by mass emigration). Poor relief authorities occasionally paid the passage of paupers, especially children, as an alternative to supporting them in the parish or sending them to the poorhouse. The Emigrants Information Office was established in 1886 for supplying intending emigrants with useful and trustworthy information respecting emigration, chiefly to the British Colonies. Its circulars, which were distributed to public libraries, included information about climate, travel, vaccinations required, and occupations especially desired in various colonies.

From Highlands and Lowlands

The popular image of the emigrant Scot is of a refugee from the Highland clearances, and in the first half of 19th century emigrants from the Highlands and Islands made up a disproportionate amount of the total number of people leaving Scotland. However, there were many reasons for emigration, and emigrants came from all areas of Scotland. In the later 19th century emigration to the USA was predominantly from towns, while Canada, Australia and New Zealand attracted tenant farmers and farm servants. Although poverty and land hunger account for a high proportion of emigrants, many skilled and semi-skilled urban tradesmen were inspired to emigrate for periods of a year or less to take advantage of high wages at certain times in growing American towns. Indeed, it is estimated that by the end of the 19th century around a third of emigrants returned to Scotland sooner or later. Among the most famous emigrants were the industrialist Andrew Carnegie and the author Robert Louis Stevenson. The latter emigrated to the United States in 1879, publishing an account of the crossing, The Amateur Emigrant, in 1883, and a moving account of an emigrant ship sailing from Lochaber in the mid-18th century appears in his novel Kidnapped.

Contributors: Rosemary Gibson, Alison Rosie, David Brown, Tristram Clarke, Alison Lindsay (all National Archives of Scotland, 2002); Fiona MacLeod (Highland Archive 2002); Robin Urquhart, Joanna Baird (both SCAN 2002). Editors: David Brown (NRS, 2021) and Elspeth Reid (2021)

Bibliography

Cage, R. A. ed., The Scots Abroad: labour, capital, enterprise, 1750-1914 (Croom Helm, 1985)

Devine, T. M. ed., Scottish Emigration and Scottish Society (Edinburgh, 1992)

Donnachie, Ian, ‘Scottish criminals and transportation to Australia, 1786-1852’ Scottish Social and Economic History 4 (1984) pp. 21-38

Donnachie, Ian, ‘The convicts of 1830: Scottish criminals transported to New South Wales’ The Scottish Historical Review LXV, 1, (179) (Apr 1986) pp. 34-47

McLeod, Mona, Leaving Scotland (National Museums of Scotland, 1996)

NRS have published a series of source lists (under previous corporate names):

National Archives of Scotland, Sources for emigrants (National Archives of Scotland, 2008)

Gibson, Rosemary M. and Jane Hill, The Scots in New Zealand : historical background, list of documents, extracts and facsimiles. (Scottish Record Office, 1994)

Sanderson, Margaret H. B. and Alison Lindsay, The Scots in America: historical background, list of documents, extracts and facsimiles. (Scottish Record Office, 1994)

Scottish Record Office, The Scots in Canada: historical background, list of documents, extracts and facsimiles. (Scottish Record Office, 1996)

Scottish Record Office, The Scots in Australia: historical background, list of documents, extracts and facsimiles. (Scottish Record Office, 1994)

Related Knowledge Base entries

Passenger Lists

All
Emigration

My ancestor emigrated from Scotland. How can I trace information about him/her?

If you have not already done so, you should check out the Knowledge Base family history pages. These give advice on how to start tracing Scottish ancestors and some things you should bear in mind.

Information you will need.

Before coming to Scotland to research an emigrant ancestor, you should gather as much information about him or her from the country he or she emigrated to.

To trace your ancestor in Scotland, you will need to know his or her name, when he or she left Scotland, and as much associated information as you can assemble, such as the name of the parish he or she came from or married in, the names of other members of the family in Scotland, and your ancestor’s occupation.

Join a family history society.

Before coming to Scotland or hiring a Scottish researcher, you should consider joining a family history society. There are many of these in different parts of Scotland. Their members undertake a small amount of research on behalf of members abroad, and this help (by experienced local genealogists) may be crucial to tracing a family tree quickly and efficiently in Scotland. The Scottish Association of Family History Societies (SAFHS) is the umbrella organisation which provides links and contact details for all the family history societies on their website. <https://safhs.org.uk/> [accessed 24 April 2024]

Passenger Lists and Immigration records

Try to obtain information about the journey to the new country from passenger lists or immigration records in the country of arrival. Look at the Knowledge Base entry on Passenger Lists for further information.

Transportation

If your ancestor was sentenced to transportation, after being convicted of a criminal offence, look at the FAQs How do I find the trial records and other records of someone transported to Australia or New Zealand? and How do I find the trial record of someone transported to North America? for further information.

Where will I find information about emigration societies and other bodies which assisted emigrants?

Very few records of emigration societies survive. However, it is possible to compile information about the activities of emigration societies and other similar bodies through a variety of sources.

Glasgow City Archives hold the records of Glasgow Parish Council, which collected the reports of charitable and other bodies, including emigration societies. There are more than 30 volumes of these collected miscellaneous reports (reference T-PAR1) on open access in the search room, and the contents of each volume are worth checking. They include examples of the Emigrants Information Office circulars, a pamphlet of 1906 giving the text of a lecture by General Booth on Emigration and the Salvation Army. The emigration to Canada of poor law children is addressed in a pamphlet produced by the State Children’s Association. A report on the Child Emigration Society includes details of farm schools in Australia. Further sources of information can be found by searching under the word ‘emigration’ in the Archives’ card-file index and on the computer index. The History and Glasgow Room (the local studies library for Glasgow, in the same building as Glasgow City Archives) holds copies of handbooks for emigrants and a copy of Robert Lamond, A Narrative of the Rise and Progress of Emigration from the Counties of Lanark and Renfrew to new settlements in Upper Canada on Government Grant (Glasgow, 1821).

National Records of Scotland hold the records of the Highland and Island Emigration Society (HD4/5) and these are available on the ScotlandsPeople website <www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk> [accessed 24 April 2024]. The records include a list of nearly 5,000 emigrants to Australia who were sponsored by the between the years 1852 and 1857. The NRS online catalogue can be searched for material in privately deposited records using the terms ‘emigration’, ‘emigrant’, ‘emigrants’ and other terms you think relevant. Details of a state-aided scheme to encourage emigration from Lewis and Harris to Manitoba in the period 1888-1889, survive in the records of the Agriculture and Fisheries Department records (AF51).

