The basic structure of a sasine is straightforward. It will begin with the date, and thereafter sets out the principal parties (usually with the grantee/buyer named first), the type of transaction, including the land involved, the precise time that it took place, and the names of the witnesses. Sasines before the early 20th century are normally handwritten, however.
While Victorian copperplate handwriting is simple to read, the handwriting of the 17th and early 18th centuries can be much more difficult. Practice, as always, makes it easier. Nor does it help that for many years the clerks paid for the blank sasine volumes out of their wages and so had a vested interest in cramming as much handwriting onto each page as possible. A more serious obstacle is that many sasines, even down to the late 18th century, are in Latin. Again these follow a standard form. A Latin dictionary together with the styles and translations of sasines given in Peter Gouldesborough, 'A Formulary of Old Scots Legal Documents' (Stair Society, Edinburgh, 1985) pp. 108-111, will allow most readers to understand what is going on.
Sasines for urban property
The 66 royal burghs generally kept their own individual registers of sasines. These are all now in the NRS, under the catalogue reference B. The only exceptions are the Glasgow registers and the Aberdeen and Dundee pre-1809 registers. These three groups are now kept in the city archives of Glasgow, Aberdeen and Dundee, respectively.
Burgh registers begin at different times, starting from the early 17th century. They were all gradually closed down at different times in the 20th century, and their business merged into the main series of registers held in the NRS under the catalogue reference RS. Sasines recording property transfers in the other, lesser burghs were generally recorded in the particular register of sasines for the surrounding county. It is important to remember that the sasine registers for the royal burghs cover only the small area of the original core medieval burgh, sometimes known as 'the royalty'. For instance, properties on Princes Street, although now Edinburgh's main thoroughfare, will not be found in the burgh register of sasines; they were recorded with other Midlothian sasines.
