Twenty Treasures from Scotland's Archives

Sian Yates from Lloyds Banking Group Archives talks about the earliest surviving Scottish banknote which was issued by Bank of Scotland on 16th April 1716.  One of the earliest innovations of the bank, set up in 1695, was the introduction of a paper currency of set values - the first in Europe. The 1716 banknote forms part of the Bank of Scotland archive, one of the core collections of Lloyds Banking Group archives. 

Alison Mason from High Life Highland Archives talks about a photograph from the Duncan MacPherson collection which shows a row of expensive cars carrying tourists on their holidays in contrast with the travelling people and their cart on the jetty at Kyle of Lochalsh, as they all wait to take the ferry over to Skye.

Ralph McLean of National Library of Scotland talks about the diary of Captain Felix O'Neill, recounting the battle of Culloden (1746) and the aftermath for the defeated Jacobites. The diary, written on the back of playing cards, is an unparalleled first-hand account of the battle, and an intimate portrait of the flight of Charles Edward Stuart. 

Leonie Paterson of Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh talks about the earliest photograph in the collection, showing the original Palm House that was built on the Inverleith site in 1834. Palms can be seen protruding through the roof of the building and the photograph was successfully used to lobby Parliament for funding for a larger, taller palm house. 

Sophie Tupholme from National Library of Scotland, talks about a short film made by W & D Downey in 1896 which depicts Queen Victoria at Balmoral with guests and attendants.  The original film was very unstable and blurred but has been meticulously restored and digitally enhanced. 

Kirsty Earley from the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow talks about the first in a series of fifteen registers which comprise a record of the vaccination programme against smallpox carried out in Glasgow by the Members and Fellows of the then Faculty of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow.  The 1801-2 register contains details of the first patients to be vaccinated, many of whom were children, some as young as two months old.

Rachel McKenzie from the Royal Faculty of Procurators talks about a 14th century charter by Christina of the Isles, granting her lands in Moidart, Arisaig and Morar.  The charter is an early example of evidence of a woman owning land in her own right in Scotland.

Andrew Nicoll of Historic Environment Scotland talks about a photograph which captures the vitality and importance of industry in late 19th century Scotland. The photograph of Charlestown Harbour, Fife by Erskine Beveridge, was one of ninety glass plate negatives that were rescued from a skip outside a mill in Dunfermline in the 1960s or '70s.

Rosie Filipiak from the Scottish Ornithologists' Club speaks about the early 20th century Bird Migration Survey which recorded bird species and numbers seen by observers at coastal stations for William Eagle Clarke, Keeper of Natural History at the Royal Museum of Scotland. This particular schedule was from lighthouse keeper John Bain.

Karl Magee of the University of Stirling Archives talks about the colour brochure for the 19th British Commonwealth Games, held in Edinburgh in July 1970.  The cover of the brochure became the main promotional image for University of Stirling Archives' Hosts and Champions exhibition, presenting an optimistic, idealised picture of sporting competition.

Karen Hall from Carsphairn Heritage Initiative talks about a postcard showing a photo of Jean McLellan (1832-1910), dubbed 'The Last Spinner'. She is standing outside Greenfoot Cottage, where she raised eight children with her husband Alexander, a labourer at Woodhead Lead Mine.

The letter documents the substantial changes that occurred on a remote Highland estate during a period of socio-economic turbulence. Dr Mackenzie was a member of the Mackenzie of Gairloch family, and took on the role of trustee and factor of the Gairloch estate in the 1840s and '50s.

Rachel Hart, from the University of St Andrews, talks about the document upon which the university asserts its legitimacy.  The only survivor of six bulls, the Papal Bull was issued at Peniscola in Aragon in 1413. It is a letter sent from the Pope which affirms a charter already issued by the Bishop of St Andrews and authorises the university to award degrees licensing its graduates to teach theology, canon and civil law, arts and medicine. 

Hugh Hagan of National Records of Scotland talks about the Letters Patent signifying Royal Assent to the Public Records (Scotland) Bill, the first public records legislation in Scotland for over 70 years. The provisions of this Act, underpin the importance, and democratic necessity of good recordkeeping, which is required to ensure records are safely managed into permanent preservation for the public to access in our Scottish archives.

For more information, visit www.scottisharchives.org.uk/treasures 

Phil Astley of Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire Archives talks about the the sole-surviving example of a burgh court roll for Aberdeen, recording several cases that came before the burgh’s head and baillie courts between August and October 1317. As such, it is the oldest record of local administration in Scotland.

For more information, visit www.scottisharchives.org.uk/treasures 

Ruth Brown of Dunkeld Archives talks about a small notebook from their Scottish Horse regimental collection which led to the identification of the grave of a First World War soldier. The notebook, written by Rev. Wilfred Callin, contains a list of ninety-three Scottish Horse soldiers who lost their lives in France in October and November 1918.  Next to each soldier was a trench map co-ordinate of where he was initially buried, before being exhumed and re-buried in the military cemeteries.

For more information, visit www.scottisharchives.org.uk/treasures

Harvey Kaplan of the Scottish Jewish Archives Centre, talks about the story of Dorrith Oppenheim, aged 7, who was one of 10,000 unaccompanied children from Nazi Germany and Austria admitted to Britain in 1938-1939 under the Kindertransport scheme.  It is estimated that around 800 of these children came to Scotland, where they were fostered by families around the country or accommodated in refugee hostels.

For more information, visit www.scottisharchives.org.uk/treasures 

Lauren McKay from Lothian Health Service Archive talks about the 1988 Information leaflet ‘What happens after a cervical smear test’, written by the Cervical Smear Campaign, the Lothian Health Education Department, and women living in the area.

For more information, visit www.scottisharchives.org.uk/treasures

Seonaid McDonald from Tasglann nan Eilean (Hebridean Archives) talks about the petition handed to the Trustees of the Iolaire Disaster Fund by Mrs Julia M. Fraser, Schoolhouse, Sandwickhill on behalf of the signatories.  The petition urges the Iolaire Disaster Fund Trustees to increase payments to the families and dependents of those lost in the disaster and presents the reasons why increases were urgently needed.

For more information visit www.scottisharchives.org.uk/treasures

Sarah Aitken from Dundee City Archives talks about the 1641 Charter confirming the rights and privileges of the Royal Burgh of Dundee. It also gave Dundee its own Sheriffs, the ability to collect money to support the poor, keep a weigh house and charge £4 on a tun of wine sold within the burgh.

For more information, visit www.scottisharchives.org.uk/treasures