Local newspapers contain adverts placed by some emigration societies and other bodies assisting emigration. These can be searched through the British Newspaper Archive (available free of charge in the National Library of Scotland or with a subscription elsewhere) <https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/> [accessed 24 April 2024]. Local archives or libraries may have collections of other local newspapers.

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 7^th 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: <https://webarchive.nrscotland.gov.uk/20240326181158/https://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 7^th edition (Birlinn, 2020) and/or look at the research guides for court and legal records on the website. <https://webarchive.nrscotland.gov.uk/20240326182510mp_/https://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 2^nd 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 7^th 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 2^nd 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)

Where can I obtain photographs and other illustrations of emigrants and emigrant ships leaving Scotland?

For photographs of the ports of Glasgow and Greenock, which handled the vast majority of Scottish passenger steamer sailings, the fullest source is the Clyde Navigation Trust collection, which is held by Glasgow City Archives. Many of the Clyde Navigation Trust images have been published in John F Riddell, ‘Clyde Navigation: a history of the development and deepening of the river Clyde’ (Edinburgh, 1979).

Other photographs of Glasgow’s docks, especially the Broomielaw, which was the starting point for many transatlantic voyages, can be viewed online in the Virtual Mitchell website at: <https://www.mitchelllibrary.org/virtualmitchell/> [accessed 24 April 2024].

Perhaps the largest selection of photographs and other illustrations of emigrants, particularly to the USA, is the Bettmann Archive, of New York; founded by an emigrant from Germany. Many of the Bettmann Archive images have been published. Online access is available at: <https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/bettmann> [accessed 24 April 2024]

Where can I obtain a photograph or illustration of a specific emigrant-carrying ship?

If you do not know the name of the ship concerned, you should find this out from passenger lists or emigration records in the country of arrival. For more information see the Knowledge Base entry on Passenger Lists (under ‘Record Types’).

Once you know the name of the ship you should find out more details from Lloyd’s Register of Shipping. <Lloyd’s Register Of Ships Online | Archive & Library | Heritage & Education Centre (lrfoundation.org.uk)> [accessed 24 April 2024]. This is published annually and includes the name of each ship, the date of launch, the name of the shipyard that built her, the yard number (this helps you find information about a ship from shipyard records), and any previous names the ship had. Once you have the date of launch, the name of the shipyard, and the yard number, you should look in one of three places for a photograph: records of the shipbuilder (if they survive), records of industrial photographers, and composite collections in libraries and archives.

Shipbuilders’ records

If the ship was built in a shipyard outside Britain you should take the advice of archivists in the country concerned. If it was built in Britain then look for the relevant archives by using the Archives Hub <https://archiveshub.jisc.ac.uk/> and Discovery <https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/> [both accessed 24 April 2024]. An older book may also help but records may have been deposited in other archives services since it was published: L A Ritchie, The Shipbuilding Industry: a guide to historical records (Manchester University Press, 1992).

Industrial Photographers

If your ship was built in Scotland after the 1920s there may be photographs of her among the records of industrial photographers, who covered ship launches, trials and refits. The largest collection in Scotland is that of the firm of William Ralston & Co, which covered many of the launches, refits and trials of ships built in Glasgow and in other yards on the river Clyde. The collection is held by Glasgow City Archives. To check this collection you will, in most cases, need to know the name of the shipyard that built or refitted the ship. Other collections are held by Historic Environment Scotland.

Composite Collections

Photographic collections assembled by shipping enthusiasts or maritime institutions sometimes find their way to archives and libraries. For Scottish built ships the following repositories may be worth checking:

National Maritime Museum, Greenwich <https://www.rmg.co.uk/collections> [accessed 24 April 2024]

Scottish Maritime Museum, Irvine <https://www.scottishmaritimemuseum.org/collections/> [accessed 24 April 2024]

Glasgow University Archives, especially the Adamson Robertson Collection (DC101) and the Photomarine Collection (DC113) <https://www.gla.ac.uk/myglasgow/archivespecialcollections/> [accessed 24 April 2024]

Glasgow City Libraries (the Langmuir Collection and Wotherspoon Collection)

Glasgow City Archives holds the photographic collection of the Clyde Navigation Trust and maintains a card-file index of Clyde-built ships, with notes on photographs and illustrations). <https://www.glasgowlife.org.uk/libraries/city-archives/collections> [accessed 24 April 2024]

Electoral registration

The earliest form of electoral registration in Scotland was the annual roll of freeholders, compiled under the County Franchise Act of 1681.[1]

The duty of preparing registers of persons entitled to vote in parliamentary or local elections in the counties was effectively given to sheriffs in 1832 by the Representation of the People (Scotland) Act 1832. This introduced the requirement in counties for sheriff clerks to provide parish schoolmasters with claim forms for individuals to be registered, for the sheriff clerk to determine eligibility of voters and for the schoolmaster in each parish to publish the resulting electoral roll annually by fixing it to the church door. [2] A similar process was administered by town clerks in the burghs.[3]

In 1856 responsibility for compiling the annual electoral register in burghs was given to an assessor appointed by the burgh for that purpose and the assessor was disqualified from voting in any parliamentary or municipal election in that burgh.[4] In 1861 the County Voters Registration (Scotland) Act gave responsibility for drawing up electoral rolls in counties to the lands valuation assessors who had been appointed under the provisions of the Valuation of Lands (Scotland) Act 1854.[5]

The Representation of the People Act 1948 required counties and large burghs to appoint their assessor as the electoral registration officer.[6] This provision was continued in the Representation of the People Act 1949 which consolidated all existing legislation about electoral registration and the franchise into a single Act.[7] Electoral registers were to be compiled every six months.

The Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 amended the Representation of the People Act 1949 to require regional and islands councils to appoint an electoral registration officer.[8]

The Representation of the People Act 1983 required every Scottish local authority to appoint an officer of the authority to be registration officer. Local authorities could combine to appoint an officer, and this enabled districts and regions to combine to appoint an electoral registration officer during the two-tier system.[9] In practice, most local authorities appointed the local assessor under the Valuation Acts to be the electoral registration officer for the area.

