This page lists websites that may prove useful to you in your research. Some are dedicated archives, while others are institutions that may be able to provide useful information.
Please contact info@molrs.org.uk if you want to suggest any sites for this page.
Archaeology Data Service
RCAHMS Canmore
Central government departments
Charting the Nation
First Edition Ordnance Survey maps
The Historical Manuscripts Commission
The National Archives of Scotland
The National Library of Scotland
The NLS map collection
The Public Record Office
Scotland's Rural Past
Scots Origins
The Scottish Economic History Database (1550-1780)
The Scottish Palaeoecological Archive Database
Scottish Wetlands Archaeological Database
SCRAN
The Statistical Accounts for Scotland (1791-99 and 1845)
Archaeology Data Service [back to top]
The aim of the Archaeology Data Service (ADS) is to collect, describe, catalogue, preserve, and provide user support for digital resources that are created as a product of archaeological research. This means that you can search a number of different databases at once.
ads.ahds.ac.uk/project/about.html
RCAHMS Canmore [back to top]
RCAHMS records and interprets the sites, monuments and buildings of Scotland's past and promotes a greater appreciation of their value through the National Monuments Record of Scotland (NMRS). The RCAHMS website gives access to CANMORE, the NMRS database which contains information on architectural, archaeological and maritime sites in Scotland, as well as details of the collections held in the NMRS. The results of all RCAHMS surveys can be found in CANMORE, along with information from other projects, including the First Edition Survey Project (FESP). The RCAHMS has archives relating to the excavation and survey of many historic rural settlement] sites that may be consulted in the Library at the RCAHMS offices. You have to register in order to use the site, but it is free of charge, and won't result in unsolicited mail!
www.rcahms.gov.uk
Central government departments [back to top]
This site provides an A-Z list for all central government departments and organisations.
http://www.direct.gov.uk/QuickFind/AZOfCentralGovernment/fs/en?CONTENT_ID=4003151&chk=h9oH+R
Charting the Nation [back to top]
The Charting the Nation image collection includes a wide variety of single maps and maps in atlases and other bound books, together with important manuscript and printed texts relating to the geography and mapping of Scotland from 1550 to 1740 and beyond.
www.chartingthenation.lib.ed.ac.uk
First Edition Ordnance Survey maps [back to top]
Free to view First Edition Ordnance Survey maps.
www.old-maps.co.uk
The Historical Manuscripts Commission [back to top]
HMC is the UK's central advisory body on archives and manuscripts relating to British history. Established in 1869 by Royal Warrant, they are the principal source of information on the nature and location of records and a leading source of advice on matters relating to them. If you know of an estate or landowner name, or want to identify archives relating to a particular town or county, this is the place to start.
www.hmc.gov.uk/abouthmc/about.htm
The National Archives of Scotland [back to top]
It is the main archive for sources of the history of Scotland as a separate kingdom, her role in the British Isles and the links between Scotland and many other countries over the centuries. The NAS holds records spanning the 12th to the 21st centuries, touching on virtually every aspect of Scottish life. The NAS is the repository for the public and legal records of Scotland but also holds many local and private archives. It also advises Scottish government departments, institutions, businesses and private individuals on the care of their records. They emphasise that it is important for you to know what you want to look at before you visit, and there is a useful factsheet (under Services to Researchers: Planning your Visit) which is worth a look. It also gives a great deal of guidance on the type of archives that they hold.
www.nas.gov.uk
The National Library of Scotland [back to top]
This site has a number of on-line catalogues, and also gives details about access to collections.
www.nls.uk
The NLS map collection [back to top]
This link takes you directly to map collection of The National Library of Scotland, some of which have been put onto the Internet through this site. It has a variety of search tools, and once a map is displayed, you can enlarge the image and move around quite easily. It gives you access to the site which displays all of Timothy Pont’s Maps of Scotland (c. 1583-1596).
www.nls.uk/digitallibrary/map/index.html
The Public Record Office [back to top]
The Public Record Office of the United Kingdom is one of the two organisations that make up the National Archives (the other is the Historical Manuscripts Commission) and covers mainly England and Wales. The office is based at Kew in London, and archives can only be viewed at their offices. However, they do encourage on-line ordering so if you need to visit, everything is ready and waiting for you and you don’t waste any time!
www.pro.gov.uk (www.nationalarchives.gov.uk)
Scotland’s Rural Past [back to top]
(SRP) is a five-year, nationwide project supporting local communities across Scotland to investigate deserted rural settlements dating from the medieval and post-medieval periods.
www.scotlandsruralpast.org.uk
Scots Origins [back to top]
Scots Origins offers a free place name search allowing users to find which parish and county a place is located in. This is an invaluable feature for those wishing to find someone on the census records. The Scots Origins Sighting Service lets you request via the Scots Origins web site the transcription of details from Scottish Old Parish Registers (birth/baptisms and marriages only), Statutory Registers and 1861 and 1871 Census records.
www.scotsorigins.com
The Scottish Economic History Database (1550-1780) [back to top]
This site gives a range of statistics on population, crop yields and weather. It is particularly useful in indicating the wealth of information that lies undiscovered in the National Archives of Scotland and elsewhere!
www.ex.ac.uk/~ajgibson/scotdata/scot_database_home.html
The Scottish Palaeoecological Archive Database [back to top]
This site provides information on sites in Scotland where the natural archives of peat bogs, mires and lochs preserve evidence of past environments and environmental change. It has a variety of search facilities including a map and geographical areas.
www.geo.ed.ac.uk/spad/home.html
Scottish Wetlands Archaeological Database [back to top]
(SWAD) contains information on wetland archaeology sites in Scotland. As it now stands there are over 6,000 records in the database. All of the data can be freely searched in a variety of ways.
SCRAN [back to top]
The Scottish Cultural Resource Access Network is designed to give web access to images relating to Scotland’s history and culture. There is a free service, which lets you search using keywords, giving thumbnail images of the resource. However, if you choose to pay the annual subscription, you can have access to a range of benefits. This includes being able to view video footage relating to your search topic, and being able to view text descriptions and references. The catalogue includes artwork held in national and local collections, photographs (both old and new), video footage, and images of artefacts held in national local collections.
www.scran.ac.uk
The Statistical Accounts for Scotland (1791-99 and 1845) [back to top]
The originals have been scanned and can be viewed on this website, through an easy selection process of county and parish. There is also a search facility that allows you to search the general index, as well as parishes, counties and page text.
edina.ac.uk/statacc |