National Records of Scotland

266: 42: 456:, separate from the Deputy Clerk Register. The recording of personal data was in effect severed from the Deputy Clerk Register, who continued to maintain the records and registers of Scotland. James Crawford Dunlop, who had served as medical superintendent of statistics since 1904, held the office of Registrar General from 1921 to 1930. The 12 subsequent Registrars General were drawn from the civil service in Scotland and headed the 447:

of the Scottish counties, who had already played a role in the taking of decennial censuses. The amending Acts reduced their responsibilities by appointing registration district examiners to inspect the registers. They also made revised provision for the transmission of the parochial registers up to

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to be laid before Parliament, containing a general abstract of the numbers of births, deaths and marriages registered during the previous year. The first general abstract (relating to 1855) was submitted in 1856. By the time of his first annual detailed report, published in 1861, the first Registrar

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In 1879, The Lord Clerk Register (Scotland) Act 1879 further provided that the office of Lord Clerk Register would remain as a ceremonial Great Officer of State, with all record keeping duties passing to the Deputy Clerk Register. In 1909 by Sir James Patten McDougall was appointed as Deputy Clerk

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which also contributed to the poor record keeping in registers. A bill came before the United Kingdom Parliament in 1829 and several others in subsequent years to introduce a system of state registration, following the similar introduction of public registration in England & Wales in 1837, but

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provided that the Registers of Scotland and Records of Scotland were to be split into two separate government organisations with two separate officials: (1) the Keeper of the Registers of Scotland and (2) the Keeper of the Records of Scotland. The Keeper of the Registers of Scotland was given the

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In 1806, a Royal Warrant established the office of Deputy Clerk Register, effectively reducing the record keeping duties of the Lord Clerk Register to an honorary title with no day-to-day management of the Registers and Records of Scotland. However, personal data continued to be managed by the

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the year 1820 to the General Register Office Scotland (GROS), and the registers for the years 1820–1855 to the custody of the local registrars. These registers were to be retained by the local registrars for 30 years, after which they were to be sent to the GROS.

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and data relating to registers, notably deaths involving coronavirus (COVID-19) in Scotland, the source for data provided on the Scottish Government's COVID-19 dashboard. It also publishes statistics about first names given to babies in Scotland since 1998.

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NRS supports research in a number of ways, through guides, websites and training. The ScotlandsPeople website, the official Scottish Government site for searching government records and archives, is maintained by NRS in partnership with the

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and marriages. However, in 1801, the first national Census found that, out of the 850 parishes in Scotland, not more than 99 had regular registers. This was in part due to sporadic recording keeping and accidental destruction of registers.

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Register, the last holder of the combined offices of Registrar General and Deputy Lord Clerk Register. The Registrar General (Scotland) Act 1920 provided for the appointment by the Secretary of State for Scotland of a full-time

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of sites belonging to organisations who deposit records with NRS, the service ensures that previous versions of pages and files can be accessed, while being clearly distinguishable from live content.

499:. The Keeper of the Records of Scotland headed the Records Office, later called the National Archives of Scotland. This left three departments and their respective officials managed the following: 1490: 129: 436: 1587: 1483: 359:, but only for their own church members so parish records were limited in scope. In 1551, a council of Scottish clergy enacted that all parish ministers should keep a record of 471:. However, it came to be recognised that the keeping of records and the keeping of registers was too cumbersome a task to be entrusted to a single department. In 1948, the 1051: 1001: 976: 917: 892: 867: 842: 808: 783: 758: 492:

and other chancery and judicial registers. The Keeper of the Records of Scotland, was given the duties to preserve the public registers, records and rolls of Scotland.

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General for Scotland, William Pitt Dundas, claimed that: "there is good reason for believing that very few births indeed now escape registration."