Conducting elections

Responsibilities for conducting elections were separated from electoral registration. From 1832 until 1977, sheriff clerks and town clerks continued to have responsibilities for determining polling places, polling districts and the recording and counting of votes. This changed when the Returning Officers (Scotland) Act 1977 transferred the administration of elections to local authorities who were required to appoint an officer as the Returning Officer.[10]

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 deposits and will also hold any surviving records compiled by town clerks or burgh assessors.

Compiler: Elspeth Reid (2021)

Related Knowledge Base entries

Voting qualifications

Freeholders

Bibliography

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 (1950), pp. 348-50

References

[1] Act concerning the election of commissioners for shires, 1681. The Records of the Parliaments of Scotland to 1707, ed. by K.M. Brown and others (University of St Andrews, 2007-2021), 1681/7/45 <http://rps.ac.uk/trans/1681/7/45> [accessed 19 May 2021]

[2] Representation of the People (Scotland) Act 1832 (2 & 3 Will. IV c.65) s.13.

[3] Representation of the People (Scotland) Act 1832 (2 & 3 Will. IV c.65) s.15.

[4] Burgh Voters’ Registration (Scotland) Act 1856 (19 & 20 Vict. c.58).

[5] County Voters Registration (Scotland) Act 1861(24 & 25 Vict. c.83).

[6] Representation of the People Act 1948 (11 & 12 Geo. VI c.65) s.4(3).

[7] Representation of the People Act 1949 (12 & 13 Geo. VI c. 68).

[8] Local Government (Scotland) Act 18973 (c.65) Sch.3.

[9] Representation of the People Act 1983 (c.2) s.8(3).

[10] Returning Officers (Scotland) Act 1977 (c.14).

Education

Education

Prior to 1872 public education in Scotland was administered by the heritors and kirk session of a parish and the town councils of burghs.[1] Additional schools were set up by churches and charitable organisations while many families, who could afford to do so, paid for the services of private tutors. Industrial schools for homeless children and reformatory schools for children considered to be offenders were also established in the 19th century.[2] Churches, charitable institutions and others also sometimes provided education and training within their children’s homes.

The Education (Scotland) Act, 1872 set up a system of elected school boards to administer local schools.[3] School boards were usually set up for each parish and each royal and parliamentary burgh. The Act also established the Scotch Education Department (renamed Scottish Education Department in 1918 and based in London until 1939) as a central government authority which issued instructions to local school boards via circulars and the Scotch Code of Education.

From 1872, parents had a duty to ensure their children had elementary education from ages 5-13 (extended to age 14 in 1883).[4] While attendance at state school was the norm, this was not (and still is not) mandatory as long as parents provided the education to the required standard through other means. From 1878 until 1901 children aged 10-13 could be exempted from this requirement if they had a certificate attesting a minimum level of education.[5] In 1918 there was provision for the school leaving age to be raised to 15 but this was not implemented until 1936 and quickly repealed in 1939 before being raised to 15 in 1945.[6] The school leaving age was raised to 16 in 1972.[7]

Schools in 1872 were funded partly by local rates and partly by pupil fees. The Local Government (Scotland) Act 1889 established free elementary education but continued to permit fees to be charged for some or all classes in a limited number of schools.[8] The ability to charge fees in this limited way was repeated in subsequent legislation and has been used for classes such as individual instrumental tuition.[9]

The next major administrative change was the Education (Scotland) Act 1918 which abolished elected school boards and replaced them with elected education authorities in every county and five named burghs.[10] These education authorities were required to set up school management committees for the management of individual schools or groups of schools. The Act also enabled denominational schools to become part of the state educational system.[11]

Under the Local Authority (Scotland) Act, 1929, the responsibilities of the education authority were transferred to the four counties of cities (Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow) and to the county councils which became responsible for education in all burghs, large or small.[12] The Education (Scotland) Act 1945 placed a duty on education authorities to provide primary, secondary and further education and required the appointment of a Director of Education.[13] School management committees were replaced with education sub-committees or local education sub-committees by the Local Government (Scotland) Act, 1947.[14]

The Local Government (Scotland) Act, 1973, transferred the duties of county councils for education to regional and island councils in 1975.[15] The Local Government etc (Scotland) Act 1994 transferred education to the new unitary councils and removed the obligation to appoint a Director of Education (ie: a single named chief officer).[16]

School records should be held in the local authority archives service which covers the area that the school was located within. Education authority records are likely to be in the successor local authority archives service which holds regional council or county council records for the geographic area, but copies may be held in other successor local authority archives services. National Records of Scotland holds the records of the Scottish Education Department (reference codes ED) which include inspection reports of schools (ED16-ED18, ED32, ED41), school statistical returns (ED21), leaving examination results (ED36), Departmental Circulars which advised and instructed schools (ED44), training of teachers (ED51) and other education matters.

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

Related Knowledge Base entries

Further Education

Higher Education

Education authorities (1918-1930)

School Boards

School Management Committees

Education records

Children’s records

Industrial Schools, Borstals and Young Offenders Institutions

Young offenders and children in the justice system

Care of children, young people and families

Bibliography

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

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

Bain, Andrew, Education in Stirlingshire from the Reformation to the Act of 1872 (University of London Press, 1965)

Craigie, James, A Bibliography of Scottish Education before 1872 (University of London Press/Scottish Council for Research in Education, 1970)

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

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

Marker, Willis B., ‘Sources for the history of Scottish teacher education in the twentieth century’, Scottish Archives 3 (1997), pp. 69-76

Moore, Lindy, ‘Researching the Education of Middle-Class Girls’ Scottish Archives, 3 (1997), pp. 77-86

Sinclair, Cecil, Tracing Scottish Local History (HMSO, 1994)

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

Withrington, Donald J., ‘Sources for Scottish Schooling before 1872: challenges and opportunities’ Scottish Archives 3 (1997), pp. 49-60

The National Records of Scotland website has information about education sources, including school inspection reports, government records and the records of educational bodies. <https://webarchive.nrscotland.gov.uk/20240326182548/https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/research/research-guides/research-guides-a-z/education-records> [accessed 26 April 2024]

References

[1] Act for the Settling of Schools, 1696. The Records of the Parliaments of Scotland to 1707, ed. by K.M. Brown and others (University of St Andrews, 2007-2021), 1696/9/144 <http://www.rps.ac.uk/trans/1696/9/144> [accessed 6 August 2021]; Act to reform schools, 1803 (43 Geo. III c.54).

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

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

[4] Education (Scotland) Act 1883 (46 & 47 Vict. c.56).

