Cataloguing of the Burgh Records of St Andrews
St Andrews is one of Scotland's best known towns. From medieval and early modern times it was a key ecclesiastical, political and mercantile centre and though subsequently its influence waned, it survives today as an important centre of education and tourism. Founded as an ecclesiastical burgh (1124x1144), it continued as such until the seventeenth century when it was erected a burgh of regality (1614), then a royal burgh (1620). In practice, however, it had functioned as a royal burgh since c.1357, being represented in meetings of the General Council and Parliament.
A group of councillors led by a provost and two or three bailies, assisted by a number of local worthies - substantial merchants, local landholders and a number of trades representatives - administered the burgh. Administration covered all aspects of town life (see details of the collections below) and initially extended to presiding over some civil and criminal cases although gradually, this was eroded. During the mid-nineteenth century, the role of the town council became confused with that of police commissioners introduced to oversee public utilities within burghs (watching, cleansing, paving and lighting). However, the Town Councils Act of 1900 resulted in the council formally replacing police commissioners and continuing in its administrative role until 1975 when Fife Regional Council assumed this function under the Local Government (Scotland) Act.
The burgh records of St Andrews, held by the Special Collections Department, date from Malcolm IV's reign (1153-1165) to the 20th century. The collection includes Council Minutes; Magistrates and Police Commissioners Minutes; Charters, Writs and Chartularies; Registers of Deeds and Protests; Finance Records; Cess and Stent Rolls, and Poll Tax Assessments; Court Books; Licensing Records; Dean of Guild Records; Craft Guild Records; Public Utilites Records; Harbour Records; Miscellaneous Papers including material relating to the university, fishings, golf and billeting. It also includes microfilm copies of the Register of Sasines for St Andrews series 1 (1673-1809); the originals and series 2 are retained by the National Archives in Edinburgh.
Currently, a hard-copy summary guide can be used to access most of the collection, however, one series (GB0227/B65/22) is almost entirely unlisted. Comprised of 130 boxes of loose and unbundled documents, numbering perhaps as many as 30,000 documents, it is an untapped treasure.
Aims and Objectives
- to provide a web-accessible list of the complete St Andrews burgh collection, adhering to modern archival standards
- to item-list the B65/22 series and incorporate it into the electronic list
- to compile a biographical database of St Andrews householders
Outcomes
- a complete electronic list of the St Andrews burgh records
- replacement of the acidic envelopes and boxes storing the B65/22 series
Work began on the first and second phases of the project in October 2007 and was funded for two years, by the St Andrews Local History Foundation (Burnwynd History and Art Limited).