631: 443:(23 & 24 Vict., c.85), were passed which amended some of the sections of the 1854 Act. The 1854 Act had placed considerable burdens on the 1627: 1338: 1592: 1541: 1506: 1399: 1026: 539: 1368: 1134: 1556: 139: 49: 531: 504: 457: 424: 302: 226: 83: 1236: 1164: 1632: 1607: 238: 1075:

Report by the Committee of the Scottish Records Advisory Council, July 1943 (National Archives of Scotland HH1/1832)

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The first official tasked with the care and administration of the public records was first recorded in the role of

621: 427:. The 1854 Act also provided that the Registrar General should produce an annual report to be forwarded to the 234: 1270: 397:, to attempts in the bills to reform the Scots laws of marriage, which had historically been very informal as 393:

the bills were unsuccessful. One of the main reasons they were unsuccessful was the opposition, including the

1602: 535: 511: 306: 230: 78: 1617: 595: 265: 1612: 1475: 1052:"Scotland's Population 2004: The Registrar General's Annual Review of Demographic Trends: 150th Edition" 1002:"Scotland's Population 2004: The Registrar General's Annual Review of Demographic Trends: 150th Edition" 977:"Scotland's Population 2004: The Registrar General's Annual Review of Demographic Trends: 150th Edition" 918:"Scotland's Population 2004: The Registrar General's Annual Review of Demographic Trends: 150th Edition" 893:"Scotland's Population 2004: The Registrar General's Annual Review of Demographic Trends: 150th Edition" 868:"Scotland's Population 2004: The Registrar General's Annual Review of Demographic Trends: 150th Edition" 843:"Scotland's Population 2004: The Registrar General's Annual Review of Demographic Trends: 150th Edition" 809:"Scotland's Population 2004: The Registrar General's Annual Review of Demographic Trends: 150th Edition" 784:"Scotland's Population 2004: The Registrar General's Annual Review of Demographic Trends: 150th Edition" 759:"Scotland's Population 2004: The Registrar General's Annual Review of Demographic Trends: 150th Edition" 1566: 1561: 415:'s duties were also extended to the care of the records of births, deaths and marriages in the role of 187: 464: 179: 28: 601:

It aims to be a leader in archival practice and acts a source of guidance to records managers and

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from about the 13th century. The role of the Clerk of the Rolls eventually became known as the

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A L Murray 'The Lord Clerk Register' 53 Scot Hist Rev 2 No 156, pp 124–156 (October 1974)

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in 2011; it combines all the functions of the two former organisations. The offices of

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Records: The Keeper of the Records of Scotland and the Records Office, later the

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remain a separate organisation and fall within the ministerial portfolio of the

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in the Chief Executive of National Records of Scotland, currently Paul Lowe.

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In 1928, the office of Deputy Clerk Register itself was abolished by the

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The current body (NRS) was created on 1 April 2011 by the merger of the

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View of Register House from North Bridge, looking across Princes Street.

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for the Register House Trustees; it was opened to the public in 1788.

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National Records of Scotland is based in HM General Register House on

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From 1949, the Keeper of the Registers headed the Department of the

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Cabinet Secretary for the Constitution, External Affairs and Culture

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Royal Warrant 1906: National Archives of Scotland C3/24, No 184.

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Registration of Births, Deaths and Marriages (Scotland) Act 1854

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However, the proposals for reform were dropped and in 1854, the

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radically changed the population demographics of Scotland, with

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The NRS Web Continuity Service launched on 20 November 2017. A

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National Records of Scotland was formed from the merger of the

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HM General Register House, 2 Princes Street, Edinburgh EH1 3YY

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Lord Clerk Register (Scotland) Act 1879 (c 44), section 6.

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The development of the General Register Office (Scotland)

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Public Registers and Records (Scotland) Act 1948 s.1(3).

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Lord Clerk Register (Scotland) Act 1879 (c 44), ss 1, 2.

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Public Registers and Records (Scotland) Act 1948 s.1(2)

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Registers: The Keeper of the Registers of Scotland and

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General Registry Office of Births, Deaths and Marriages

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Alison Byrne, Keeper of the Records / Registrar General

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Non-ministerial departments of the Scottish Government

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