[5] Education (Scotland) Act 1878 (41 & 42 Vict. c.78).

[6] Education (Scotland) Act, 1918 (8 Edw. VII c.63) s.14; Education (Scotland) Act 1936 (26 Geo. V & 1 Edw. VIII c.42); Education (Emergency) Scotland Act 1939 (2 & 3 Geo. VI c.112); Education (Scotland) Act 1945 (8 & 9 Geo. VI c.37) s.23.

[7] The Raising of the School Leaving Age (Scotland) Regulations 1972 (SI 1972 No 59 (S.6)).

[8] Local Government (Scotland) Act 1889 (52 & 53 Vict. c.50) s.88.

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

[10] Education (Scotland) Act 1918 (8 Edw. VII c.63).

[11] Education (Scotland) Act 1918 (8 Edw. VII c.63) s.18.

[12] Local Government (Scotland) Act 1929 (19 & 20 Geo. V c.25).

[13] Education (Scotland) Act 1945 (8 &9 Geo. VI c.37).

[14] Local Government (Scotland) Act 1949 (10 & 11 Geo. VI c.43) s.106.

[15] Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 (c.65) s.123.

[16] Local Government etc (Scotland) Act 1994 (c.39) Sch.13 s.92 (17) (a).

Death and disposal of dead

Records relating to death and disposal of the dead in Scottish archives are used by a wide variety of researchers, including genealogists, social historians, demographers, and medical historians. Registration of death by civil authorities began in Scotland in 1855 and since then it has been mandatory for deaths of individuals to be registered with civil registrars. Prior to 1855, apart from the Church, very few corporate bodies were interested in recording deaths per se, and records of burials or some other aspect of death, such as succession to property after death, are more common. Sudden deaths in Scotland are investigated by procurators fiscal (local state-funded prosecutors) and since 1895 sheriff courts have carried out fatal accident inquiries in certain cases.

Disposal of the dead

Burial was the main method of disposal of the dead in Scotland until the 20th century when cremation became an accepted alternative. Gravestones and monuments were erected on many Scottish burial grounds.

Body-snatching was a relatively brief phenomenon in the late-18th and early-19th centuries, effectively stamped out by the Anatomy Act of 1832. However, concerns over this risk led to the development of mortsafes.

Succession to property after death

Property in Scotland is divided into heritable property (land, buildings etc) and movable property (cash, clothing, goods etc). Succession to, and disposal of, heritable and movable property in Scotland was quite strictly controlled until fairly recent times.

Other related Knowledge Base entries

Burial

Cremation

Death registers of Catholic churches

Hospital registers of death

Mortcloths

Records of municipal and private cemeteries

Records of undertakers and monumental masons

Procurators fiscal and Fatal Accident Inquiries

Property records

Graverobbing

Bibliography

Adams, Norman, Dead and Buried: The Horrible History of Body Snatching (Aberdeen University Press, 1972)

Bailey, James Blake, The Diary of a Resurrectionist, 1811-1812 (London, 1896)

Bennet, Margaret, Scottish Customs from the Cradle to the Grave (Birlinn, 2004)

Black, Jimmy and Michael T. R. B. Turnbull, The Glasgow Graveyard Guide revised edition (In Pinn, 2011)

Gordon, Anne, Death is for the Living (Harris, 1984)

Love, Dane, Scottish Kirkyards (Robert Hale Ltd, 1989)

Martin, Andrew (compiler), Scottish Endings: writings on death (National Museums of Scotland, 1996)

Ross, Ian and Carol Urquhart, ‘Body Snatching in Nineteenth Century Britain: from exhumation to murder’ in British Journal of Law and Society, 6(1) (1979) pp. 108-18

Sinclair, Cecil, Jock Tamsons Bairns: a history of the records of the GROS (HMSO, 2000).

Turnbull, Michael T. R. B., The Edinburgh Graveyard Guide (Saint Andrew Press, 1991)

Willsher, Betty, Understanding Scottish graveyards revised edition (National Museums of Scotland, 2005)

Links

There are illustrations of many types of gravestones and mortsafes on Canmore, <https://canmore.org.uk/> [accessed 21 May 2021] which is part of Historic Environment Scotland.

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Death and disposal of dead

Where should I look for information about, or records of, mortcloths?

References to payments for mortcloths (along with payments for coffins or digging the grave of named persons may appear in kirk session minutes and accounts, heritors’ minutes and accounts, and old parish registers. By recording a payment for a mortcloth, these may provide the approximate date of death for the deceased.

There are occasional references to mortcloths in kirk session minutes. Kirk session minutes have been digitised and are available to browse free of charge on the ScotlandsPeople website (there are fees for downloading). The National Records of Scotland (NRS) online catalogue shows the location of the original records, including those held by local archives services, along with any access conditions. Several hours might be required to read through the minutes, looking for references to mortcloths.

Heritors’ minutes and accounts may also contain records of mortcloths. Almost all surviving heritors’ minutes are held by the NRS. Although heritors’ minutes and accounts are not usually as voluminous as kirk session minutes, they also require a lot of research time, in searching through unindexed volumes.

Prior to 1855 the principal source of information about deaths in Scotland is the collection of Old Parish Registers (OPRs) of baptisms, marriages and burials held by NRS. For more information about OPRs and how to search for these online, go to the ScotlandsPeople website.

What was a mortcloth?

A mortcloth (from the Latin word mors, mortis, meaning ‘death’) was a form of pall, i.e. a large cloth (usually black) thrown over a coffin or corpse at a funeral. Mortcloths were kept by kirk sessions (church courts in each parish). Some were more elaborate than others, and a wealthier parish might have more than one (including a small one for corpses of children). They were hired, usually by the family or next of kin of the deceased, to cover the coffin (if a coffin could be afforded), or the corpse itself (if a coffin could not be afforded).

As the kirk session was responsible for poor relief until 1845, it might allow use of a mortcloth without charge, if the deceased or his family were paupers. For example an act of the kirk session of Penicuik (National Records of Scotland, reference GD18/3980) records that a velvet mortcloth was purchased in 1670 for £192 and 19 shillings Scots, and that those who contributed to the cost were allowed use of it for free. Otherwise it was hired out for 2 shillings and 6 pence Scots for burials in the parish, and 40 shillings Scots for burials outwith the parish.

