Events, Talks and Visits

Public Talks

23 September 5.00-6.00pm, General Register House, In-person
House History – A guide to tracing the history of a Scottish house
Alison Lindsay, Head of Historical and Legal Search Rooms, National Records of Scotland
Book online

Are you interested in the history of your house? Find out how to use archives and other historical resources, including those held by the National Records of Scotland (NRS), to trace the history of a house and its inhabitants through time.

There will be time for questions at the end.

29 August, 5.30-6.30pm, General Register House, In-person 
Gaelic Treasures of the National Records of Scotland  
Dr Martin MacGregor, Lecturer at The University of Glasgow
Book Online

In the era before 1700, the number of items in Gaelic in the National Records of Scotland is miniscule compared to those in Scotland’s other written languages. There are many more pre-1700 Gaelic manuscripts in the National Library of Scotland, but a point of contact with the scenario in the NRS is that these are not overtly legal or governmental texts, relating instead largely to literature, theology and medicine.  

This talk will engage with possible explanations for the lack of pre-1700 Gaelic items in the NRS. But its main aim is to highlight and discuss the texts which do exist: easy to overlook but worthy of attention both for their rarity and their intrinsic interest. The four texts are the 1408 Islay charter; a letter written by Sir James MacDonald of Dunivaig (Islay) in 1604; a contract for the fosterage of Tormod, third son of Sir Ruairidh Mòr MacLeod of Dunvegan in 1613, and an elegy composed for Donnnchadh Dubh (Black Duncan) Campbell of Glenorchy on his death in 1631, probably by the professional poet Niall MacEwan. 

Public Tour: 250th anniversary of General Register House

In-person only

19 September, 5.00-6.00pm

23 October, 11.30-12.30pm

20 November, 12.00-1.00pm
Book Online

This year, National Records of Scotland (NRS) marks the 250th anniversary of the laying of the foundation stone of General Register House on the 27th June 2024. One of Scotland’s most important public buildings, General Register House, has been the home of the nation’s archives for over two centuries and continues to provide public access to Scotland’s documentary history. Designed by Robert Adam, it opened its doors in 1789. The first purpose-built, public record repository in Britain and Ireland, it has a good claim to being the oldest purpose-built archive in Europe still being used for its original function. 

To celebrate, we are offering several public tours. The history of this unique building, its place on Edinburgh Princes Street, and its continuing role as keeper of the nation’s archives, will be explained as attendees explore the striking central chamber, the Adam Dome, and are taken behind the scenes.

Tours will last approximately 40 minutes and must be booked in advance. Please note: visitors should wear comfortable footwear. We regret that the tour route through the building is not suitable for wheelchair users or those with limited mobility.

Evening Class

Scottish Handwriting 1500-1700

Each year, NRS runs evening classes in palaeography on behalf of the University of Edinburgh's Office of Lifelong Learning. This practical course in Scottish Handwriting covering the period 1500-1700 is taught by archivists from NRS at General Register House in Edinburgh. The course runs for 10 weeks on Tuesday evenings from September with a second 10 week term starting in the following January. More information can be found on the University of Edinburgh's Short Courses pages, where you can also enrol onto the course.

Due to unforeseen circumstances, we hope that the next course will commence in January 2025 and the follow on course in Spring 2025. For more information on the course, please contact: [email protected]

Learning

National Records of Scotland’s (NRS) Outreach and Learning department supports learning for all age groups. Our Services for Schools are designed to support the Scottish Curriculum for Excellence and National Qualifications. NRS staff can also provide specialist talks to interested groups.

If you have any enquiries about our services, please contact: [email protected].

Past NRS talks

If you have missed one of our recent public talks, many can be viewed on the NRS YouTube channel.