Senior Officials – Chamberlain or Treasurer

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

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

Compiler: Elspeth Reid (2021)

Bibliography

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

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

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

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

 

References

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

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

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

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

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

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

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