In the 18th and 19th centuries some people formed or joined friendly societies, paying subscriptions which paid for future funeral expenses. For example, the rules of the Haddington Mortcloth Society, 1833, survive in the National Records of Scotland (reference GD302/142).

What was a mortsafe?

A mortsafe was an iron grill or cage placed over a grave until decomposition started and the body was in no danger of being stolen by resurrectionists.

What was a morthouse or a watch box?

A morthouse (from the Latin word mors, mortis, meaning ‘death’) or watch box was a structure erected for the temporary security of the dead, until decomposition started and the body was in no danger of being stolen by resurrectionists. In 1818 an undertaker, Edward Bridgman, patented a wrought-iron coffin, to deter bodysnatchers. However, it met with controversy, as people were worried that iron caskets would block burial plots.

Where should I look for information about, or records of, mortsafes, morthouses or watch boxes?

Recourse should first be made to published parish histories and the best place to look for these is normally the local studies library for the area concerned. Historic Environment Scotland has information about buildings, monuments and other structures in over 1,000 graveyards in Scotland, some of which is accessible on Canmore, <https://canmore.org.uk/> [accessed 26 April 2024].

The best place to look for references to mortsafes in original records would be either in kirk session records or heritors records, although in both cases references are rare.

Minute books survive for most kirk sessions. There are occasional references to mortsafes in kirk session minutes. Kirk session minutes have been digitised and are available to browse free of charge on the ScotlandsPeople website (there are fees for downloading). The National Records of Scotland online catalogue shows the location of the original records, including those held by local archives services, along with any access conditions. Several hours might be required to read through the minutes, looking for references to mortsafes, morthouses and watch boxes.

Heritors’ minutes and accounts may also contain records of mortsafes, morthouses and watch boxes. Almost all surviving heritors’ minutes are held by the NRS. Although heritors’ minutes and accounts are not usually as voluminous as kirk session minutes, they also require a lot of research time, in searching through unindexed volumes.

Where should I look for information about, or records of, churchyard watching societies?

Look first in published parish histories. The best place to look for these is normally the local studies library for the area concerned. The best place to look for references to churchyard watching societies in original records would be either in kirk session records, heritors’ records, and private records, although in each of these references are few and far between.

There are occasional references to watching societies in kirk session minutes. Kirk session minutes have been digitised and are available to browse free of charge on the ScotlandsPeople website (there are fees for downloading). The National Records of Scotland (NRS) online catalogue shows the location of the original records, including those held by local archives services, along with any access conditions. Several hours might be required to read through the minutes, looking for references to watching societies.

Heritors’ minutes and accounts may also contain records of watching societies. For example, the records of the Heritors of Liberton parish contain an advertisement for a watchman (ref: HR153/1/1). Almost all surviving heritors’ minutes are held by the NRS. Although heritors’ minutes and accounts are not usually as voluminous as kirk session minutes, they also require a lot of research time, in searching through unindexed volumes.

There is a small chance that information about watching societies in a particular area may survive among the records of families, estates and legal firms from that area deposited at the NRS or at local authority or university archives. For example in a bundle of 39 items in the Strathern & Blair WS collection in the NRS (ref: GD.314/114) there is material on the Traquair Churchyard Waiting Society, later the Traquair Watch House Society 1821-1879. Advice should be sought from staff at the NRS and local archives as to which collections should be checked.

Do records of coroners’ inquests survive in Scotland?

The Scottish system of investigating sudden deaths differs from the system of coroner’s inquests in England and Wales. Sudden deaths in Scotland are investigated by procurators fiscal (local state-funded prosecutors). The findings of investigations by the local procurator fiscal are recorded in the Register of Corrected Entries maintained by the National Records of Scotland (NRS), but few other records of the Procurator Fiscal service are deposited in Scottish archives. NRS hold records of Fatal Accident Inquiries held by sheriff courts (since 1895). There are fewer sources for fatal accidents before 1895. For more information about these, and for further details about Fatal Accident Inquiries, sheriff court records and the records of procurators fiscal go to the National Records of Scotland website. <https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/> [accessed 24 April 2024] and see also the Knowledge Base entry on Procurators Fiscal records and Fatal Accident Inquiries.

What are bills of mortality?

Bills of mortality are abstracts from death registers showing the numbers of people who have died in a place, parish, burgh, island, country, or some other part of the country, during a given year or some other period of time. Examples survive from the 17^th century onwards. The form that these take and the amount of information within any bill of mortality depended on the purposes of the bill and the practice of the body or individual who compiled it. Some bills of mortality are purely statistical and were devised and published to provide information on the progress of certain diseases. Some parishes in Scotland kept separate bills of mortality in the form of a list of those who died in the parish in any given year, giving the date of death, the name and sometimes the designation and age of each of the deceased. They survive (for some parishes) among old parish registers (OPRs), in some cases as an alternative to registers of death or burial. Prior to 1855 the principal source of information about deaths in Scotland is the collection of OPRs of baptisms, marriages and burials held by National Records of Scotland. For more information about OPRs and how to search for these online, go to the ScotlandsPeople website. <https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/> [accessed 24 April 2024]

Days, Dates and Calendars

There have been many changes to the calendar which affect the dating of documents in Scotland. During the middle ages the calendar did not conform to the solar year. Different countries solved the discrepancy by adopting the new ‘Gregorian’ calendar at different times. This leads to problems for the historian.

Medieval Calendar

The Julian calendar (introduced by Julius Caesar in 45 BC) was used throughout Europe until 1582. A standard year had 365 days, and every fourth year (a ‘leap year’) had an extra day, in order to match the calendar year to the solar year (i.e. the time taken for the earth to orbit the sun, calculated by classical astronomers as 365 ¼ days). This method of fixing the date was known as ‘Old Style’. In medieval Europe, including Scotland, the beginning of the year was usually 25 March (the feast of the Annunciation), so that the day after 24 March 1490 was 25 March 1491.

Gregorian Calendar

Medieval scholars noted that the year of 365¼ days was a slight overestimate, and by the 16th century this had caused a discrepancy of 10 days. Pope Gregory XIII corrected the error by cutting 10 days from the calendar in 1582 (so that 15 October 1582 followed 4 October 1582) and reformed the calendar to make the end year of every fourth century a leap year. The calendar became known as the ‘Gregorian Calendar’ after Pope Gregory, and dates calculated by the Gregorian Calendar are described as New Style. In addition, he decreed that the year should begin on 1 January. However, Pope Gregory’s reformation of the calendar was not accepted by most protestant states until the 18th century (and the 20th century in Russia, the Balkans and Greece). Scotland adopted the change to the start of the year in 1599 (31 December 1599 was followed by 1 January 1600). In the rest of the British Isles the change did not take place until 1 January 1752, under Chesterfield’s Act (24 Geo. II, c.23), which also removed the eleven days required to bring the British Isles (including Scotland) into New Style (2 September 1752 was followed by 14 September 1752). Some correspondents in the 17th and 18th centuries would actually mark two dates on a letter, e.g. ’17/29 March 1642′, to take account of the different calendars operating in different parts of Europe.

Problems for the historian

The historian may have problems correlating dates from different countries: e.g. a letter written in Scotland in February 1625 could be received in England in February 1624. In Scotland it is the custom among archivists and historians to use double dating for dates including the months of January – March prior to 1600, e.g. documents dated 10 March 1586 and 27 March 1587 should be written ’10 March 1586/87′ (or ’10 March 1586/1587’) and ’27 March 1587′, respectively.

The calendar in use in Scotland can be summarised as follows:

45BC – October 1582 AD Julian Calendar. Beginning of year was usually 25 March

October 1582 AD – 1599 AD Julian Calendar. Beginning of year was usually 25 March. (Some parts of Europe, but not Scotland, now used Gregorian calendar and 1 January as beginning of year).

1600AD – September 1752 AD Julian: but beginning of the year was 1 January. (25 March was still the beginning of the year in England and some other parts of Europe).

September 1752 AD – present Gregorian calendar. Beginning of the year is 1 January for all the British Isles.

Another problem facing historians of the later middle ages and early modern periods in Scotland, is that clerks sometimes employed a way of writing dates which look distinctly odd to the modern reader. This is the form of dating which, instead of using Arabic numerals (e.g. ’23rd June 1632′), used a corrupt Latin form (e.g. 23rd June JajvjC† and threttie twa yeiris). This kind of date, as illustrated in image 2, looks odd to us because they are a mixture of bad Latin and longhand numbers in Scots.

Contributors: Robin Urquhart, Alan Borthwick (both SCAN, 2002)

Bibliography

Cheney, C. R. (ed.) Handbook of Dates for Students of English History (Cambridge University Press, 1995)

David Ewing Duncan, The Calendar: the 5000-year struggle to align the clock and the heavens – and what happened to the missing ten days (Fourth Estate,1998)

A double date from a document written in Campveere in the Netherlands and sent to Scotland on 21st February 1651 (according to the Gregorian Calendar operating at Campvere) but this was 11th February 1651 (according to the Julian calendar operating in Scotland at that time). From a document in the National Records of Scotland (reference: GD40/2/16).

An example of a Jaj date (‘Jajvijc† and eight yeares’): 1708

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Days dates and calendars

How can I find out what weekday a certain date fell on?

There are three main options: calendars on software packages, newspapers and directories or the Handbook of Dates.

Calendars on software packages

Some personal organiser packages for computers include calendar or diary functions which are back-dated by several centuries. However, these simply extend the current (Gregorian) calendar back to the earliest date in the package. This means that the calendar on your computer diverges from the calendar which operated in Scotland prior to 14 September 1752. For dates prior to 14 September 1752, you will need to consult Handbook of Dates for Students of English History ed. by C. R. Cheney (Cambridge University Press, 1995).

Newspapers and directories

If it is a date in the 19th or 20th centuries you should look at the back copy of a newspaper for that date. Many newspapers are now available through the British Newspaper Archive website (available free of charge in the National Library of Scotland or with a subscription elsewhere) https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/

Alternatively, you could consult a Post Office Directory for the year in question. Post Office Directories include calendars for the year of publication, and these also include the dates of local holidays. Runs of Post Office Directories from the late 18th century to the 1970s are held by large reference libraries, such as Edinburgh City Libraries and the Mitchell Library, Glasgow.

Handbook of Dates

Handbook of Dates for Students of English History ed. by C.R. Cheney (Cambridge University Press, 1995) is one of the most useful books for historians in Britain. Pages 83-160 allow you to work out a calendar for any year using fixed tables for all possible dates for Easter. Cheney’s tables will also allow the calculation of any date from 500AD onwards, but pay attention to discrepancies in the calendars of different parts of Europe between the 16th and 20th centuries.

How can I find out what national and local events happened on someone’s birthday?

National and local newspapers for the day in question (and the days following) should provide news reports on contemporary events. Some national newspapers can supply back issues, or facsimiles of front pages on a commercial basis. Many newspapers are now available through the British Newspaper Archive website (available free of charge in the National Library of Scotland or with a subscription elsewhere) https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/

What were the Scottish quarter days?

Quarter days were the four days dividing the legal year, when rent and interest on loans were due, and when contracts and leases often began or ended.

In Scotland the quarter days were Candlemas (2 February); Whitsun (15 May); Lammas (1 August); and Martinmas (11 November).

The names recall saints’ days and festivals which pervaded medieval life. Candlemas was the feast of the Purification of the Virgin Mary, which was celebrated with the lighting of candles. Whitsunday is the seventh Sunday after Easter, but in Scotland the legal Whitsun was fixed on 15 May. Lammas was a harvest festival day, the name comes from the Old English hlafmaesse, meaning ‘loaf mass’. Martinmas was the feast of St Martin of Tours.

For a discussion of the use of saints’ days and festivals to date medieval documents see Handbook of Dates for Students of English History ed. by C.R. Cheney (Cambridge University Press, 1995). Some of the quarter days, and other feast days, were important occasions for markets, sports and popular entertainments. For more information about this see John Burnett, Riot, Revelry and Rout: sport in Scotland before 1860 (East Linton, 2000).

How can I decipher a date written in the form beginning ‘Jaj . . .’ in a 17th or 18th century document?

these are sometimes referred to by palaeographers as ‘Jaj dates’. The ‘Jaj’ part is a corruption of the Latin ‘i m’, meaning ‘1000’, the ‘vj’ is the Latin numeral for ‘6’, the ‘C†’ is an abbreviation of the Latin word ‘centum’ (‘one hundred’). Hence,

Jaj = 1000 vjC† = 600 and threttie twa yeiris = 32

= 1632

In image 3 the date 1663 is rendered: the year of God Jajvj C& saxti three

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Jaj dates were still being written in the first decades of the eighteenth century, as image 4 shows: Jajvijc and eight yeares

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Note that, in this case, the C is not capitalised and does not have a mark of abbreviation for ‘centum’.

This form of dating is easy to learn by breaking it down into component parts:

The Jaj part (= 1000)
The v, or vj, or vij part (remember that the last i is usually a j)

The abbreviation for Centum and, which might appear as ‘C† and’ or ‘C†&’ or ‘C&’ or ‘C and’
The rest of the year written longhand, usually in Scots

Criminal Justice Services

Criminal Justice Services (Probation Services)

Now known as criminal justice services, probation services emerged as a method of preventing offenders from re-offending in the early 20^th century, initially led by charities and churches. In 1905 Glasgow Corporation set up a committee which recommended that the Chief Constable appoint police officers to act as probation officers.[1] These probation officers were to provide guidance to the district police courts on offenders’ circumstances and to supervise offenders on instruction from the courts. The Probation of Offenders Act 1907 required sheriffs in counties and magistrates in burghs (i.e. police burghs, royal burghs and parliamentary burghs) to appoint probation officers. Their salaries were paid by the local authorities and they were controlled by the sheriff courts or burgh police courts.[2] The Probation of Offenders (Scotland) Act 1931 gave the responsibilities to employ probation officers to large burghs and counties and required the councils to appoint probation committees.[3] The Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 1949 detailed the duties of probation officers including providing reports on adults to assist courts in determining the most appropriate sentence and reports on the suitability of young people for Borstal training.[4] The Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968 gave county councils and councils of large burghs a responsibility to supervise and care for people released from prison and put on probation, and to provide background reports for the courts when required.[5] These responsibilities were transferred to regional and islands councils in 1975 and to the unitary councils in 1996.[6] The name criminal justice services replaced probation services after the Criminal Justice and Licensing (Scotland) Act 2010 replaced probation orders, community service orders and supervised attendance orders with community payback orders.[7]

Compiler: Elspeth Reid (2021)

Related Knowledge Base entries

Social Work

Bibliography

City of Glasgow, Probation. A Brief Survey of Fifty Years of the Probation Service of the City of Glasgow 1905–1955. (City of Glasgow Probation Area Committee, 1955)

Kilbrandon Report, Children and Young Persons (Scotland). Cmnd 2306. (HMSO, 1964)

McNeill, Fergus, & Bill Whyte, Reducing Reoffending: Social work and community justice in Scotland (Willan Publishing, 2007)

References

[1] Fergus McNeill ‘Remembering probation in Scotland’ Probation Journal. The Journal of Community and Criminal Justice 52(1) 2005 pp. 23-38.

[2] Probation of Offenders Act 1907 (7 Edw. VII c.17).

[3] Probation of Offenders (Scotland) Act 1931 (21 & 22 Geo. V c.30).

[4] Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 1949 (12, 13 & 14 Geo. VI c.94).

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

[6] Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 (c.65) s.161; Local Government etc (Scotland) Act 1994 (c.39).

[7] Criminal Justice and Licensing (Scotland) Act 2010 (asp 10).

Cremation

Local authority responsibility for cremations was enabled by the Cremation Act 1902 which permitted any burial authority to establish crematoria as well as burial grounds[1]. There was central government control over the establishment of crematoria as the Cremation Act required that the Local Government Board for Scotland should approve plans and site for any crematorium. The Cremation Act 1902 was subsequently amended by the Cremation Act 1952 in relation to minor details about forms and burial authorities under other legislation[2]. However, in practice local authorities were slow to take up these powers and initially crematoria were built by private enterprise.

The first Scottish crematorium was built by the Scottish Burial Reform and Cremation Society (established in 1888) which opened Glasgow Crematorium beside the Western Necropolis in 1895[3]. The development of crematoria was slow and other commercial crematoria were established in Edinburgh (Warriston) in 1929, Dundee in 1936, Paisley and in Aberdeen in 1938, and Seafield Crematorium in Leith in 1939.[4]

The first local authority Crematorium was Aberdeen Crematorium which was initially built as a private enterprise in 1938 but involving local Councillors and the Provost in their private capacities, and then was taken over as a local authority crematorium in 1945[5]. The next local authority crematorium was Daldowie Crematorium built by Lanarkshire County Council in 1950. A number of other local authorities built crematoria in the 1950s and 1960s and the function remains an option for local authorities rather than a requirement.

The Burial and Cremation (Scotland) Act 2016 was a complete overhaul of the regulation of burials and cremations following widespread concern over the disposal of ashes of babies and maintenance of records of these disposals. The 2016 Act brought in inspection and regulation provisions for burial and cremation authorities and funeral directors and brought in licensing of funeral directors. It also applied regulations to private burials, requiring application for private burials to be made to local authorities who also had to maintain a register of private burials. All burial and cremation authorities (both local authorities and private/commercial companies) were required to maintain electronic registers of burials and cremations, to make these available and provide extracts with the right to charge a fee for these services.[6] Moreover, the 2016 Act was the first to specify that a local authority must provide a burial ground: previous legislation had been permissive, enabling the local authority to operate cemeteries and crematoria, rather than placing a requirement to provide a burial ground within its boundaries.

Cremation registers are likely to be held by the cremation authority. Local authority cremation registers may be held by the local authority archives service.

Compiler: Elspeth Reid (2021)

Related Knowledge Base entries

Death & Disposal of the Dead

Burial

Death registers of Catholic churches

Hospital registers of death

Mortcloths

Records of municipal and private cemeteries

Records of undertakers and monumental masons

Procurators fiscal records and Fatal Accident Inquiries

Property records

Graverobbing

Bibliography

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

Inspector of Crematoria Annual Reports <https://www.gov.scot/publications/inspector-crematoria-annual-report-1-april-2018-31-march-2019/> [accessed 12 Dec 2023]

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

References

[1] Cremation Act 1902 (2 Edw. VII c.8).

[2] Cremation Act 1952 (15 & 16 Geo. VI & 1 Eliz. 2 c.31).

[3] Small, Sam, Greater Glasgow: An Illustrated Architectural Guide (RIAS, 2008).

[4] ‘Crematorium Dedicatory Service’ The Scotsman, 4 October 1929, p. 8; ‘Lord Salvesen opens crematorium’ Dundee Courier 15 October 1936 p. 11; ‘Crematorium opened at Paisley’ The Scotsman 29 October 1938 p. 14; ‘Cremation’s merits. New facilities for Aberdeen. Dedication of Building’ Aberdeen Press & Journal, 15 March 1938 p. 8; ‘Edinburgh’s New Crematorium. Lord Salvesen on Progress of the Movement.’ The Scotsman, 29 April 1939 p. 12.

[5] Aberdeen City Archives (GB228). CA/1/2/62 Aberdeen City: Minutes of the Town Council of Aberdeen 4 December 1944.

[6] The Burial and Cremation (Scotland) Act 2016 (asp 20).

Countryside

The development of the countryside for recreation in Scotland dates from 1967 and the establishment of the Countryside Commission for Scotland.[1] County councils, town councils and district councils were enabled to create country parks with support from the Countryside Commission for Scotland, to develop public paths and long-distance routes and to make access agreements with other landowners. As a result, 36 country parks were established and, after 1981, four regional parks were also created.[2] Local authorities were further allowed to provide camping sites for holiday or recreational purposes, make arrangements for other facilities such as parking places and make byelaws to take care of the countryside in matters such as litter and prohibiting fires. Also, local authorities were also empowered in 1967 to appoint wardens to advise and assist the public and ensure compliance with byelaws. These wardens became known as countryside rangers: their powers were extended in 1981 and as a profession they developed greater roles in environmental education and biodiversity initiatives.

In 1973, local authority countryside responsibilities were given to regional, district and islands council but in 1982 most countryside responsibilities were re-allocated to district and islands councils.[3] However, as water authorities, regional councils could provide and manage recreational facilities on reservoirs and inland waterways. In 1996 the unitary councils were given for local authority countryside responsibilities except for inland water and reservoirs which transferred to East of Scotland Water, West of Scotland Water and North of Scotland Water and then in 2002 to Scottish Water.

Records of the Countryside Commission for Scotland are held by National Records of Scotland (reference code CCS). Surviving local authority records are held by local authority archive services.

Compiler: Elspeth Reid (2021)

Related Knowledge Base entries

Nature conservation

Bibliography and Links

Back, Phil, ‘Legislating for Landscapes’ Historic Gardens Review 35 (2017), pp. 22-25

Ferguson, Keith, An Introduction to Local Government in Scotland (The Planning Exchange, 1984)

Kelcey, John, ‘A Guide to Nature Conservation’ Built Environment 2.11 (1973) pp. 639-41

References

[1] Countryside (Scotland) Act 1967 (c.86).

[2] Countryside (Scotland) Act 1981 (c.44).

[3] Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 (c.65); Local Government and Planning (Scotland) Act 1982 (c.43).

Control of diseases of animals

Animal disease has an impact on food production and human health, so since 1866 control of diseases of animals (by vaccination, slaughter, prohibition of movement and other actions) has been a local authority responsibility.

From 1866, commissioners of supply were responsible for these measures.[1] In 1869, however, new local authorities were established, consisting of between four and fifteen commissioners of supply and an equal number of elected representatives of occupiers of agricultural lands along with the lord-lieutenant, convenor and sheriff of the county. [2] These local authorities were entitled to ask the commissioners of supply for funds which were raised through a local rate. Their costs were mainly compensation to owners of slaughtered animals. These responsibilities were transferred to county councils under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1889 and burghs with a population less than 7,000 ceased to have powers under the Contagious Diseases (Animals) Acts or the Destructive Insects Act 1877 but were instead considered part of the county for these purposes.[3]

In 1930 these responsibilities were given to county councils and town councils of large burghs and small burghs, with the caveat that this could be transferred from small burghs to county councils by an order of the Secretary of State for Scotland.[4] Following local government reorganisation in 1975, this responsibility was transferred to regional and islands councils.[5] From 1996 the unitary councils had these responsibilities.[6]

The detail of the specific responsibilities, which changed in accordance with new developments in science, technology and trade, can be found in the many acts of parliament repealed by the Diseases of Animals Act 1950 and related statutory instruments and secondary regulations.[7] The current legislation in force is the Animal Health Act 1981 which requires local authorities to appoint inspectors, enables them to provide various facilities and places the cost of disposing of carcasses washed up on shores on the local authority.[8]

Compiler: Elspeth Reid (2021)

Related Knowledge Base entries

Local authorities under the Contagious Diseases (Animals) Acts

Bibliography

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

Slevin, John, ‘Rural Administration’ in Source book and history of administrative law in Scotland ed. by M. R. McLarty (Hodge, 1956) pp. 13-28

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

References

[1] Cattle Diseases Prevention Act 1866 (29 & 30 Vict. c.2) s.5.

[2] Contagious Diseases (Animals) Act 1869 (32 & 33 Vict. c.70).

[3] Destructive Insects Act 1877 (40 & 41 Vict. c.68); Local Government (Scotland) Act 1889 (52 & 53 Vict. c.50).

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

[5] Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 (c.65) s.144; Animal Health Act 1981 (c.22).

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

[7] Diseases of Animals Act 1950 (14 Geo. VI c.36) Sch. 5.

[8] Animal Health Act 1981 (c.22)

Coast Protection

The Coast Protection Act 1949 gave local burghs and counties with maritime coasts powers to protect land and prevent coastal erosion in their area.[1] There was also provision for the creation of coast protection boards made up of representatives from burghs and counties with maritime coasts. Local authorities had powers to carry out coastal protection works, levy charges under works schemes and require landowners to carry out maintenance and repair of structures. The works were subject to inquiries where river boards and harbour authorities had particular rights. The local authority responsibilities were transferred to regional and islands councils in 1975.[2] They were subsequently transferred to unitary councils in 1996.[3]

Previously, under harbour legislation, the Board of Trade had the authority to restrict excavation of shingle on or under the seashore.[4] In 1939 these powers of the Board of Trade were extended to include all materials, with the aim of preventing coastal erosion.[5]

Compiler: Elspeth Reid (2021)

Bibliography

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

[1] Coast Protection Act 1949 (12 & 13 Geo. VI c.74).

[2] Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 (c.65) s.138.

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

[4] Harbours Act 1814 ((54 Geo. III c. 159); Harbours Transfer Act 1862 (25 & 26 Vict. c. 69).

[5] Coast Protection Act 1939 (2 & 3 Geo. VI c.39).